Managing Creativity in Organizations

By: Sofia Farid

Creativity

Creativity is the production of novel and useful ideas of any domain.

Creativity is done by creative people

Innovation is the successful implementation of creative ideas within an organization.

Components of Creativity • Expertise

• Creative Thinking

• Task Motivation

Components of Creativity

Expertise • Foundation for all creative work • Includes memory for factual knowledge, technical

proficiency, and special talents in the work.

Creative Thinking• This skill can be used in any domain • Creative thinking depends on an individuals personality

which are “related to independence, self-discipline, orientation toward risk-taking.”

Task Motivation Intrinsic motivation

Extrinsic motivation

Impact of the Organizational Environment on Creativity• Work Environment affects

creativity

• This figure shows the influence of organizational work environment on the creativity of individuals and teams.

Organizational Culture

Senior leadership shapes an organizations culture. Culture give direction, helps with finding resources and creates balance.

“In the absence of a supportive culture, creativity and innovation are like seedlings planted in rocky soil. They simply won’t germinate and grow” (Luecke, Managing creativity and innovation, P.117)

Organizational culture impacts creativity and forming ideas

A good company has an inward focus, have procedures for resolving conflicts, employees have entitlement, etc.

Managing Creativity

Creative individuals make up a third of the U.S. workforce

Creative employees pioneer new technologies, birth new industries, and power economic growth.

Creative people are motivated from within and respond much better to intrinsic rewards than to extrinsic ones.

In order to manage employees creativity they are put into teams

Teams are then co-located and their knowledge then becomes communicated to each other.

Managing Creativity

Environment in the workplace is very important. Comfortable environments: Create innovating, design, and problem solving

To manage creativity in the work environment managers must “design space and the work processes must be together. Design the physical space so that contact between teammates is frequent and convenient” (Luecke, Managing creativity and innovation, P.115)

Creative people are motivated from within and respond much better to intrinsic rewards than to extrinsic ones

In order to manage creativity, managers must give minimal rewards.

Questions

• Does culture affect creativity?a. True

b. False

• Organizations manager their employees bya. Putting their employees in teams

b. Controlling work environment

c. Managers give minimal rewards

d. All of the above

• With Components of Creativity, expertise is defined as: a. Foundation for all creative work

b. This skill can be used in any domain

c. Includes memory for factual knowledge, technical proficiency, and special talents in the work.

d. A and C

References

Teresa Amabile, "Creativity and Innovation in Organizations," Harvard Business School 1996.

Richard Florida and Jim Goodnight “Managing Creativity” Harvard Business Review

Luecke, R. Managing creativity and innovation, Harvard Business Review, (2003)

Teresa M. Amabile, Constance N. Hadley, and Steven J. Kramer, "Creativity Under the Gun," Harvard Business Review, August 2002