subject: BRINGING ABOUT CREATIVITY IN ORGANISATIONS [print this page] BRINGING ABOUT CREATIVITY IN ORGANISATIONS
By Arshad Husain
Introduction
For managers in most work organizations, one of the most desirable and sought after talents must surely be that of creativity.
Creativity as a Widespread Activity
Whilst it is likely that some people are inherently more creative than others, modern thinking has shifted away from the idea that the situation is one of all or nothing, that we are either creative or not creative, towards the notion that the creative process can be stimulated and improved in the majority of people.
Creativity and Decision Making
Much of the pressure to improve the quality of management decision making has been towards the use of more systematic approaches to problems, and towards the development of more useful analytical and evaluative techniques.
Formulating the Problem
One of the most difficult stages in problem solving in that transition from a situation where "something hurts", to one in which we have to problem in sharp focus.
The Generation of Alternative Solutions
The process of optimisation in decision making depends, amongst other things, on the ability to consider all possible alternatives.
Blocks to Creativity in Organisational Decision Making
If the need for creativity within organisations can so easily be identified, one might ask why it sometimes seems to difficult for decision makers actually to be creative.
The Development of Control Systems and the Desire for Efficiency
One characteristics of growing organisations, is that control over their activity tends to move out of the hands of their originators.
Creative and Non-Creative Roles
Work roles within organisations vary in the extent to which they are prescribed and defined.
Variations in Function
In many organisations, work roles clustered around certain functions are seen as being essentially creative, whilst others are not.
Status Level and the Generation of Ideas
Traditionally, the task of initiating new ideas and of opening up areas for change and development has been seen as the prerogative of senior managers, team leaders, or other who have been given the specials status of idea generator.
Socialisation into Non-Creative Activity
The majority of employees within any large-scale enterprise do not usually take part in decision making activities where they are called upon to exercise any discretion.
Lack of Recognition
Creativity behavior in most large-scale organisations has come to be regarded as something of a bonus, one which cannot be planned in, and which must be sized upon as and when it occurs.
THE CREATIVE INDIVIDUAL
Having previously put forward the idea that creativity is, or at least can be, characteristic of all individuals, it is only fair to admit that some people are visibly more creative than others.
Dissatisfaction
A common finding is, that highly creative individuals tend to show considerable dissatisfaction with the current state of affairs.
Mental Abilities
According to Steiner "highs" (highly creative persons) usually outscore "lows" in tests of conceptual fluency, conceptual flexibility, originality, and in a preference for complexity.
Personality and Emotionality
Some writers have characterised the creative individual as continuously experiencing conflict in being attracted towards what would normally be thought of as conflicting states; between order and disorder, between rationality and intuition, between conformity and non-conformity.
Self Awareness
In general findings about creative individual seem to emphasise the extent to which they have an awareness of themselves, their acceptance of both good and bad personal characteristics, and, in a sense, the way in which they seem able to turn what, to other people would seem, weaknesses into strengths.
The Creative Organisation
There is no doubt that many, if not all, organisations of any size contain some highly creative people.
The Link Between the Individual and the Organisation
Organisations which allow their members to display their creative talents are in some degree themselves behaving in a creative manner. There would seem to be a number of ways to which individual creativity and organisational creativity are linked or related.
Potential Creativity of Organisation Members
The total creativity displayed by an organization is to a very great degree limited by the extent to which its members are capable individually of creative behaviour.
The Value Placed in Creativity by the Organisation
The creative talents of organisational members tend to be used in the interests of that organisation to the extent that they are seen to be valued.
The Building of "Creative" Structures and Management Systems
An impetus to creativity can be provided through the characteristic of the organisational system itself, over and above the potential of its members.
Recruitment or Development
One option which is, of course, open to any organisation, is to seek out and recruit new members who are felt to be especially creative.
Recruitment Tends to be Most Useful During Periods of Organisational Growth
Adding new members to an organisation is a costly business. When increases in personnel as justified by expansion and growth, then, of course, it becomes in perfectly feasible and indeed sensible strategy.
Recruiting "Creative" People tends to Emphasis their Special Status
The danger here is that organisations fall back into the trap of regarding creativity as the possession of the few, rather than of the many; of assuming that the majority of organisational members are non-creators, which they are not.
The Problem of Assessing Creativity
Whilst there have been a number of measures developed which purport to test for and assess creativity, most organisations do not in fact make use of them, preferring instead to look at the record of creative behaviour of potential recruits.
Recruiting for More than "just" Creativity
It is only is very special circumstances that recruiters feel that creativity is the primary quality they are looking for in potential recruits to an organisation.
The Creative Management Strategy
The turning of potential into actual behaviour which is (relatively) highly creative is a central part of the manager's task, especially in the decision making situation.
