Creative and Innovative Management: A Tesla Case Study Report

This report examines Tesla's approach to creative and innovative management (CIM), focusing on its electric vehicle production and sustainable energy initiatives. It analyzes Tesla's current CIM processes, emphasizing participative management and leadership styles. The report explores analytical tools used to identify creative ideas, the influence of Tesla's vision and mission, and the role of stakeholders. It also assesses the risks and benefits of CIM ideas, change models, and strategies for stakeholder engagement. The report highlights Tesla's strengths, including its effective leadership and innovative corporate culture, and discusses barriers to implementation, ultimately offering recommendations for continued success in fostering innovation and creativity. The assignment strictly adheres to Harvard referencing style and citations, as per the assignment brief.

Running head: MANAGEMENT
Creativity and innovation management: A case study of Tesla
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Executive summary
CIM processes are vital for an organization like Tesla in terms of imbibing innovation in the
products and services. This approach has particularly acted assistance in increasing the sales
revenue and profit margin. Reference can be cites of the sustainable production practices,
which has expanded the triple bottom line approach, enhancing the corporate social
responsibility. Participative management and leadership style has proved beneficial for Tesla
to alter the standards and quality of the business. The major strengths of Tesla include its
effective leadership skills and also ability to influence employees to share ideas, opinions and
individuals behaviours so as to facilitate the decision making process and ensure innovation
and creativity all throughout. The success of Tesla lies in the fact that it has introduced the
electric cars, which is new in the market and has driven consumer behaviours largely so as to
attain a good market share within the competitive business environment. The formation of a
good corporate culture that fostered collaborative workforce and built a friendly working
environment also contributed to the management of innovation and creativity all
throughout.Major drive behind this is the continuous improvement strategies and total quality
management models. Strategic planning is one of the pillars, which removes the barriers in
implementation of the models. Feedbacks from the stakeholders and shareholders prove to be
effective for Tesla in terms of assessing the feasibility of the plans and actions.

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Table of contents
Introduction to the organisation and CIM overview..................................................................3
Current CIM processes in the organisation................................................................................4
Analytical tools for identifying potential creative and innovation management ideas..............5
Vision and mission of the organisation......................................................................................9
Critical analysis of the creative management ideas.................................................................10
Stakeholders: An asset for the organisation.............................................................................12
Steps for collection of feedbacks from the various stakeholders.............................................14
Barriers to implementation of CIM ideas and change models.................................................14
Strategy plan.............................................................................................................................16
Proposing recommendations through concluding notes..........................................................17
References................................................................................................................................19

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Introduction to the organisation and CIM overview
Tesla, Inc. is a major electric vehicle manufacturing and Production Company based
in California and has revolutionized the automobile or vehicle industry. The company has
been specialised in the production of good quality electric vehicles along with the
manufacturing of battery energy storage from the home to grid scale so as to enable a power
source with the use of solar power or energy along with use of solar panels, solar city and
solar roof tiles too (Tesla.com 2020). Moreover, the company also has been associated with
the assembly and production of plants and machineries, all of which, are manufactured at the
Tesla factory and the company, at present, sells the Model S, Model X and Model 3 cars and
also solar powered batteries , solar panels, roof tiles and other related products and services
too. The company was founded in the year 2003 and the company has been serving
worldwide under the CEO Elon Musk. The production output is 367500, as recorded in the
year 2019 and the revenue generated is over US$24.57 billion and the employees working for
the company are over 48000. The company has aimed at delivering electrical vehicle and
foster the development of a healthy environment through sustainable energy consumption
(Tesla.com 2020). The e-car market segment has been dominated since then and Tesla has
been performing exceptionally well at present.
Because of the introduction of electric vehicles in the marketplace, Tesla has been
inspired by creativity and innovation, which also focuses on the development of future
technologies. The entry into the highly competitive auto market has also gained the interests
of the different types of stakeholders, which also can be helpful for Tesla to grow and
flourish, furthermore, put enormous commitment and ideas to innovate the products and
services (Tesla.com 2020).

