Assignment on Innovative Thinking and Employee Development

Running head: INNOVATIVE THINKING
INNOVATIVE THINKING IN EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author note

INNOVATIVE THINKING AND EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT1
Green (2007) states that for a creative organization the belief of creative thinking should
be supported and instilled by all the level of the organization. Creative thinking is perhaps one of
the leading reasons for the success of the organization. Creative thinking is not limited to the
leaders alone, the employees also play a vital role in forming new ideas that can boost the
company’s progress (Lu et al, 2017). The following report analyses the process and the
techniques which contribute to the process of innovative thinking among the employers as well
as the employees.
According to studies, the main objective of creativity is not just to generate ideas within
an organization but at the same time having the effective strategy and ability to implement as
well (Fong et al, 2018). Adams (1989) suggests that there needs to be a double-scale approach
and there needs be a balance between the Green Light thinking skills and the Red Light thinking
skills which denotes creating more ideas and the ability of implementation. Fong et al (2018)
suggest, that to promote the creative thinking process it is important to ask the right questions
that can help with problem solving skills. Incubation period is the next step in the creative
thinking process that involves the subconscious mind to help in the problem solving skills (Ritter
et al, 2014). In an organization, simply generating an idea is not enough, they should be ready to
risk implementing it as well.
Adams (1989) of the opinion that creative process takes two very different types of
process for generating new ideas and to solve problems that is exploratory and critical thinking
process. When solving any problem it is very important to use both kinds of thinking to come up
with a solution. Some organizations ask their employees to think about the problems they might
have faced and come up with solution to fix them. Studies show that when such process is
promoted at work, employees can often feel more involved in the decision making process as

INNOVATIVE THINKING AND EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT2
well as it helps to create an environment of creativity at work (Adams, 1989). Group sessions can
improve interpersonal relationship among the members of the organization and promote effective
problem solving skills (Paulus et al, 2000). Ogilvy is of the opinion that effective creativity
cannot compromise on the brand values. An idea no matter how good maybe rejected as it does
not correlate to the values of the brand (Ogilvy, 2013). This is very common in creative thinking
places and it is important that members as well as the mangers deal with the negative responses
more positively.
Studies indicate that there is a relationship between critical thinking and innovation.
Criticism is essential for the idea to be analyzed so that it can be improved. It is noticed that
criticism can be difficult for the people to handle and can lead to mismanagement of the creative
talent (Fong et al, 2018). Managers of the companies must ensure that they asses the various
components of the creative idea while ensuring that the team is able to handle the difficult news
as well. Studies state that there is a direct correlation between data to decision making process.
Hence, when managers want to engage in creative and innovative thinking they must be critical
of the various ideas that reach them so that the best can be selected and implemented.
Studies show that innovation through creative thinking process can create long lasting
impact on the company and taken it to a competitive position. The case study of Visa shows that,
it is one of the very first near-virtual company that in the present day links more than 21,000
financial institution and has about 1.3 billion Visa card holders. Good leadership and
management style is responsible for Visa’s success (Lu et al, 2017). Yet it is the innovative
thinking that has led the company to its present success. Management attitude is a key factor in
promoting creative thinking process. Lu et al (2017) shows that one of the primary characteristic