Enhancing Creativity and Innovation in Diwan of Royal Court, Oman

This report concerns with the implementation of creativity and innovation in the Diwan of Royal Court, Oman. The study reveals certain issues within the organizational framework of the Diwan and it attempts at providing a plan of action in order to address the problems that have been identified before. The recommendations include things such as; CPD, organization of training programmes and the creation of various other education facilities for the employees. Further, suggestions to include various other structural changes within the workplace in order to foster creativity and innovation.

To:
University
Unit Name: Mobilising Creativity and Innovation
Unit Code: SHR044-6 (Europe and Oman)
Title of Coursework: Assignment 1
Date:
Name
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Executive Summary
The following report concerns with the implementation of creativity and innovation in the Diwan
of Royal Court, which is part of the State of Oman. The concepts of creativity and innovation
have been theoretically explored and in light of the theoretical frameworks, the current situation
in the Diwan of Royal Court has been studied. The study reveals certain issues within the
organizational framework of the Diwan and it attempts at providing a plan of action in order to
address the problems that have been identified before.
The recommendations include things such as; CPD, organization of training programmes and the
creation of various other education facilities for the employees. Further, suggestions to include
various other structural changes within the workplace in order to foster creativity and innovation.
In addition, in order to give them discretion and some rights so that they can work independently
and make important decisions without any delay.
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Table of Contents
Introduction 4
Analysis 4
Individual Creativity 4
Theories on Creativity and Innovation 5
Plan to Promote Creativity in the Diwan of Royal Court 7
Conclusion 8
Recommendations 8
References 10
Bibliography 11
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Introduction
The Diwan of Royal court is a part of the administrative system of the State of Oman under His
Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said. The Diwan of Royal Court is located in Muscat is one
of the most important governmental organizations of the Sultanate and is an integral part of the
governing framework. Headed by the Sultan, it is responsible for the carrying out of financial
and administrative functions of the State (Muscat Daily News, 2018).
The aim of this study is to critically evaluate individual creativity in Diwan of Royal Court and
finding alternatives to foster individual creativity and innovation.
Among the objectives, first is to understand the overall state of individual creativity in Diwan of
Royal Court. Secondly, to make a report for the top management of the organization to bring
change in the operation process that shall encourage employees and managers to think in out-of-
the-box ways.
As the last objective, research has to be done to find innovative ways that shall help them in
finding intelligent and unpredictable solutions to their problems.
The report shall cover firstly, creative endeavor present in Diwan of Royal Court. Secondly, the
reason for hampering creativity in the authoritative concern. Thirdly, the various ways in which
creativity can be fostered in Diwan of Royal Court.
As importance of Organizational Creativity and innovation, fostering creativity is very
essential in order to generate ideas that can be subsequently implemented. Hampering creativity
brings in misconduct, rise of costs of carrying activities and lowering of productivity. Thus,
creativity has to be instilled and fostered. There are many reasons that makes innovative thinking
difficult for individuals, such as, the excessively bureaucratic structure, lack of communication
and a paucity of education and training (Runco, 2014).
Analysis
Individual blocks to creative thinking
 Being practical: Creativity, as defined by Daniel Burns, is a function of knowledge,
curiosity and imagination (metaphorical thinking and shifting away from practical
thinking). (Burrus, 2018). Being way much practical stifles the innovative ideas and
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thinking. The foundation of creativity is therefore, a wide base of knowledge and an wide
base of thinking.
 Creativity cannot be measures and tested: Creativity is an abstract concept and it
cannot be measured quantitatively. One can only point out certain determinants but
cannot measure it in quantifiable terms. It is thus hard to know how much a staff is
creative and thus taking steps to help him be more innovative (Weisberg, 2015).
 Ambiguous and lack of communication: In case of Diwan of Royal Court, half of the
work specifications are not clearly communicated and there is no such laid down way or
means for carrying out work. This hinders creativity as staffs do not get bsasis on which
they should think and innovate.
 Following Rules: Within the workplace of Diwan, where an elaborate bureaucratic
structure is maintained rules, regulations and irrelevant officialdom often take precedence
over an individual’s capacity to think in unconventional terms. Therefore, the existing
structure becomes responsible for delays, which prevent the efficient and prompt solving
of everyday problems, thus, harming individual creativity. Focus should be made on the
individual level, which forms the building blocks of group and subsequently
organisational creativity (Omaninfo.com, 2018).