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Current CIM processes in the organisation
The creativity and innovation management processes has not only helped Tesla to
build a long sustainable future, but also has taught people about sustainable consumption of
energy so as to produce new products in the market other than the electric vehicles. The other
products include solar panels, electric batteries, etc., which represent some premium value
offered to the clients and at the same time, serve both commercial as well as domestic
purposes. All these products are run by solar energy that generate electricity and power used
to run the vehicles while on the other hand, due to these innovative products, all of these have
been marketed as innovative high technology products to meet the premium needs of people
(Buckley, Burton and Mirza 2016). The creative and innovation processes have also allowed
Tesla to upmarket the product with the integration of innovative design features that ensured
product differentiation required to increase the market share and also to attain competitive
edge over its competitors.
Another major creativity and innovation process adopted by Tesla could be the
disruptive innovation, which could allow the company to bring change management and
introduce new ideas required to adapt with the shift in pattern of competition within the
current marketplace. The fuel engines were disrupted by the company and Tesla made sure to
prioritise on the protection of environment through use and consumption of sustainable
energy sources. According to Marri et al. (2017), the electrical energy seemed to be more
economical and the solar powered energy sources somewhat enabled innovative processes
that are radical in nature.
The innovation processes have been further fuelled by the involvement of
management team where each and every members were allowed to provide their useful ideas,
views and opinions that are required to make effective decisions in business. Thus, the

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management structure improved the internal creativity and fostered innovation that are
required to enhance the overall firm performance. Tesla’s leadership also helped in keeping
the management team and employees of the organisation motivated and encouraged to
perform to their potential and maintain the growth trajectory consistent while trying to evolve
with time. The research and development activities further promoted innovation and
increased the supply of sustainable products that are god for the environment (Suratno et al.
2018). With the clean and renewable sources of energy, the running of electric vehicles was
managed, which could also help Tesla to meet the demands in the market and at the same
time, remain socially responsible towards the environment and community. To ensure
continuity of stable services, all the organizational members have contributed their ideas as
part of the decision making process whereas the focus on consistent innovation and creativity
remain aligned with the needs and preferences of the customers that are to be fulfilled.
Therefore, Franceschini, Galetto and Maisano (2019) states that this is what the creativity and
innovation processes at Tesla are like and all these are necessary for the growth and
development of a sustainable future too.
Analytical tools for identifying potential creative and innovation
management ideas
The innovation at Tesla occurred with the implementation of a proper corporate strategy,
which ensured multiple steps including the introduction of a high technological car and sell it
with a premium price. To keep its rarity, the company made sure to bring out only limited
cards in the market and Roadster was such an example. After this step, the company needed
to launch a car that can be affordable for the middle class segment. Thus, Roy (2018) opines
that both luxury and premium along with rarity indicated how the company has differentiated
itself from the competitors by bringing out something new. Constant innovation is always a

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problem for businesses but Tesla used the lean start up method to embrace change by
minimising the costs associated with the manufacturing and production processes. This also
allowed the production engineers to change the organisation to adapt to different
circumstances and optimise the production all time. To be precise, Tesla’s leadership has
helped in keeping employees engaged and at the same time, which also allowed them to share
their individual thoughts, behaviours, ideas and opinions required to create innovation and
synergy all throughout.Tesla’s major innovation is the introduction of electric vehicles, which
has also been influenced by people sharing individual thoughts, ideas and opinions as part of
the decision making process.Another driver of innovation for Tesla could be the corporate
culture, which has formed a collaborative workforce and also created a friendly working
environment where people from different backgrounds and cultures worked together as an
unit and in coordination. Moreover, the diverse corporate culture and working environment
also facilitated the innovation and creativity within the organisation.
According to Bason, (2018), it is true to believe that the business organisations that
innovate are the most successful as well. Though these companies do not copy others, but
make sure to introduce something new so as to differentiate itself from its competitors. The
change and innovation to the workplace systems and procedures need adaptability to different
situations and this has been facilitated with the help of effective leadership of Elon Musk and
also the chairwoman of the organisation. The various steps that are undertaken to lead and
embrace the change and innovation are as follows:
To eliminate the fear of failing while embracing something new or change within the
organisation – The leadership is an integral part in embracing change as well as lead others
towards the acceptance of change and enabling innovation. As the leader of the organisation,
i.e., Tesla, it would be necessary to act as a leader who respects the values and opinions of the
team members and also eliminate the fear that might be present in the minds of the

