SHR044-6 Mobilising Creativity and Innovation

2013-14 Referral Assignment

Part 1

50% weighting

Critically evaluate creative problem solving in the context of work organisations. You will
need to consider cognitive blocks to the individual generation of new ideas and how these
might be overcome using structured techniques. Using Osborn-Parnes as a framework how
might you plan to facilitate a CPS session using structured techniques?
Your analysis must be independently written up in report format (2000 words)
individually and must be informed and fully supported by quality academic theory,
citing appropriate sources and with full bibliographic references using the Harvard
style.
Part 2

50% Weighting

You are required to read the case study below (CoInnovate Co) and undertake an indepth analysis supported by quality academic sources and addressing the questions
set. You are required to produce a 3000 word (+/- 10%) report. Your answer must be
fully supported by quality academic theory introduced in the unit and quality
academic sources from your wider reading around the subject area and referenced
using the Harvard style.
You must submit your assignment to Turnitin through the BREO course site
(Assignments section) for this unit by the stated deadline.
Learning outcomes assessed:

Explore major theoretical perspectives on creativity, entrepreneurship and innovation

Examine organisational culture and psychological climate

Synthesise psychological, social and organisational factors that support or inhibit

creativity, entrepreneurship and innovation

Examine the implications for leadership and human resource management policies and
practices.

Case Study: CoInnovateCo

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 companys 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.

CoInnovateCo 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 CoInnovateCo had been searching for a way to achieve the companys 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. CoInnovateCo was interested to teach its organization how to create sustainable
innovation.
CoInnovateCo launched a comprehensive innovation programme that has created a culture
and an attitude of innovation across the companys sub-businesses and 14,000 employees.

On the individual level CoInnovateCo 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, CoInnovateCo 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
CoInnovateCos 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 CoInnovateCo Group to
lead systematic innovation inside the organization. To date, close to 2000 employees have
developed creativity and innovation skills from the coaches who run trainings on a regular
basis.
CoInnovateCos innovation 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.
CoInnovateCo 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. CoInnovateCo 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 CoInnovateCo cases as well as information on innovation tools.
After less than three years CoInnovateCo 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.

Questions:
1. Drawing on the work of influential contributors on climate for creativity and innovation
explain why intrinsic motivation is central to sustaining creativity and innovation in
CoInnovateCo.
Students are required to recognise this question concerns climate and draw on
influential models including Amabile, Ekvall and Isaksen and other influential contributors
introduced in this unit to analyse the implications for factors that support or inhibit
creativity and innovation. Evidence of wider independent reading is expected. Important
to this question is the transformation that is required for support in a rigid bureaucratic
organisation.
2. How important is the role of leadership to this process? How might the roles of senior
management and supervisors differ?
Students are required to fous on leadership styles (e.g.transformational/ authentic/
distributed) drawing on key authors, and the role this plays in developing a supportive
climate and culture. In this case there is a direct contrast to the command and control
style of management.
Discussion should be extensive and in-depth including
recognition of the need for shared meaning and understanding of the companys vision
and direction, including senior management values and attitudes. At this level students
are required to clearly synthesise theoretical perspectives as they apply in practice
giving clear examples.
3. What is the role of Human Resource Management and Development in supporting
CoInnovateCos aspirations to creativity and innovation?
Climate models are powerful in identifying factors that support or inhibit creativity and
innovation. How this can be supported and sustained in practice demands integration
with HRM and HRD policies and practices. Students are expected to demonstrate their
understanding, with examples and recommendations.