Visualization Skills

Visualization Skills

Visualization can be approached scientifically as the ability to form imagery of the represented information to the mind. The skills of visualization can be boosted through practice especially in learning institutions. The power of purchasing a book can be fired by personal reasons such as knowledge about the author or recommendations of the book (Figgess & Fogarty, 2018). A person may buy a book if is knowledgeable about the author either from previously read book or might have heard interview section of the author on a particular social media. Also recommendations from particular individuals or on certain blog can result to purchase of the book.

Skills in visualization can be evaluated through understanding quick concepts on picture, object, person and place exercises. Picture exercise is assessed by carefully studying a given picture then closing eyes and trying to reform the picture in the mind carefully remembering features such as color or other details of the picture (Savran et al., 2016). Visualization through object exercise involves taking time to study the details of the object while creating imagery in the mind. The imagery object in the mind is then viewed in different angles basing the environmental location of the objects. The other method for assessing visualization skills is through place exercise (Bol, 2015).

This involves thinking about a place familiarized with and recalling what is found there, the surroundings or even the smell of the place. This exercises despite enhancing understanding to the individual they also promote recalling capability. The most lacked visualization capability is the ability to recall. Visual imagery is necessary especially in learning situations since the learner can create imagination of the learnt concepts thus increases performance. Learning institutions where students are taught not only through reading but also through visual imaginations tend to have higher performance (Cho & Suh, 2019).

Visualizations skills are mostly used by researchers through issuance of questionnaires to test the visual imagery of the respondents. The recalling problem to some learners affects their educational and tends to perform low. In conclusion, visualization skills are very important since they form higher percentage of dreams held. Visualizations skills can be evaluated through picture object and place exercises that enhance recalling ability (.Buckley et al., 2018). The thinking capability predicts the individual’s actions such as walking, talking habits among others.

Visual imagination when involved in learning situations tends to have a significant result in improved performance. Therefore visualization skills are essential in shaping the life of the persons. References Bol, P. K. (2015). Review of Toward Spatial Humanities: Historical GIS & Spatial History, ed.

Ian N. Gregory and Alistair Geddes (Bloomington, Indiana University Press, 2014). Buckley, J., Seery, N., Canty, D., & Gumaelius, L. (2018). Visualization, inductive reasoning, and memory span as components of fluid intelligence: Implications for technology education. International Journal of Educational Research , 90 , 64-77.

Cho, J. Y., & Suh, J. (2019). Understanding Spatial Ability in Interior Design Education: 2Dâ€toâ€3D Visualization Proficiency as a Predictor of Design Performance. Journal of Interior Design . Figgess, G., & Fogarty, J. (2018, October).

Visualization Skills and Student Success in Engineering Disciplines. In 2018 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE) (pp. 1-4). IEEE. Savran, M.

M., Sà¸rensen, S. M. D., Konge, L., Tolsgaard, M. G., & Bjerrum, F. (2016). Training and assessment of hysteroscopic skills: a systematic review.

Journal of surgical education , 73 (5), . Case Number 2 What Is OUR Business? For as long as Bill Callahan could remember, he had always worked—indeed lived—in a retail store. His father had owned a small meat market in South Philadelphia, and young Bill had played there as a toddler and gone to work there as soon as he was old enough to hold a broom. He had worked in the market on weekends while going to school and college; and when he went into the army, he found himself almost immediately running a Post Exchange.

And Bill loved every minute of it—indeed, his idea of heaven was a huge supermarket in which all the cash registers rang all the time. Bill had known since he was eight or nine that he would own and build a retail chain—and he started on this goal the day he was discharged from the army in the mid-1960s. But he also knew that his chain would be quite different from any other. For Bill had deep convictions as to what makes a successful retail business. “No retailer can carry better or even different goods,†he argued.