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individuals (Doppelt 2017). The leaders should encourage the team members to go beyond
their limits sometimes and make them learn from their failures rather than just criticising
them which should raise down their morale level and motivation level too.
Conducting the research and development activities–The research and development
activities are to be undertaken for developing skills and make them learn about new things
related to the change at Tesla. The research and development should also bring change by
gaining insight into the training and development sessions, furthermore, develop creative and
innovative thinking.
Involving each and every team members in the process of bringing change and
innovation- It should be necessary to understand that with the implementation of a change or
bringing new technology on the team only, the organisational members might not be able to
embrace it immediately and it is natural. As a leader, it would be important to listen to
theirqueries and make them find outthe most relevant solutions (Sheninger 2019). The
acknowledgement of their fears and providing them support while progressing could also be
needed through qualitative as well as quantitative feedbacks. The acqusitions of individual
ideas, views and opinions could also facilitate the process of decision making as well as
benefit the organisation through ease in growth and success in the long run.
Clearly defining the vision, mission and develop clarity–The leader would also need to
make sure that the new change or technology that has been brought must be communicated to
the employees of the organization, thereby, keep them informed about embracing the change
and innovation perspective. Supporting each other within the workplace and with the leader
guiding them towards the right strategic direction, it would be much easier and convenient to
develop a healthy corporate culture (Hough 2017).

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Providing the organisational members with incentives and rewards for learning and
remaining motivated–To enable innovation, embracing change is necessary and such has
been the motto of Tesla, which has aimed at developing electric vehicles that are sustainable
and environment friendly too. This could not only revolutionise the entire automobile
industry, but would also lead to a better future.
Explanation of the values and benefits to be achieved–With the change to be managed, as
a leader, I would like to communicate the employees about the necessary benefits that could
be drawn by embracing the change. Hill and Davis (2017) are of the view that, by gradually
informing these aspects to the employees, they would learn about how the company could be
benefited and also they could be offered with better growth scopes and opportunities in the
future. Thus, the explanation of values and benefits based on the change to be implemented
must be done firstly.
Carry out experimentation and communicating the why or need for bringing change–
Prior to the acceptance and implementation of the change or innovation within the
organisation, it would be important to develop a structure or procedure for experimenting the
things. The experimentation procedures must also be allowed to be explored by the
individuals working at the company so as to understand how to embrace the change and also
determine what could be the probable benefits (Nambisan, Wright and Feldman 2019). The
experimentation phase should soon be followed by discussions where the organisational
members could think of implementing the change ad bring innovation all throughout.
Check the outcome of change and innovation from the customers’ perspectives–Also
understanding how the various stakeholders involved with the business should react with the
implementation of change is essential. By holding a leadership position within the

