Promoting organisational creativity and innovation (Report)

Promoting organisational creativity and innovation (Approximately 2000 words)

Coursework Information Sheet

To be supplied to students when they receive the coursework assignment task.
Unit Co-ordinator: Dr Pauline Loewenberger
Unit Name: Creativity for Managers
Unit Code: SHR603-6
Title of Coursework: Promoting organisational creativity and innovation (Report)
% weighting of final unit grade: 50%

Feedback details
The university policy is that you will receive prompt feedback on your work within 15 working days of the submission date. Exceptionally where this is not achievable (for example due to staff sickness) you will be notified as soon as possible of the revised date and the reasons behind the change.

Submission Date: 22nd January 2016
Feedback Date: 12th February 2016
Details of how to access the feedback: Turnitin

• Your work will be marked using the assessment evaluation criteria on the final page
• You are required to submit a draft of your work by Monday 4th January for feedback
• You must submit your work to Turnitin by the stated deadline (late submissions not accepted)
• Feedback will be provided within 15 working days of submission.
• You must participate in the group facilitations in workshops
Core learning outcomes
On completion of this unit you should be able to: Assessment number
1 Demonstrate a knowledge and understanding of theories and models of creativity and innovation for adequate critical analysis in the context of contemporary organisations. 1
2
2 Synthesise individual and organisational theoretical perspectives to systematically promote the potential for creativity and innovation in practice. 1
2

Threshold standards Assessment number In order to pass the assessment you will need to:
1 Critically analyse practical, cognitive or emotional blocks to creative idea generation and understand how these might be overcome using structured techniques.
Systematically demonstrate skills in the facilitation of structured techniques to generate creative approaches to workplace problems and opportunities.
2
Demonstrate the knowledge, skills abilities and approaches necessary to stimulate and support creativity and innovation that is sustainable
Demonstrate a critical appreciation of the significance of creative leadership in the process of managing people to achieve creative and innovative business goals and objectives
Synthesise past experience with new information and ideas exploring the implications for creative leadership and organisational development and outline innovative recommendations for improvement.

SHR603-6 Creativity for Managers
Assignment 2: Promoting organisational creativity and innovation (Approximately 2000 words)
Creativity and innovation are key assets for any organization. A typical company might 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 the company can be performing at a higher gear, and that innovation can make the difference. So what can the organisation do?
• change your workplace to include only the most creative people?
• prioritize investment in new technologies?
While these might be steps in the right direction, their impact on the company is unlikely to be sustainable. Employees come and go and technologies are constantly changing.
A different approach that can make creativity and innovation more sustainable involves changing the way people think, act, and work and an integrated effort at all levels of the organization: individual, team and organizational.
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 climate 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 but they are never followed up and gradually this falls. Effective structures and supportive climates are essential in sustaining the motivation to keep on innovating.
Task
Imagine an organisation that you aspire to work for after the successful completion of your MBA. The organisation has decided to recruit a recent MBA graduate to support the promotion of creativity and innovation in anticipation that they can benefit from the application of knowledge and skills gained through your recent studies. You have been successful in the early stages of the selection process and are now through to the final stages.
The salary is highly competitive but competition is fierce and you are keen to succeed in securing the job. The challenge is to deliver a written business report answering the questions below.
• You will need to state the job title that you are applying for and provide brief contextual details of the organisation.
• You are required to advise the company how they might promote creativity and innovation in the chosen context.
• This requires that demonstrate your understanding of the systematic process and adapt it to the size, structure and context of your chosen organisation and the role for which you are applying.
• This is NOT a case study of an organisation.
• This is NOT an essay

