Mobilising Creativity and Innovation
MOBILISING CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION
Task:
Drawing
on the work of influential contributors on climate for creativity and
innovation and creative leadership critically evaluate how creativity and
innovation are promoted and sustained across multiple levels of the
organisation in the Infinitif Innovation
case study (see below). You will
present your analysis in report format of approximately 1500 words excluding
references and appendices.
A random sample of students will be called to a viva
voce to support the authenticity of their work
Case Study: Infinitif Innovation
Creativity
and innovation are key assets for any organization. Let us assume you agree
with this statement and decide to bring innovation into your organization. If
yours is a typical company it may fit the following profile:
·
hundreds, maybe even
thousands of employees;
·
company work processes
formalized over the years that seem to be doing their job pretty satisfactorily
· shareholders who are
more or less satisfied with the company’s financials.
Yet,
there is a niggling sense that your company can be performing at a higher gear,
and that innovation can make the
difference. So what do you do?
·
Do you change your
workplace to include only the most creative people?
·
Do you prioritize
investment in new technologies?
While
these are steps in the right direction, their impact on the company may not be
sustainable. Employees come and go and technologies are constantly changing. In
this case study we describe a different approach that can make innovation a
more sustainable asset for an organization. It involves changing the way people
think, act, and work and an integrated effort at all levels of the
organization: individual, team and organizational.
Let
us begin by looking at these three levels.
· On the individual
level, everyone in the organization
is required to acquire a skill-set that will allow them to think and act
innovatively. This can be a crucial difference to many common (and uncommon)
work tasks: from juggling projects within a time pressured and resource-scarce
environment to dealing with the accidental deletion of an important file or a
missing suitcase on an important week-long business trip.
·
On the team level,
providing the right tools and setting up the right work processes can enable
real changes to be implemented. This can make a whole range of activities more
effective: new product development, project management, inter-group
communication and meetings (that great stealer of work time) that lead to
better results.
·
On the organizational
level, the key move is to put in place a culture that encourages creative
thinking and supports implementation of innovative results. Many times
organizations have lots of good will and motivate their employees to come up
with new ideas (idea boxes and the like), but they are never followed up and
gradually the hype falls. Effective structures and supportive cultures, as
uncreative as they sound, are essential in sustaining the motivation to keep on
innovating.
Infinitif
Innovation is a multinational group with an asset value in excess of £10bn. Its
holding companies include banking, insurance, construction, mutual funds, and
leisure resorts. For two years Infinitif Innovation had been searching for a
way to achieve the company’s vision of long-term, sustainable innovation. They
were looking to find a structured methodology that would allow everyone in
their organization to be more innovative and so challenge the general consensus
that innovation and creative thinking is an inherent trait among gifted
individuals. Infinitif Innovation was interested to teach its organization how to create sustainable innovation.
Infinitif
Innovation launched a comprehensive innovation programme that has created a
culture and an attitude of innovation across the company’s sub-businesses and
14,000 employees.
·
On the individual level
Infinitif Innovation trained creativity champions in creative thinking skills
and group facilitation using structured techniques. Champions were then responsible for regular
group facilitation of idea generation with their teams.
· In this way employees
gradually develop a repertoire of skills that they could apply at any time or
in any situation. From senior managers
to salespeople to bank clerks, employees now have a method for coming up with
fresh approaches to their daily tasks or solving problems.
· On the team level
trained innovation managers and coaches were given responsibility to actively
disseminate innovation throughout the companies thousands of employees, and
helping specific teams achieve innovation successes and establishing processes
that ensure that ideas generated in the innovation process are evaluated and
implemented. These skills give the teams
the means of working and thinking together, and ways to make sure that their decisions
are carried out.
·
On the organizational
level, Infinitif Innovation designed and implemented an culture to support
creativity and innovation to ensure all processes are self-sustaining in the
long run. This involved establishing dedicated innovation positions, new work
processes, and success metrics. Existing company structures were utilized as
far as possible, making it easier and more natural to implement the new
innovation process within the organization.
Between
2008 and 2009, over 400 new products, services, business models and work
processes have been successfully implemented yielding new revenue on one hand,
and cost saving and efficiency on the other. Two examples include: a) a new
service in Infinitif Innovation’s industrial machinery leasing company that
created a new market, and b) new banking services that led to hundreds of
thousands of dollars in cost saving.
Over
600 innovation champions were trained throughout the entire company to lead
systematic innovation inside the organization. To date, close to 2000 employees
have developed creativity and innovation skills from the coaches who run
regular training.
Infinitif
Innovation’s structure includes two directors responsible for overseeing all
innovation processes and 20 innovation managers who support the
cross-organization innovation coach activity. An innovation portal was
established to support the innovation managers and innovation coaches by giving
them access to innovation tools, workshop scripts, and examples that they can
use in their work.