 Traditional procedures of problem solving and lack of training: Efforts should be
made to bolster up individual creative potential. This will make sure that the employees,
rather than employing traditional procedures of problem solving can think of newer and
more efficient approaches towards the same issues (Isaksen et al. 2016). The
management of the Diwan, headed by Sultan Qaboos has to take the lead in inculcating
the values in the employees.
Theories on Creativity and Innovation
It is a common folly to equate the concepts of creativity and innovation and use them
interchangeably. The differences between the terms need to be substantiated before attempting at
theorising on creativity and innovation (Hong and Proctor, 2015). As can be understood from the
above section, creativity is a subjective process that has no material implications in itself.
Creativity helps in producing ideas only. However, for ideas to be successful, they have to be
implemented practically. The application of creativity in a practical context can be referred to as
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innovation. Innovation produces results, which can be objectively measured. Therefore,
creativity and innovation are both of equal importance to the organisation (Johansson-Sköldberg
et al. 2013).
It must also be understood that innovation operates in a group level and therefore, innovation
necessitates teamwork and proper coordination among individual team members.
Figure 1: Design thinking model (theory) for creative thinking
(Source: Michaelides, 2016)
Modern day organisations are using design thinking in order to mobilise creativity and
innovation within their workplaces. Design thinking integrates the concepts of creativity and
innovation by categorizing the process from problem finding to solution implementation under
three heads namely, inspiration, ideation and implementation (Marshall, 2018). The innovation
funnel of Vangundy is also put to use in various other organisation. By this mechanism, ideas are
funneled. Here, problem analysis and redefinition is done, then, idea is generated and after that, it
is evaluated.
Another important model of creativity can be said to be the Graham Wallas model for creative
thinking. As per the theory, there are five stages such as preparation, incubation, intimation,
illumination and verification (Kjellberg et al. 2015).
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Figure 2: Wallace’s model for creative thinking
(Source: learner)
Plan/Alternative approaches to enhance creative thinking in the Diwan of Royal Court
Creativity can be promoted in the Diwan of Royal Court By succumbing to various kinds of
measures. It has to be understood that there is less amount of individual creativity present among
the functioning of the staffs or members in the Royal Diwan. The employers have to work and
function as per the strict order of the supercars in the bureaucratic chain (Dawson and
Andriopoulos, 2014). Chain of command has to be eased and each employee as per their
positions should be given own discretionary powers so that they can take quick actions in
situations of need. This shall help in bolstering the speed of actions and decisions that are made.
Further, use of traditional communication measures and tools of administration has also crippled
the smooth functioning of the organisation. A disdain towards use of westernised modern
technology has also brought backwardness in the overall functionality and innovation procedure
in the working of the Diwan. In order to boost up the creativity and innovation, widespread
training has also to be provided to be staffs working in the Diwan (Barnett, 2015). Proper
training can help them take creative ways for recording and delivering information at the time of
need. This shall help in making the overall working of the government much faster.
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Conclusion
In this study, the various theories of innovation and creativity have been taken into consideration.
The report aim and objective was to sort out the condition of individual creativity and innovation
in Diwan of Royal Court and on basis of that, to deliver ways which can further develop the
condition of individual creativity. Different models have also been applied in order to critically
evaluate the means by which structured techniques, or alternative approaches, might be used to
enhance creative thinking. The overall individual group creativity of the members of the Diwan
under Sultan has been mentioned in the first part. Developing measures have been mentioned.
The overall scenario, the political factors working in the backdrop and the overall functioning of
the Diwan of Oman has been considered. On basis of comparing the theories with the real
situation, different plans have been strategized, which can ensure betterment of the scene of
creativity and innovation in the overall functioning of the Diwan of Oman. It has been known
that different kind of responsibilities is shouldered by the Diwan, which consist of the people,
immediate to the position of the Sultan. The Governing body functionality in department such as
health, finance, administration, education and other things can be bettered off by bringing in
creativity and innovation in the way things are done, communication is established and decisions
are made. The different kind of recommendations based on the things that need to be done in
order to bring a wholesome development in the functioning of various departments and staffs in
the Diwan as a governing organization, shall be presented in the later part of this study.
