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Atricle Dump - Managing Creativity
Well, I haven't been in this situation for some years now, thankfully, but it's good to reflect on old writings, and this is still true today, as it was then ...Probably the hardest part of being unemployed is not knowing when things are going to change for the better. That illusory hope for the future which encourages: "Only a little longer to go and I can get a raise, promotion or big commission deal - is simply not there.So as the bills creep up, (because however you try to work it, you never have quite enough to go 'round), and as the things you can't have or just really don't need become an ever-increasing weight on that other list (things you are going to pay for, sort out and get, once you have a job), you find that little by little your life is becoming smaller and smaller, and that yo
Table 2 shows what each of Ekvall’s 10 dimensions would mean in an extremely creative and a powerfully uncreative climate:
-Dimension: Creative Organisation-->Uncreative Organisation
-Challenge: Energetic-->Indifferent
-Freedom: Independent Initiative-->Rule-Bound
-Dynamism: Excitedly Busy-->Boring/Slow
-Openness: Trust & Failures Accepted-->Failure Punished
-Idea Time: Off Task Play-->Little Off Task Play
-Playfulness: Happy & Humorous-->Dull & Serious
-Conflicts: Debated with Insight-->Warfare
IntroductionMulti-Level Marketing (MLM) is a system of marketing that has been around for some time. Also known as Network Marketing, it is a method of distributing products that involves little or no mass advertising. Instead, marketing of the product is spread by word of mouth of its users.Of course, word-of-mouth marketing is around even longer than MLMs, so what makes it different? Unlike traditional word-of-mouth marketing, the users who spread the word for the company, and gets others to buy the products, gets a commission for doing so. The person who spreads the word is called the Sponsor or Upline, while the person whom he sponsors is called his Downline.To make the deal even sweeter, the company gives the Sponsor a commission for products the Downline of his Downli
The ability of an organisation to create new products/services and innovate new processes is an essential skill providing a sustainable form of competitive advantage.
Given that organisations need to be creative, why are only a few really good at it and why are only a few individuals perceved as creative?
In this article we will examine the theories that underpin creative organisations and the attributes of the managers and individuals who work within them.
Individualism
Theories of why one individual may be more creative than another have changed dramatically over the last 50 years. In the 1950’s it was considered that individuals with creative flair were ‘born’ not ‘bred’ and as such the hunt was on for people with these elusive skills. This theory evolved during the 1960’s but the feeling was still that individuals could not be trained to be creative.
In the 1980’s and 90’s two new theories came to dominate the discussion surrounding creativity, these being ‘intrinsic motivation’ (how much the individual wants to be creative) and the ability of the working environment to either stifle or promote creativity, so called ‘climate’.
Table 1 – Summary of thinking on Creativity
- 1950’s – Creativity is an ability that you either have or don’t have
- 1960’s – Creativity is a function of how mentally flexible you are
- 1970’s – Creativity can only flourish if you have relevant experience
- 1980’s – You must be intrinsically motivated to be creative
- 1990’s – Creativity exists only in the right climate
- 2000's - Innovation is a combination of skills, motivation and climate
The intrinsic motivation, or desire, of an individual to be creative is linked to both their personal values and drives, tempered by the environment in which they work and we need to examine the drivers of the organisational environment next.
Environmental Trauma!
Research undertaken by Ekvall defined 10 dimensions, or characteristics, of a creative working environment. Each dimension has a scale that extends from very uncreative through to very creative and the aim is that through both observation and questionnaires the climate of a business is plotted against each of these 10 categories.