“What he can do is first make shopping more enjoyable, friendlier, more fun; and secondly, make the retail store a place where people like to work and a place the employees consider their own personal concern.†This, according to Bill Callahan, meant three things: First, no chain could contain more than a handful of stores—no more than what one owner-manager could manage by example, by frequent visits of inspection, and by personal control. Second, each store had to have a center of strength, something that made it distinguished. And finally, the key people in each store—the manager and the department managers—had to have a personal stake in the store’s success. Callahan’s first store was a medium-sized supermarket on the outskirts of a metropolitan community; he got a very cheap rental, as the former operator had gone bankrupt.

Within three months, Callahan’s store was flourishing. “All I did,†said Callahan, “was to think through the areas in which a supermarket needs excellence—its meats and produce—for everything else is packaged by the manufacturer. So I personally ran the meat and the produce departments, until they were outstanding. Then I thought through how to give distinction to a small store—and I started the first flower-and-plant department in a supermarket in my area. This completely changed the store’s physical appearance and attraction, and the department also makes a good deal of money.

Finally, I knew why people come back to a store—they like the way they’re treated. So I stressed being friendly, being friendly, being friendly, until every employee got the idea.†Nine months after the first store opened, Callahan opened the second. He moved over to the new store as manager and gave his successor at the first store a substantial share in the store’s profits, with smaller shares for the department managers—all the way down to the women at the checkout counters. Within three years, Callahan had eleven stores in the same metropolitan area. Then, instead of opening more supermarkets, he decided to start a new chain—a chain of garden centers.

He repeated the pattern there—and then shifted to home-service centers for the do-it-yourself home owner, built around hand tools and small power tools. His next venture was a chain of greeting-card stores—small, high-turnover, and run by one person. Thirty years after he had started with his first store, Bill Callahan incorporated as Callahan Associates, with four chains, a total of forty stores, and in excess of $150 million in sales. Each of the chains had its own general manager who had started out as a checker or clerk and worked his or her way up through store management. Together with Callahan, a financial executive, and a human resource executive—all former store managers who had started at the bottom—they constituted the company’s executive committee.

The general managers of the chains had a small profit participation in Callahan Associates and a substantial participation in the profits of their own chain. Each store manager under them had a smaller share in the chain’s profits and a substantial share in his or her store’s profits—and so on, all the way down, with every employee with more than eighteen months of service participating in some sort of profit-sharing plan. Callahan deeply believed that the company had to expand to give people promotional opportunities. And since he also believed that no one chain should grow beyond the point where one person could easily manage it and know every nook and cranny of it, this meant going purposefully into new businesses every six or seven years.

Accordingly, he started in the fall of 1995—almost exactly thirty years after he opened his first store—to look around for the next business to go into. He finally picked two as most promising: a chain of “outdoor-wear stores‗blue jeans, boots, Western shirts, and so on; and a chain of simple restaurants featuring steak, roast beef, chicken, and so on. However, he knew that he should tackle only one of these at a time. Callahan had learned how difficult it is to get a new venture going and knew that he himself would have to spend most of his time on it for the first two or three years. It was the policy of Callahan Associates to make all major decisions unanimously in the Executive Committee.

In the past that had been very much a formality—the members followed Callahan’s lead. But when he brought up the new expansion plans, Callahan unexpectedly ran into serious opposition. Everyone agreed that it was time to get a new venture going. Everyone agreed that they had to concentrate on one venture. Indeed, everyone seemed to agree that the two areas Callahan had picked offered excellent opportunities.

But half the group was bitterly opposed to going into anything that had to do with “fashion†(the outdoor-wear business), and the other half was as bitterly opposed to going into a “personal service†business (restaurants). “We know a good deal about food and home products,†he said. “Our customers are housewives and homeowners. ‘Outdoor wear’—that’s kids to begin with, and it is style and promotion and sex appeal—not our bag. “Restaurants,†the others argued, “are not for us. We know how to sell things to people, but restaurants sell service and atmosphere and have to cook and cater to guests—not our bag. “All right,†said a thoroughly exasperated Callahan, “you have told me what our business is NOT—but how does one go about deciding what it is or should be? You all agree that the market opportunities are good in both areas. So what we need to think through is what it is we are, we can do, we believe in.â€

Paper For Above instruction

The process of thinking through fundamental business questions, such as the identity of the company and its strategic direction, requires a comprehensive approach that encompasses both analytical and creative thinking. To effectively determine what a business is or should be, leaders must engage in structured reflection, market analysis, and introspection of core competencies and values.