Recommendations
The working of the various departments administered and operated by the Diwan needs to be
developed. It has been noticed that due to use of traditional forms of communication, most of the
times, it has worsened the situation.
As a form of complete set of recommendations, it have to be pointed out that modern
machineries and tools of recording and delivering information have to be used. Further, the staffs
in the Diwan have also to be trained regarding the usability of these tools so that they may work
better with these. They should also be given with discretion and some rights so that they can
work independently and make important decisions without any delay.
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Thirdly, continuing professional Development (CPD) has to be applied and inculcated among the
staffs. This system shall help them in understanding what improvements they need to make in
them in order to achieve some objectives. Fourthly, staffs have to be encouraged to carry on
with further education in relation to their work. This shall help them to get promotions, be more
satisfied towards their work and this shall enable them to be more creative and productive.
As the last piece of advice, it can be recommended that digital methods of communication have
to be established among various departments in the Diwan so that all work can be done
smoothly.
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References
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Burrus, D. (2018). Creativity and Innovation: Your Keys to a Successful Organization. [online]
HuffPost. Available at: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/daniel-burrus/creativity-and-
innovation_b_4149993.html [Accessed 14 Nov. 2018].
Dawson, P. and Andriopoulos, C., (2014). Managing change, creativity and innovation. Sage.
Hong, T.S. and Proctor, T., (2015). Exploration of A Creative Problem Solving Technique. In
Proceedings of the 1997 World Marketing Congress pp. 101-104. Springer, Cham.
Isaksen, S.G., Kaufmann, A.H. and Bakken, B.T., (2016). An Examination of the Personality
Constructs Underlying Dimensions of Creative Problem‐Solving Style. The Journal of Creative
Behavior, 50(4), pp.268-281.
Johansson-Sköldberg, U., Woodilla, J. and Çetinkaya, M. (2013). Design Thinking: Past, Present
and Possible Futures. Creativity and Innovation Management, 22(2), pp.121-146.
Kjellberg, H., Azimont, F. and Reid, E., (2015). Market innovation processes: Balancing stability
and change. Industrial Marketing Management, 44, pp.4-12.
Marshall, A. (2018). There's A Critical Difference Between Creativity And Innovation. [online]
Business Insider. Available at: https://www.businessinsider.com/difference-between-creativity-
and-innovation-2013-4?IR=T [Accessed 14 Nov. 2018].
Michaelides, D., (2016). Creative Problem-Solving Model. In The Innovation Tools Handbook,
Volume 2 pp. 83-92. Productivity Press.
Muscat Daily News (2018). Diwan of Royal Court opens new health complex for employees -
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https://www.muscatdaily.com/Archive/Oman/Diwan-of-Royal-Court-opens-new-health-
complex-for-employees-2fi4 [Accessed 14 Nov. 2018].
Omaninfo.com (2018). The Government and State Institutions of Oman - system of government
is Sultani (Royal), hereditary in the male descendants of Sayyid Turki bin Said bin Sultan,
provided that the one to be chosen as successor shall be a Muslim, judicious, of sound mind an |
OmanInfo.com. [online] Omaninfo.com. Available at:
http://www.omaninfo.com/oman/government-and-state-institutions-oman.asp [Accessed 14 Nov.
2018].
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Runco, M.A., (2014). Creativity: Theories and themes: Research, development, and practice.
Elsevier.
Weisberg, R.W., (2015). On the usefulness of “value” in the definition of creativity. Creativity
Research Journal, 27(2), pp.111-124.
11

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innovation_b_4149993.html [Accessed 14 Nov. 2018].
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Behavior, 50(4), pp.268-281.
Johansson-Sköldberg, U., Woodilla, J. and Çetinkaya, M. (2013). Design Thinking: Past, Present
and Possible Futures. Creativity and Innovation Management, 22(2), pp.121-146.
Kjellberg, H., Azimont, F. and Reid, E., (2015). Market innovation processes: Balancing stability
and change. Industrial Marketing Management, 44, pp.4-12.
Marshall, A. (2018). There's A Critical Difference Between Creativity And Innovation. [online]
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https://www.muscatdaily.com/Archive/Oman/Diwan-of-Royal-Court-opens-new-health-
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provided that the one to be chosen as successor shall be a Muslim, judicious, of sound mind an |
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