Table 2 shows what each of Ekvall’s 10 dimensions would mean in an extremely creative and a powerfully uncreative climate:
-Dimension: Creative Organisation-->Uncreative Organisation
-Challenge: Energetic-->Indifferent
-Freedom: Independent Initiative-->Rule-Bound
-Dynamism: Excitedly Busy-->Boring/Slow
-Openness: Trust & Failures Accepted-->Failure Punished
-Idea Time: Off Task Play-->Little Off Task Play
-Playfulness: Happy & Humorous-->Dull & Serious
-Conflicts: Debated with Insight-->Warfare
-
There is no particular set of rules that one should follow in motivating employees. We each have our own driving force when it comes to doing an excellent job at work. A working mother could be motivated by her children, who serve as her inspiration to succeed. A trainee who is fresh out of college is motivated by the compulsion to learn and climb to the top. A long-time company employee will get motivated to perform well so that he or she can be promoted. Others are motivated by financial rewards. As a manager, team leader, department head or supervisor, you need to determine the individual driving forces of those who are in your team so that you can create a motivated workforce.1. Goals For Employee Motivation:- Increase employee performance at work- Spice up team spirit and build a cohes
In the 1980’s and 90’s two new theories came to dominate the discussion surrounding creativity, these being ‘intrinsic motivation’ (how much the individual wants to be creative) and the ability of the working environment to either stifle or promote creativity, so called ‘climate’.
Table 1 – Summary of thinking on Creativity
- 1950’s – Creativity is an ability that you either have or don’t have
- 1960’s – Creativity is a function of how mentally flexible you are
- 1970’s – Creativity can only flourish if you have relevant experience
- 1980’s – You must be intrinsically motivated to be creative
- 1990’s – Creativity exists only in the right climate
- 2000's - Innovation is a combination of skills, motivation and climate
The intrinsic motivation, or desire, of an individual to be creative is linked to both their personal values and drives, tempered by the environment in which they work and we need to examine the drivers of the organisational environment next.
Environmental Trauma!
Research undertaken by Ekvall defined 10 dimensions, or characteristics, of a creative working environment. Each dimension has a scale that extends from very uncreative through to very creative and the aim is that through both observation and questionnaires the climate of a business is plotted against each of these 10 categories.
Table 2 shows what each of Ekvall’s 10 dimensions would mean in an extremely creative and a powerfully uncreative climate:
-Dimension: Creative Organisation-->Uncreative Organisation
-Challenge: Energetic-->Indifferent
-Freedom: Independent Initiative-->Rule-Bound
-Dynamism: Excitedly Busy-->Boring/Slow
-Openness: Trust & Failures Accepted-->Failure Punished
-Idea Time: Off Task Play-->Little Off Task Play
-Playfulness: Happy & Humorous-->Dull & Serious
-Conflicts: Debated with Insight-->Warfare
The freight shipping industry in the UK could see some changes taking place over the next few years if the government has its way. These changes will be borne out of a desire to ensure that the UK’s freight shipping industry remains profitable and competitive.According to Stephen Ladyman, who is the minister responsible for freight shipping in the UK, global developments are making changes necessary. As world trading patterns alter he and the government believe that the British freight shipping industry needs to evolve to meet new demands.As a result, all companies operating in the freight shipping sector have been given the opportunity to feed into a review of the industry. This feedback will enable them to have an influence on the UK’s port policy for the next twenty or so y
Table 1 – Summary of thinking on Creativity
- 1950’s – Creativity is an ability that you either have or don’t have
- 1960’s – Creativity is a function of how mentally flexible you are
- 1970’s – Creativity can only flourish if you have relevant experience
- 1980’s – You must be intrinsically motivated to be creative
- 1990’s – Creativity exists only in the right climate
- 2000's - Innovation is a combination of skills, motivation and climate
The intrinsic motivation, or desire, of an individual to be creative is linked to both their personal values and drives, tempered by the environment in which they work and we need to examine the drivers of the organisational environment next.
Environmental Trauma!
Research undertaken by Ekvall defined 10 dimensions, or characteristics, of a creative working environment. Each dimension has a scale that extends from very uncreative through to very creative and the aim is that through both observation and questionnaires the climate of a business is plotted against each of these 10 categories.
Table 2 shows what each of Ekvall’s 10 dimensions would mean in an extremely creative and a powerfully uncreative climate:
-Dimension: Creative Organisation-->Uncreative Organisation
-Challenge: Energetic-->Indifferent
-Freedom: Independent Initiative-->Rule-Bound
-Dynamism: Excitedly Busy-->Boring/Slow
-Openness: Trust & Failures Accepted-->Failure Punished
-Idea Time: Off Task Play-->Little Off Task Play
-Playfulness: Happy & Humorous-->Dull & Serious
-Conflicts: Debated with Insight-->Warfare
A printing press is a specially designed machine used for a wide range of printing processes. Such machines consist of a press, which contains impressions of material to be reproduced and are mechanically transferred or pressed against printing paper or other materials. These printing presses could provide black and white or colored print depending on the requirement.Installation of appropriate printing press for home or commercial purpose could fulfill printing needs. Many small printing presses provide adequate services to commercial clients. These commercial clients are generally small time companies and professionals. These small printing companies provide similar services to that of a large company but on a smaller scale. Printing methodology used by these small presses could be somewhat traditional
Environmental Trauma!
