SHR044-6 : Mobilising Creativity And Innovation

Running head: CREATIVITY AT THE WORKPLACE
CREATIVITY AT THE WORKPLACE
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1CREATIVITY AT THE WORKPLACE
Executive Summary
The 21st century business environment has become considerably competitive and dynamic. There
exist a large number of factors as present in the business environment which can have a strong
impact on the overall performance of the workplace at large. Hence, in lieu of this, creativity and
innovation have a critical role to play in ensuring that the overall performance of a firm increase.
The primary aim of the report is to highlight the meaning and importance of creativity and
innovation at the workplace by relating it the theoretical aspects and stating it with reference to
the organization which has been chosen for the assessment named the Diwan of Royal court. The
different individual blocks to creativity at the workplace has been analyzed which is then
followed by the various approaches to creativity and its importance. A conclusion summarizes
the learning and certain recommendations have also been provided which are as follows:
 The hiring of the different employees has to take place in the right manner.
 The employees need to be provided with adequate flexibility.
 The employees are required to be rewarded for creativity.
 They should be provided with adequate time to recharge themselves.

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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Analysis...........................................................................................................................................3
Critical evaluation of individual creativity at the Diwan of Royal Court....................................3
Approaches to Fostering Individual Creativity at the Diwan of Royal Court.............................4
The contribution of creativity and innovation at the workplace- Using theoretical perspectives
.....................................................................................................................................................5
The Plan to promote individual creative thinking in the organization has been given as follows. .6
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................7
Recommendations............................................................................................................................8
References......................................................................................................................................10
Bibliography..................................................................................................................................11

3CREATIVITY AT THE WORKPLACE
Introduction
The primary objective of the report is to highlight the importance of the organizational
creativity and innovation which takes place in the workplace and thereby underlying the
importance of innovation at a workplace. Innovation can be described as the adaptation to a new
technology and improvised work related processes which would thereby contribute to the overall
success of the workplace at large (Amabile et al. 1996). The report will follow a structured
format whereby the theoretical concepts related to underpinning individual block of creativity
and evaluations along with approaches to enhance creative thinking will be determined.
Moreover, ways in which the organizational creativity may be fostered at the workplace will also
be identified and certain recommendations based on the same will also be identified. With
respect to both established as well as new firms, innovation is crucial because, the businesses
these days function in a dynamic environment and in case they fail to innovate, the customers,
employees and the community suffer at large. Moreover, for some individuals creativity becomes
difficult as it cannot be decided where to start and where to look out for and hence, they cannot
improvise (Andriopoulos 2001). However, this report will assist in understanding the process of
creativity and innovation.
Analysis
Critical evaluation of individual creativity at the Diwan of Royal Court
According to Amabile (1996), fostering creativity is not an easy task and an organization
as a whole is faced by various barriers with respect to this. At the Diwan of Royal Court, there
exists various blocks to the in individual creativity and this section will analyze the reasons
behind this blocks and their respective ways in which these blocks can be easily overcome.
Proctor (1999) believes that the first block which exists in the path of creativity in the firm is the

4CREATIVITY AT THE WORKPLACE
Government intervention. As the company is a firm which is owned by the government, there
exists considerable political restriction and rules which tends to limit the different workers to
perform as per their full capability (Hennessey and Amabile 2010). If this kind of a barrier was
not present with the different members of the firm they would have been successful in ensuring
that they could apply creativity to their workplace.
The second block is the mental block. Andriopoulos (2001), states that very often some
people like to function with a particular stereotype in mind and with respect to this they often
tend to believe that if they change their ways, it may lead to a considerable loss for the firm on
the whole. Moreover, another block which exists at the workplace at the Diwan of Royal Court
is the communication breakdown. As per Dawson and Andriopoulos (2014), the communication
at the workplace is not adequate and there exists a large amount of bureaucracy in the firm which
may thereby have a strong impact on the performance of the employees with respect to creativity
(Amabile et al. 1996). The last kind of block which limits the different individuals are the
personal problems block. Sometimes, certain employees at Diwan, may be faced by certain
personal problems which may then overpower their ability to think in a creative manner.
Approaches to Fostering Individual Creativity at the Diwan of Royal Court
The two approaches which will be most suitable to the Diwan of Royal Court in order to
foster adequate creativity at the workplace can be stated as follows:
1. Rewards and Recognition
According to Andriopoulos (2001), the rewards as well as the revenue strategy forms one
of the most critical strategies which can be used by the different members of the organization to
foster creativity at the workplace. If the different employees as present in the Diwan of Court

5CREATIVITY AT THE WORKPLACE
will be regularly provided with different rewards as well as regulations in order to encourage
them to perform better at the workplace, then they will be able to successfully perform better and
contribute more towards the success of the workplace (Runco 2014).
2. A feedback mechanism
A fixed feedback mechanism needs to be formed at the Diwan of the Royal Court with
respect to which the different members at the workplace will be easily able to give in their
opinion and will be respected for the same as a record shall be maintained (Henry 2006).
The contribution of creativity and innovation at the workplace- Using theoretical
perspectives
The creativity and the innovation which exists in a workplace has a key role to play.
According to Isaksen, Dorval and Treffinger (2000), the creativity and innovation have become
critical aspects for achieving success in the business and as the business environment has become
considerably dynamic, the need has increased considerably. Hence, with respect to this, a firm
will need to ensure that the different members of the firm are quite creative at the workplace and
hence, this shall have a direct impact on the overall functioning of the workplace at large. Henry
(2006) states that Creativity can be stated to be the ability to produce new ideas and forms the
pioneer of innovation. VanGundy (1988), states that the innovation is the implementation aspect
of the creativity procedure and it is with respect to this that the creativity forms the driving force.
Hence, Hurson (2007) agrees to it that the different members as present at the workplace should
promote individual creativity and break down the knowledge in order to restructure it so as to
ensure that the overall organization benefits from it.

