2.7 Creativity in organizations

2.7 Creativity in organizations

It has been the topic of various research studies to establish that organizational effectiveness depends on the creativity of the workforce to a large extent.For any given organization,measures of effectiveness vary,depending upon its mission,environmental context,nature of work,the product or service it produces,and customer demands.Thus,the first step in evaluating organizational effectiveness is to understand the organization itself—how it functions,how it is structured,and what it emphasizes.

Amabile argued that to enhance creativity in business,three components were needed:

(1)Expertise(technical,procedural and intellectual knowledge),

(2)Creative thinking skills(how flexibly and imaginatively people approach problems),

(3)Motivation(especially intrinsic motivation).

There are two types of motivation:

(1)extrinsic motivation—external factors,for example threats of being fired or money as a reward,

(2)intrinsic motivation—comes from inside an individual,satisfaction,enjoyment of work,etc.

Six managerial practices to encourage motivation are:

(1)Challenge—matching people with the right assignments;

(2)Freedom—giving people autonomy choosing means to achieve goals;

(3)Resources—such as time,money,space,etc.There must be balance fit among resources and people;

(4)Work group features—diverse,supportive teams,where members share the excitement,willingness to help,and recognize each other's talents;

(5)Supervisory encouragement—recognitions,cheering,praising;

(6)Organizational support—value emphasis,information sharing,collaboration.

Nonaka,who examined several successful Japanese companies,similarly saw creativity and knowledge creation as being important to the success of organizations.In particular,he emphasized the role that tacit knowledge has to play in the creative process.

In business,originality is not enough.The idea must also be appropriate—useful and actionable.Creative competitive intelligence is a new solution to solve this problem.According to Reijo Siltala it links creativity to innovation process and competitive intelligence to creative workers.

Creativity can be encouraged in people and professionals and in the workplace.It is essential for innovation,and is a factor affecting economic growth and businesses.In 2013,the sociologist Silvia Leal Martín,using the Innova 3 DX method,suggested measuring the various parameters that encourage creativity and innovation:corporate culture,work environment,leadership and management,creativity,self-esteem and optimism,locus of control and learning orientation,motivation,and fear.