Research undertaken by Ekvall defined 10 dimensions, or characteristics, of a creative working environment. Each dimension has a scale that extends from very uncreative through to very creative and the aim is that through both observation and questionnaires the climate of a business is plotted against each of these 10 categories.
Table 2 shows what each of Ekvall’s 10 dimensions would mean in an extremely creative and a powerfully uncreative climate:
-Dimension: Creative Organisation-->Uncreative Organisation
-Challenge: Energetic-->Indifferent
-Freedom: Independent Initiative-->Rule-Bound
-Dynamism: Excitedly Busy-->Boring/Slow
-Openness: Trust & Failures Accepted-->Failure Punished
-Idea Time: Off Task Play-->Little Off Task Play
-Playfulness: Happy & Humorous-->Dull & Serious
-Conflicts: Debated with Insight-->Warfare
An accountant's job entails working to ensure that business firms and individuals are keeping good records and paying taxes properly and on time. Though the accountant job description for some accounting positions may be simple, other accountant job descriptions are not quite as clear because of the number of duties that are required.In general, an accountant performs vital functions to businesses, as well as individuals, of all types by offering a very wide array of business and accounting services, including public, management and government accounting, as well as internal auditing. These four major fields of accounting, and in addition to having a minimum of a bachelor's degree, each has a separate accountant job description.1. Public AccountantA public accountant job description can be
Table 2 shows what each of Ekvall’s 10 dimensions would mean in an extremely creative and a powerfully uncreative climate:
-Dimension: Creative Organisation-->Uncreative Organisation
-Challenge: Energetic-->Indifferent
-Freedom: Independent Initiative-->Rule-Bound
-Dynamism: Excitedly Busy-->Boring/Slow
-Openness: Trust & Failures Accepted-->Failure Punished
-Idea Time: Off Task Play-->Little Off Task Play
-Playfulness: Happy & Humorous-->Dull & Serious
-Conflicts: Debated with Insight-->Warfare
-Support: People Listen-->Negative/Critical Comments
-Debates: Contentious Ideas Voiced-->Little Questioning
-Risk Taking: Act on New Ideas-->Detail & Committees
From experience, few businesses define themselves as having a highly creative environment as many of the characteristics in this area go against cultural norms for business in many Western cultures, but the best are working toward the creative end of the scale, whilst the norm tends to be toward an environment that stifles creativity.
Having used Ekvall to assess the ability of an organisation to be sustain a creative environment, to then change the environment we need to look at the things that create, or drive, the organisational environment and the biggest driver of all is the prevailing management style.
Management Creativity!
In this context, a Creative Manager is not one who is themselves creative, but one who is able to manage the creativity of others and capable of building a creative environment.
Many researchers have analysed the attributes of such a person. Morgan stated that Creative Managers require 5 skills:
1. They must be proactive and flexible, not tied to rigid methods of working.
2. They must have high levels of Emotional Intelligence (see later).
3. They must possess good man-management skills.
4. They must be able to create a vision of the future for others.
5. They must have a series of competences enabling them to cope with different situations, for example in a single day they may be required to be a friend, a counsellor, a technical wizard as well as a manager.
Morgan refers to Emotional Intelligence as a key skill of the Creative Manager. Emotional Intelligence was popularised by Goleman and consists of 5 main elements:
• Self Awareness – Managers who are self-aware understand what their motivations are and why they get stressed by certain situations and people. Self awareness can be achieved through psychometric profiling.
• Self-Regulation – Sometimes you can cut the office environment with a knife when the boss is annoyed! Self-regulation is concerned with ensuring that the display of emotions are suited to the situation - getting it wrong is very off-putting for others.
• Empathy – Havin
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