Creativity, Innovation, and Design Thinking: Individual Efforts or Team Association?

Running Head: MANAGEMENT 0
CREATIVITY INNOVATION
AND DESIGN

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The aim of this essay is to clarify the readers whether successful creativity, innovation and
design thinking are based on efforts of individual employee or it requires team association.
Innovation, creativity and design thinking all based in various enterprises vary on the basis of
manpower and organizational needs. Various relevant theories and practical examples are
also being used in justification of this statement. The research is started with defining all the
three terms i.e. creativity, innovation and design thinking and later on various arguments are
being made in extent with theories and examples.
Today’s business environment is highly competitive and requires organization to undertake
innovation and creativity in every root of its structure. It not only helps the organization to
attain competitive edge in the respective sector but also benefits them to ensure its
sustainability with building of new value and knowledge. The innovation in a business firm
also revolves around interactive process in respect with various applications and information
generation (Hacklin and Wallnofer, 2012). To make innovation to arise, it is significant for
business firm to build generate knowledge, facilitates sharing control and its associated use.
For developed organisations, creativity is vital to pull their competitive edge and to leave the
competitors behind but it can only be possible for them by valuing the ideas and knowledge
of its employees.
The creativity in organisation terms can be defined as the tendency to create knowledge or
identify concepts, substitutes or opportunities that may be useful for solving complex
problems, designing products and facilitate communication with others. It is considered as a
significant part of the innovation process that allows enterprise to stay distinct position in the
marketplace (Kuratko and Audretsch, 2009). It is also an immeasurable effort that benefits
the corporate to use some original ideas for build something different in the market while
achieving a unique position. Yet, some organisations fully depend on research divisions for
facilitating innovation and this outlook various creative ideas of the employees and
management. This shows the importance to include employee in innovation process so as to
gains new directions and outlooks. However, it is also a fact that technology and innovation
itself contributes in employee motivation and satisfaction.
The next big thing in design thinking which helps the organisation for creative problem
solving and it acts as a human-centred process that encourages firm to embrace upon people

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so as to improve internal process and develop better products and services. It is also known as
innovation strategy benefit the business to innovate things while solving multifaceted
situations into simpler ones (Du, Jing and Liu, 2012). Considering social and enterprise
context, this approach is associated with the product and services innovation. A firm is
required to use innovation, creativity and design thinking in collaboration to attain
competitive edge in the respective sector and the success of these three components depends
upon the business efforts as whole. In addition, all these three functions require the support of
employee to complete effectively and benefit the enterprise from various perspectives.
One of the most comprehensive theories of creativity encompassing organisational innovation
and creativity and carrying implications for the work environment build by managers is
componential theory in relation with various key components. These components include
creative thinking, proficiency and inherent motivation (Runco, 2014). In addition, other
elements such as management practice also have significant impact over innovation and
creativity. For case, higher performance and results can be encouraged with management
practices such as workplace cooperation and association. With regards to this, Interactionist
Perspective of Organizational Creativity theory also explores various multifaceted
adjustments considering work condition and individual amid several levels in a company.
According to this theory, team member cooperation is significant for the realization of
innovation process and creativity is develops from team member association (Klijn and
Tomic, 2010).
One of the best examples can be taken of Google, who gained big success over time as of its
constant creativity and innovation. The company has beat many big companies in the
technology industry such as AOL, Microsoft and Apple. One of the major element in their
innovation process includes sharing of ideas that are used by the company as a major tool in
relation with their corporate innovation process (Lee et al, 2012). Susan, the CEO of
YouTube also said that their division always welcome new ideas and thoughts of the
employees in the course of decision making and this helps them to use full potential of their
workforce. It also involves sharing the board letter in the whole organisation that shows
employee necessary direction where the company is going. Susan also stated that sharing of
information and ideas also helps in pushing exchange of information with relation to ideas re-
examination bringing innovative results. With regards to this, Google also arranges its
workforces in more effective way to simplify the process of innovation. For instance, the
employees of Google are divided in crowded and small groups operating in open cube