Abstract
Management engineering treats organizations as work systems and aims at improving the organization through the system. The work system includes all the activities of the managers, administrators and staff. In the system creativity plays an important part in improving the productivity and humanity of the organization.In this paper, the author first examines Japanese creativity, comparing the creativity of R&D in Japan with that of other advanced countries and reviewing the trend of dependency on R&D in foreign countries.The approaches to construct or improve the work system are classified into an analytic approach and a creative approach. The author next explains the theory and method of developing creativity focussing on the latter approach. In this approach, one takes up the existing problem, extracts the function of the system having that problem, pursues the functions (function development), develops the ideal system fulfilling the functions, seeks a solution considering actual constraints and introduces the solution into the problem. The author explains the improvement to tooth brushing as a simple example of this approach. He also investigates, theoretically, the problem of the removal or rebuilding of a factory and also describes the example of a dispensary in a university hospital having 1200 beds.Lastly the author emphasizes the importance of education for developing creativity. He stresses that the construction or improvement of a work system has to aim at not only at productivity increase but also at the advancement of humanity.
