Creativity

The Importance of Creativity for Organizations:

Nowadays creativity and innovation are becoming extremely important to the success of all business organizations; because they are facing major and rapid changes in the environment. To cope effectively with the change, organizations must become more innovative, developing the ability to quickly plan and implement adoptions to change their environments.

There is a direct link between creativity and important organizational outcomes such as productivity and quality; because creative thinking increases the quality of solutions to organizational problems, helps to stimulate profitable innovations, revitalizes motivation, upgrades personal skills and catalyzes effective team performance. Therefore organizations must motivate creative thinking because it is obvious that the success of businesses in the rapidly changing future will be determined by their ability to become more creative.

Definition of Creativity:

Creativity is the generation of novel, useful, and predictable ideas that may meet perceived needs or respond to opportunities for the organization. In other words; creativity is seeing analogies where no one else sees them. Actually creativity is the essential first step in innovation, which is vital to long term organizational success.

The Creative Process:

Creativity is a complex process and it is really a part of most non-programmed decisions. Creativity is not something which can be saved for special occasions. On the other hand there are unique features for the creativity. The creative process is used to find problems, identify alternatives and implement solutions. The creative process has 5 basic steps:

a) Preparation: Creativity is not a passive activity; therefore the first step requires a thorough investigation to ensure that all parts of a problem are understood fully. During the preparation stage the employee gather the necessary information and concentrate on the problem or issue.

b) Concentration: In his step, personal or organizational energies and resources are focused on solving the problem, and a commitment is made to find and implement a solution.

c) Incubation: This is the stage of reflective thought. The employee put the problem aside (sometimes out of frustration), but the employee's mind is still working on it unconsciously. This stage is usually aided by working (or playing) on an unrelated object or event.

d) Insight (Illumination): At some point during the incubation stage, we become aware of a unique idea. There flashes of inspiration are fleeting and can be lost quickly if not documented. In other words, creative thoughts do not keep a particular schedule. They might come to you at any time of day or night.

e) Verification: Insights are merely rough ideas. Their usefulness still requires verification through conscious evaluation and experimentation. Therefore the last step involves testing the solution or ideas. The creator seeks corroboration and acceptance of the new approach.

This process can lead to various types of creativity.

 Innovation or an original approach to approach to a problem: Innovation involves seeing the obvious before anyone else does.

 Extension; which involves expanding an idea to another application.

 Duplication; or the copying of good ideas from others; which is the simplest form of creative thought.

Types of Creative People:

The type of creative people also differs like the types of creativity. There are two types of creative people;

-Adaptors

-Innovators

According to Michael Kirton there are two styles of creativity; adaptors and innovators. Both are creative but in different ways. Adaptors; try to figure out how things can be improved. They tend to feel comfortable working with existing boundaries and systems to push for changes that will make systems better. They change cautiously and in small steps. Innovators; on the other hand, are more likely to challenge the existing system and the accepted ways of doing things. They are catalysts for new ideas, often discovering new problems and novel solutions. Innovators challenge rules and break customs.

Businesses need both types of people. They need innovators to shake things up and break from established approaches; they also need adaptors to bring stability and order to the confusion that the innovators can create. Innovators give you the outrageous twists that can be truly ground breaking. Adaptors have the political senility to take these twists and turn them into acceptable ideas that can actually be implemented.

The Characteristics of Highly Creative People and Organizations:

Although everyone has the capacity to be creative; there are remarkable characteristics of highly creative people. Creative people often are known for originality, open-mindedness, curiosity, a focused approach to problem solving, persistence a relaxed and playful attitude and receptivity to new ideas.

The Creative Individual The Creative Organization or Department

1 Conceptual fluency

Open-mindedness Open Channels of communication

Contact with outside sources

Overlapping territories

Suggestions systems; brainstorming; group techniques.

2 Originality Assigning non-specialists to problems

Eccentricity allowed

Hiring people who make you uncomfortable

3 Less Authority

Independence

Self-Confidence Decentralization, loosely defined positions, loose control.

Acceptance of mistakes.

People encouraged to defy their bosses.

4 Playfulness

Undisciplined exploration

Curiosity Freedom to choose and pursue problems.

Not a tight ship, playful culture, doing the impractical.

Freedom to discuss ideas, long time horizon.

5 Persistence

Commitment