Such a climate would be characterised by:- The free flow of information and open access to it.- Encouragement and reward for finding, using and sharing such information- Rewards for the positive acceptance of change and risk taking.The Development of Appropriate Control and Reward SystemsThe aspect of the strategy is concerned essentially with the development of the "formal" and systematic aspects of management.The following guidelines, if taken into account when designing or modifying the organisation's reward system, will encourage and stimulate creative decision making activity.(1) Link Rewards to Task AccomplishmentFocus the attention of your decision makers on the end product, by gearing rewards to success in problem solving, and to the accomplishment of organisational objectives, rather than on the minute details of proper procedures. The emphasis should be on "getting the job done", rather than on "doing it the right way".(2) Set High Performance StandardsPerformance targets, which are set within previously demonstrated capacity, are unlikely to encourage creativity and innovation.(3) Reward Cooperative ActivitiesInnovation and creativity is increased through the sharing and cooperative building up of information and of ideas.(4) Encourage Adaptation and ChangeOrganisational rewards should encourage employees to anticipate and accommodate changes. Too rigid and complex a reward system may generate resistance and slow the adoption process.(5) Reward Risk TakingIncreasingly creative decision making almost invariably brings with it an increase in risk.The Development of a Supportive Personal StyleManagers have perhaps seen their task traditionally as being to channel and to control the activities of subordinates in a fairly prescriptive and limiting fashion.Some theory Y assumptions are:(1) The expenditure of physical and mental effort in work is as natural as play or rest.(2) External control, and the threat of punishment, are not the only means for bringing about effort toward organisational objectives. Man will exercise self-direction and self-control in the service of objectives to which he is committed.(3) Commitment to objectives is a function of the rewards associated with their achievement.(4) The average human being learns, under proper conditions, not only to accept, but to seek reasonability.(5) The capacity to exercise a relatively high degree of imagination, ingenuity and creativity in the solution of organisational problems is widely, but narrowly, distributed in the population.(6) Under the conditions of modern industrial life, the intellectual potentialities of the average human being are only partially utilised.The Manager and CreativityWhatever the absolute level of creative ability within a group of employees, the extent to which mere potential is turned into actual behaviour which benefits the organisation will depend very largely on the way the manager chooses to act.The Production/Profit StyleTypified by a high concern for production/profit, a low concern for the needs of the individual.The Needs for People StyleTypified by an overriding concern for the needs of people; little or no direct concern for production / profit.The Rules StyleTypified by a non-managerial style, following the rules, exerting as little effort as possible, consistent with personal survival.The Moderate Concern StyleTypified by moderate concern with production / profits, linked with moderate concern for people.The Concern for both Production and Profit and Needs of People StyleTypified by a high concern for production and profit, coupled with a correspondingly high concern for the needs of people.Management as a Creative ActivityIt is certainly true that some decision situations is which managers find themselves are not ones which call for high levels of creative activity, either from themselves or from subordinates.Their view of the conditions that will promote a movement towards this style are:(1) The recognition that it is possible to gain a competitive advantage through better management.(2) An increasing knowledge and acceptance of ideas from behavioural science, and their application in the management of people.(3) The rising standards of general education, making employees more resourceful and useful to management in decision making but, at the same time, bringing new and different demands and expectations.(4) The growing need for managers to achieve higher levels of creativity and innovation in making decisions and in solving organisational problems.TECHNIQUES FOR DEVELOPING CREATIVITYLong term improvements in creativity and innovative capacity depend very much on an organisation's ability to develop appropriate control and reward systems, and on the adoption of management styles which encourage innovative approaches to problems.Basic Rules for Creativity TechniquesAll techniques which are designed to foster creativity, whatever their particular emphasis, seem to rely on two basic rules or elements. These are:(1) Separate out Judgment and Evaluation from the Generation of Ideas.One certain way of drying up the flow of ideas is to pass judgment on specific notion as they are put forward.(2) Consider All Ideas that are put ForwardOne non-creative way of treating ideas is to deny them evaluation and consideration.Condition which Aid CreativityIt is possible to focus attention and to heighten sensitivity towards the task at hand by structuring the situation in which any particular technique is attempted. Such structural aids, though simple in themselves, go a long way towards improving the chances of success.(1) Set a Define Time Limit on the ExerciseAlthough the actual limit must vary from case to case, there is a lot to be gained by limiting the time available and, perhaps, reducing the chances of over-elaboration and evaluation.(2) Choose a Private Secluded LocationThose working on the technique must be free from distraction and interruption, so as to allow them to focus their full attention on the problem before them. Telephone calls are fatal!(3) Allow Facilities for Writing, Drawing and DisplayIdeas get lost when they are not recorded. Evidence suggests that short term memory inhibits us in problem solving and idea building because of the limited number of steps and developments that can be held in the mind at any one time.(4) Start with Tension Breaking ExercisesIndividuals may well start sessions feeling uncertain, embarrassed, uncomfortable.(5) Give up When the Energy GoesCreativity techniques only really work well when those attempting them are enthusiastic and motivated.The TechniquesMost creativity techniques rely on two basic approaches. These are:(1) The through and systematic analysis of the problem(2) Attempt to encourage a free flow of ideas and the association of previously unrelated notions.An Analytical Technique Attribute ListingThis technique is essentially very simple, and is perhaps most useful.As Association Technique BrainstormingBrainstorming is perhaps the most well known of all creativity techniques.Familiar rules applied in the brainstorming session.- Aim for as many ideas as possible- All ideas must be recorded- Building on to the people's ideas is encouraged- No judgment or criticism is allowedForced Relationship TechniquesOne group of techniques is based upon the establishment of relationships between normally unrelated objects of ideas.A Forced Relationship Technique Focused Object LinkingThis technique is particularly useful in situations where new applications are sought for existing product or services.Individual and Group TechniquesMost of the techniques discussed here are designed primarily fo use in small group.ConclusionThere is considerable danger that managers may see the use of operational creativity techniques as being the "answer" to the creativity problem. http://www.articlesbase.com/leadership-articles/bringing-about-creativity-in-organisations-2704220.html