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The different benefits of fostering creativity individually at the workplace are many.
According to Dawson and Andriopoulos (2014), the first way in which individual creativity
benefits the different workplace related aspects is that it leads to improvements in the procedure
of problem solving. This is because it is the employees who face the problem and this is the
reason that they are the one who will be able to come up with a best solution. Hence, if they are
given the power, they will be successfully able to ensure that the problems are solved faster. In
addition to this, as agreed by Hennessey and Amabile (2010), creativity serves as a trigger to the
innovation process which takes place. If there exists creativity, the innovation at the workplace
will automatically follow. Moreover, individual creativity and the fostering of it also contributes
towards the increase of the productivity at the workplace and with respect to this, the
organization can perform well (Weisberg 2006). Lastly, the biggest impact of creativity at the
workplace is that it helps the organization to attain a competitive edge which each business
strives to achieve at large.
The Plan to promote individual creative thinking in the organization has been given as
follows:
Sr. No Activity Relevance Person
Responsible
Time frame
1 Meeting with the
employees
To make them
understand about
the different
benefits of
creative
The CEO 1 week

7CREATIVITY AT THE WORKPLACE
thinking.
2 Providing the
employees with
adequate
training and
freedom
So as to ensure
the employees
know the
manner in which
creativity has to
be fostered.
The HR
Manager and
departmental
heads
1 month
3 Follow up
Activities
Rewards
Flexibility to
them
Time to recharge
Hiring the
employees
In order to
continue the
wave of the
individual
creative thinking
ability of the
different
employees at
large.
The Functional
Heads
The HR manager
continuous
Conclusion
Creativity does form an integral part of the workplace. This is because of the increased
complexity of the workplace environment which leaves the different members of the firm on the
motto that the fittest survives. Hence, the main aim of the report was to analyze the importance
of individual creativity at the workplace and the ways in which it contributes to the overall
performance. The organization which had been chosen for the purpose of the report was Diwan

8CREATIVITY AT THE WORKPLACE
of Royal Court. The first part of the report critically analyzed the various reasons and the blocks
which exist in the firm which tend to limit the creativity at the workplace. This was then
followed by the alternative approaches to foster creativity which can be followed by the different
employees as present in the workplace. Two of the approaches had been described in detail
namely the rewards and recognition along with the feedback mechanism. Lastly, the manner in
which creativity and innovation can bring about positive changes to the workplace have also
been discussed at large. The following section will recommend ways in which the creativity can
be fostered at the workplace.
Recommendations
According to Dawson and Andriopoulos (2014), it is not always the case that there exists
adequate creativity at the workplace, and very often there exists a situation whereby the
creativity at the workplace along with the innovation often comes to a standstill and hence, needs
to be promoted at the workplace. Hence, the main objective of this section is to recommend
certain ways and techniques using which the Diwan of Royal Court can foster creativity at the
workplace.
1. Rewarding creativity
The different employees, as stated earlier need to be adequately rewarded for their
creativity at the workplace (Runco 2014). This means that the different employees need
to be provided with various bonuses as well as incentive offers using which the different
members of the firm will be successfully able to ensure that they are lured to use their
thinking and take out innovative ways for the different members of the firm at large
(Hennessey and Amabile 2010).
2. Hiring the right people

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The primary key to fostering creativity at the workplace is to hire the right kind of
people. Once the organization is able to hire the right kind of people, they will be able to
ensure that these people apply their knowledge into the workplace benefit.
3. Providing flexible working hours
Additionally, if the different employees are provided with adequate perks then they will
be able to ensure successful creativity and thereby innovation at the workplace.
4. Giving employees the time to recharge well.
The employees need to be provided with adequate opportunity so that they are easily able
to use their creativity at the workplace and are thereby able to ensure that they feel liable
to perform adequately (Dawson and Andriopoulos 2014).

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References
Amabile, T.M., Conti, R., Coon, H., Lazenby, J. and Herron, M., 1996. Assessing the work
environment for creativity. Academy of management journal, 39(5), pp.1154-1184.
Andriopoulos, C., 2001. Determinants of organisational creativity: a literature
review. Management decision, 39(10), pp.834-841.
Dawson, P. and Andriopoulos, C., 2014. Managing change, creativity and innovation. Sage.
Hennessey B.A. and Amabile T.M. 2010. Creativity. Annual Review of Pschyology. Vol. 61:569-
598 (Volume publication date 10 January 2010)
Henry, J. ed., 2006. Creative management and development. Sage.
Hurson, T., 2007. Think better. McGraw-Hill.
Isaksen, S.G., Dorval, K.B. and Treffinger, D.J., 2000. Creative approaches to problem solving:
A framework for change. Kendall Hunt Publishing Company.
Isaksen, S.G., Lauer, K.J. and Ekvall, G., 1999. Situational outlook questionnaire: A measure of
the climate for creativity and change. Psychological reports, 85(2), pp.665-674.
Proctor, T., 1999. Creative problem solving for managers. Psychology Press.
Runco, M.A., 2014. Creativity: Theories and themes: Research, development, and practice.
Elsevier.
VanGundy, A.B., 1988. Techniques of structured problem solving. Springer.
Weisberg, R.W., 2006. Creativity: Understanding innovation in problem solving, science,
invention, and the arts. John Wiley & Sons.