Infinitif
Innovation established internal communication mechanisms that would update the
entire organization on innovation activities and achievements. This continues
to create a buzz in the company, getting everyone on board, and at the same
time shows management support and commitment to the process. Infinitif
Innovation regularly puts out quarterly booklets on new products and services
in the company born out of the innovation process, corporate DVDs showing
different divisions’ accomplishments, and ‘Innovation of the Day’ emails giving
both real Infinitif Innovation cases as well as information on innovation
tools.
After
less than three years Infinitif Innovation has much to show in terms of its ROI
– return on innovation. The model they applied made innovation a concrete tool
across all levels of the organization:
1. Individuals
are more creative and give better performance.
2. Teams
have enhanced work processes for rolling out their decisions.
3. The
organization has a supportive culture and structure to implement real changes
across the entire company.
Referral Assignment 2 Assessment Evaluation
Criteria
|
||||||
Criteria
|
Excellent (70% and above)
|
Commendable (60-69%)
|
Good (50-59%)
|
Satisfactory (40-49%)
|
Marginal Fail (35-39%)
|
Fail (1-34%)
|
Application
of theory
|
Draws on
major theoretical contributors introduced in the unit and with substantial
evidence of independent reading. Review the role of creativity in
organisational development and demonstrate a capacity to balance innovation
with other essential requirements
|
Draws on most theoretical contributors introduced
and with evidence of independent reading.
Review the role of creativity in organisational development and
demonstrate a capacity to balance innovation with other essential
requirements
|
Draws on a good range of theoretical contributors introduced but
with limited evidence of wider reading.
|
Attempts to apply appropriate theory (ies)
drawing on published sources introduced.
Review the role of creativity in organisational development and
demonstrate a capacity to balance innovation with other essential
requirements
|
Weak application of appropriate theories and
models. Fails to demonstrate detailed understanding. Very little use of
published sources. Limited evidence of understanding key issues and concepts.
|
Very little or no attempt to use published
sources. No evidence of understanding
key issues and concepts.
|
Analysis
Case Study:
Evaluation of Organisational Barriers
|
In-depth analysis is logical and coherent in
critically evaluating implications for the workplace. Demonstrate an excellent understanding and
critical appreciation of the systematic process supporting creativity and
innovation.
|
Analysis is logical and coherent in critically
evaluating implications for the workplace. Demonstrates a very good understanding and
critical appreciation of the systematic process supporting creativity and
innovation.
|
Analysis is limited but coherent and supported by
evidence. Demonstrates reasonable understanding and
critical appreciation of the systematic process supporting creativity and
innovation. Overly descriptive at the expense of analysis.
|
Analyse to an appropriate level stimulants and
obstacles to organisational creativity and innovation. Demonstrates a satisfactory appreciation of
the significance of the systematic process of supporting creativity and
innovation.
|
A random collection of statements with little
attempt to use evidence to support the arguments. . Demonstrates limited appreciation of the
significance of the systematic process of supporting creativity and
innovation.
|
A random collection of statements with no attempt
to use evidence to support the arguments. .
Demonstrates no real appreciation of the significance of the
systematic process of supporting creativity and innovation.
|
Conclusions
|
Conclusions are valid and clearly derived from
in-depth analysis through application of major theoretical contributors and
experiential learning. Entirely
convincing.
|
Conclusions are clearly derived from in-depth
analysis through application of most major theoretical contributors and
experiential learning. Largely
convincing
|
Conclusions are mainly derived from analysis
through application of theoretical contributors and experiential
learning. Limited and not entirely
convincing.
|
Conclusions are satisfactory but limited and not
clearly derived from analysis through application of theoretical contributors
and experiential learning. Validity of
conclusions is unconvincing.
|
Conclusions do not follow from the evidence and
argument presented.
|
A random collection of statements based on the
students own point of view with little or no attempt to draw analysis to
conclusions.
|
Recommendations
|
Evaluates existing practices and explores the
implications for creative leadership and organisational development, and
outlines innovative recommendations for improvement. Clear and appropriate
recommendations. Professional applicability.
|
Evaluates existing practices and explores the
implications for creative leadership and organisational development, and
outlines innovative recommendations for improvement. Clear and appropriate
recommendations. Less comprehensive than for an A grade.
|
Evaluates existing practices and explores some
implications for creative leadership and organisational development, and
outlines recommendations for improvement. Recommendations are reasonably
clear and mostly realistic
|
Some implications are explored. Recommendations
are vague. Doubtful feasibility
|
Recommendations are unclear or unrealistic
|
No attempt to identify appropriate
recommendations
|
Presentation and Referencing
|
Clearly and
concisely structured in report format, sourced throughout and with a
comprehensive bibliography.
|
Clearly and concisely structured in report
format, sourced throughout and with a good bibliography.
|
Well-structured in report format, sourced
throughout and with an adequate bibliography.
|
Satisfactory report format. Some citations and a
passable bibliography.
|
Few citations and no bibliography. Not in report
format. Poorly structured.
|
No citations and not in report format. Poorly
structured
|
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