Questions:
1. Why are creativity and innovation rare in this organisation? Drawing on the work of influential contributors on climate for creativity and innovation critically evaluate potential blocks or barriers to organisational creativity and innovation at multiple levels of the organisation?
2. What can we do to promote creativity and innovation? Synthesise influential approaches to the promotion of organisational creativity and innovation to develop clear recommendations that are sustainable long term? You are required to be creative in the ideas that you propose for Creative Leadership.
You are required to present a 2000 word (+/- 10%) report that addresses these questions. This must be professionally presented in report format, using in-text citations to support your ideas and with a comprehensive reference list. Appendices are permitted. Remember that competition is fierce and you will need to impress to succeed in securing the job. Your report will need to stand out from the other applicants if you are to secure your dream job.
Section / Title Details / Guidance
Title page Title of your report. Address (to/from) and date the report.
Executive Summary 150 word maximum summary of your report, including key recommendations.
Contents Page Include page numbers.
Introduction Short (approximately 250 words) introduction to the context (e.g. Business/sector/Number of employees/Structure) and why it is necessary to promote creativity and innovation in this organisation.
Analysis Using third party sources (e.g. academic literature or practitioner-orientated material) for support, analyse the theoretical concept underpinning organisational creativity and innovation. This demands an in-depth analysis of appropriate climate models and a consideration of the role of leadership or HRM in supporting and sustaining creativity and innovation.You will need to draw on the academic sources introduced in this unit and extend these through your independent focused reading. Given the chosen context how might this organisation more effectively promote creativity and innovation? (approximately 1200 words)
Conclusions This section should initially answer the report aim and objectives and draw together the main points from your analysis of literature. It summarises what has been learned from undertaking this research. It should also begin to weigh up the options available to the organisation and what would impede implementation, begin to identify the way forward. No new information should be presented in the conclusions. (Approximately 200 words)
Recommendations Make recommendations for improvement based upon your conclusions, clearly stating how they can add value to the organisation. Recommendations should be fully feasible and justified stating clearly costs, priority level, time-scale, resources, who is responsible, benefits and any further implications to the organisation. Your proposals should be actionable (‘immediately implementable’) not just a list of ideas. You can use a table to help structure your action plan. The recommendations for action should be linked directly to promotion of creativity and innovation. (Approximately 200 words)
Reference List A list of all sources cited directly in the text. Harvard style
Bibliography List The sources you consulted but which you do not cite.

SHR603-6 Creativity for Managers: Assignment 2 Assessment Evaluation Criteria
Criteria Excellent 70% or higher Very Good 60-69% Good 50-59% Satisfactory 40-49% 35-39% 0-34%
Identification of main factors Provides a clear introduction that frames and highlights the main issuesand concepts highlighted by the case. Attempts to frame and highlight the main issuesand concepts highlighted by the case Some valid and relevant issues and identified although not well framed. Few relevant issues are outlined although no real framing Fails to demonstrate adequate knowledge and understanding of key issues and concepts. Fails to consider any scenario or concepts relevant to leadership and management
Application of theory Demonstrate excellent awareness of the knowledge, skills abilities and approaches necessary to stimulate and support creativity and innovation that is sustainable.
Applies theory (ies) that are entirely appropriate using published sources introduced and with substantial evidence of wider reading. Precisely meets/exceeds the demands of the task Demonstrate very good awareness of the knowledge, skills abilities and approaches necessary to stimulate and support creativity and innovation that is sustainable.
Applies theory (ies) that are entirely appropriate using published sources introduced and with clear evidence of wider reading. Demonstrate the knowledge, skills abilities and approaches necessary to stimulate and support creativity and innovation that is sustainable.
Applies appropriate theory (ies) using published sources introduced. And with evidence of wider reading Demonstrate the knowledge, skills abilities and approaches necessary to stimulate and support creativity and innovation that is sustainable.
Applies appropriate theory (ies) using published sources introduced.. Weak application of appropriate theories and models. Fails to demonstrate detailed understanding. Very little use of published sources. Very little or no attempt to use published sources. No evidence of understanding key issues and concepts.
Analysis Demonstrates an excellent understanding and an in-depth critical appreciation of the significance of creative leadership in practice in the process of managing people to achieve creative and innovative business goals and objectives. Analysis is logical and coherent in attempting to explore implications of the issues raised. Synthesises past experience with new information and ideas exploring the practical implications for creative leadership and organisational development.. Demonstrates a very good understanding and a critical appreciation of the significance of creative leadership in practice in the process of managing people to achieve creative and innovative business goals and objectives. Analysis is logical and coherent in attempting to explore implications of the issues raised. Synthesises past experience with new information and ideas exploring the practical implications for creative leadership and organisational development. Less in-depth than for an A grade. Demonstrates a critical appreciation of the significance of creative leadership in practice in the process of managing people to achieve creative and innovative business goals and objectives. Synthesises past experience with new information and ideas exploring the practical implications for creative leadership and organisational development. Demonstrates a critical appreciation of the significance of creative leadership in the process of managing people to achieve creative and innovative business goals and objectives. Synthesises past experience with new information and ideas exploring the implications for creative leadership and organisational development and Vague and discursive approach or overly descriptive at the expense of application and analysis supported by evidence. A random collection of statements with no attempt to use evidence to support the arguments. Nothing of value to the task.
Conclusions Conclusions are valid and clearly derived from in-depth analysis Conclusions derived from in-depth analysis. Largely convincing Conclusions are limited and not entirely convincing. 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 Outlines innovative recommendations that are entirely clear and appropriate in meeting precisely the demands of the task Outlines innovative recommendations for improvement that are clear and appropriate. Less comprehensive than for an A grade. Outlines innovative recommendations for improvement that are largely feasible and focussed.. Outlines innovative recommendations for improvement that are largely feasible.. 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.
Not in report format. Few 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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