First, it is essential to assess the company's mission, vision, and core values. These elements serve as guiding principles that define the organization’s purpose and ethical stance, providing a foundation for strategic decision-making (Kaplan & Norton, 2001). Clarifying what the company stands for helps in differentiating it from competitors and aligning future initiatives with its fundamental identity. For instance, in Callahan’s case, his emphasis on customer service, store management, and employee engagement exemplifies core values that can shape decision-making processes.

Secondly, conducting a thorough market analysis is crucial. This involves identifying market needs, understanding consumer preferences, evaluating industry trends, and assessing competitors. Market analysis allows a business to recognize opportunities and threats, helping to determine where it can create competitive advantages (Porter, 1980). For Callahan, analyzing customer demographics and preferences in outdoor wear and restaurants provides insights into potential market fit and profitability.

Third, a business must evaluate its own resources, capabilities, and competencies. This internal analysis reveals what the organization can excel at and where it might face limitations (Barney, 1991). Core competencies—such as Callahan’s expertise in store management, community engagement, and personalized customer service—are vital in shaping which new ventures align with existing strengths.

In addition to analytical methods, creative thinking and envisioning the future are central to defining uncertainty and potential. Techniques such as scenario planning, visualization, and brainstorming help leaders imagine different futures and align them with strategic goals (Schoemaker, 1995). Visualizing how the new outdoor-wear or restaurant chain would operate, appeal to customers, and fit within the existing company culture are valuable exercises.

Frequently, businesses undertake strategic planning retreats or workshops that combine SWOT analyses, values clarification, and innovative thinking sessions. These activities foster consensus and clarity about organizational identity. Leaders must also consider organizational culture and stakeholder perspectives, ensuring that the chosen direction resonates with employees, customers, and shareholders (Schein, 2010).

In Callahan’s scenario, his team faced opposition because they lacked clarity about what their business was or should be beyond peripheral ideas. To resolve this, they could conduct internal assessments of their capabilities and external market cues, clarify their key value propositions, and run scenario analyses to visualize success in either field. Establishing a shared understanding of core identity would enable more focused decision-making, reducing conflicts, and leading to choices aligned with organizational strengths and values.

Ultimately, thinking through the questions of “what are we?” and “what should we be?” is a dynamic process that combines analytical frameworks with creative visualization. Leadership must synthesize data-driven insights with intuitive understanding of organizational purpose, aiming for strategic coherence and sustainable competitive advantage (Prahalad & Hamel, 1990). Only through such a comprehensive and reflective process can an organization define its core identity and strategic future effectively.

References

• Barney, J. (1991). Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage. Journal of Management, 17(1), 99–120.
• Kaplan, R. S., & Norton, D. P. (2001). The Strategy-Focused Organization: How Balanced Scorecard Companies Thrive in the New Business Environment. Harvard Business Press.
• Porter, M. E. (1980). Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors. Free Press.
• Prahalad, C. K., & Hamel, G. (1990). The core competence of the corporation. Harvard Business Review, 68(3), 79–91.
• Schein, E. H. (2010). Organizational Culture and Leadership. Jossey-Bass.
• Schoemaker, P. J. (1995). Scenario Planning: A Tool for Strategic Thinking. MIT Sloan Management Review, 36(2), 25-40.
• Figgess, G., & Fogarty, J. (2018). Visualization Skills and Student Success in Engineering Disciplines. IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference.
• Savran, M. M., Sørensen, S. M. D., Konge, L., Tolsgaard, M. G., & Bjerrum, F. (2016). Training and assessment of hysteroscopic skills: a systematic review. Journal of Surgical Education, 73(5), 856–866.
• Bol, P. K. (2015). Toward Spatial Humanities: Historical GIS & Spatial History. Indiana University Press.
• Cho, J. Y., & Suh, J. (2019). Understanding Spatial Ability in Interior Design Education. Journal of Interior Design, 44(4), 11–22.