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organisation, I would personally prefer to use the same language that others are habituated to,
furthermore ensure that their needs and preferences are fulfilled too.
Finally modelling the value to be attained–It is evident, as stated byDziallas and Blind
(2019), that change sometimes could be a failure to the organisation and in such cases, it
would require proper leadership roles. The leader could act as role model for the change to be
embraced by the team members, thereby, ensure value proposition and transition by
undertaking the most suitable actions, though by remaining transparent, open and even
honest.
Vision and mission of the organisation
Innovation, being one of the major strengths of every businesses, it is essential for
Tesla to manage product differentiation so as to remain distinguishable from the competitors
such as Ford, BMW, Nissan, Mercedes, etc. With the leadership of Elon Musk, the company
vision has been to stay true to its values and foster innovation to bring a positive. The vision
statement is “to create the most compelling car company of the 21st century by driving the
world's transition to electric vehicles” and emphasize on the ways of using renewable sources
of energy (Tesla.com 2020).
The core values are to stay true to its strategic direction and strive to enhance the
performance of the forecasts made and also its reliability. The values and beliefs are to
encourage people and respect each other’s opinions, which are required to effective decision
making. The statement of mission for Tesla Inc. is to attract as well as retain the new and
existing customers, thereby provide them with the best quality products and services for
delivering a satisfying experience and ownership of an automobile product (Tesla.com 2020).
Based on the values and beliefs of the organisation, Tesla’s mission is to accelerate or
enhance the transition from normal energy to the sustainable energy. Due to this, the

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company has offered good quality electric vehicles that run on electricity rather than by
petroleum or diesel. This has ensured generation of scalable clean energy and at the same
time, prioritised on the use of fossil fuels, renewable sources of energy and zero emission
future (Tesla.com 2020). The use of cutting edge battery based technology integrated in the
vehicles has also combined the performance of car with safety and effectiveness for meeting
the demands and expectations of the customers within the automobile industry.
Critical analysis of the creative management ideas
As stated by Bollinger (2019), the analytical tools are to be used for the purpose of
identifying any weaknesses in the strategies as well as undertake corrective measures to
remain focused on innovation and adaptable to change, whenever required. The CEO of Tesla
has used certain tools and techniques such as by mapping the financial schemes and
budgetary methods for determining whether the company possess enough funds or money to
implement the change management strategy or not. On the other hand, Scuotto et al. (2017)
argued that the competency test could be an effective analytical tool to determine whether the
organisational memebrs do have the necessary skills, knowledge and competence or not to
enable change that should be adopted. It should also be essential for evaluating whether the
existing systems should work with the new technology change or replacement of the existing
systems would be required.
There are few other tools and techniques as well such as the use of artificial
intelligence and Big Data technology. The artificial intelligence technology has allowed the
company to integrate autopilot features in the vehicles, which also transfer the data and
information about the vehicle directly to the cloud based platform. The crowdsourcing of data
integrated with both internal and external sensors could acquire important data and
information about the driver of the electric vehicle as well as how the instruments in the

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vehicle are being operated by the individual (Hair, Page and Brunsveld 2019). Moreover, the
AI technology has been further facilitated with the help of partnership working with NVidia,
a renowned hardware manufacturer which supported machine learning and produced
exclusive cars. Therefore, all these analytical tools have helped Tesla in bringing change and
enabled innovation all throughout the organisation.
Though the change and innovation are critical aspects for long term success in the
future, still there are certain risks as well as benefits of these creative and innovation
management ideas too. Firstly, few of the major limitations might be the cause of risks and
failures and these could be the lack of enough time, financial resources as well as lack of
skills among the organisational members to embrace or accept the change. The leader might
also be unclear about what to do and how the change might benefit the company, which could
also be considered as a major risk associated with the business organisation while
implementing the change. Dziallas and Blind (2019) state that another major aspect that
seemed to create hindrance or limit the employees’ ability to adopt the change could be the
lack of sufficient incentives, rewards and benefits provided to them. This often made them
unwilling to embrace the change or innovation unless that could have been provided with
rewards and incentives. The employees might lack the desired skills, knowledge and
expertise due to lack of training and development programs that should be managed for them.
Thus, the lack of training and professional growth sessions could often hinder the ability of
the employees to gain acceptance of change and implement that and thus could be considered
as another major sources of risk associated with the management of creativity and innovation.
In spite of the risks, there are several benefits of managing the change and innovation
too including the modelling of employee behaviours to enhance their skills and competence
level (Scuotto et al. 2017). The leadership skills are also necessary for bringing all the
organisational members together and work as an unit so as to foster creativity, bring change