Creativity and Innovation in Saving an Organization - Coursework Example

Saving an Organization With Creativity and Innovation Introduction Every company has its share of ups and downs, but the key to sustainability is the resilience of the people in it. Great leadership as well as harmonious team effort are also strong foundations of organizational survival. The members of the organization should have enough commitment and dedication to achieve shared goals. Two things that keep a company stand out from the rest are creativity and innovation. These guarantee that whatever challenges are encountered by the company, it will overcome them because the people are ready to try something new and different while envisioning positive outcomes. Differentiating Between Creativity and Innovation Creativity and innovation have become valuable features of leading companies. Schirrmacher (1988) defines creativity as one’s ability to see things in novel ways; it is breaking boundaries and going beyond the known facts. It is also developing something new, different and original and combining things which do not seem to be related to each other but eventually makes sense when put together. This is closely related to innovation which is sparked by a new idea. The idea can be a new technology such as a gadget that can provide more convenience to consumers, a new service like an alternative form of relaxation, a new product, or even a new administrative procedure. Such ideas are driven by needs that are seen by the innovators. Innovation requires creativity. In organizations, innovation becomes the growth of a new idea from its initial state into its actualized form as a full-blown innovation (Roberts, 2006). Thus, creativity is at work when one innovates. Explanation of the Problem Being Solved and the Creative Solution The ongoing global recession has caused the shutdown of several companies, leading to massive unemployment. Epic Events Management Company is a small company that has likewise suffered the blow, with many of their clients opting to forgo their special events as a way of cutting down expenses. To keep the company afloat, they had to let go of a large part of their office space which occupied the whole floor of a prominent building downtown. The CEO decided to just keep his office for entertaining clients, the team room with a few office tables and the reception area. Because of this drastic move, they have significantly saved on rental expenses. The problem now lies on how they would rearrange the office so that all the staff can fit in and still be productive. On top of that, they need to think up of other alternative income-generating ideas that will augment the losses incurred from the lack of projects. For the problem of lack of office space for the workers, the company resorted to alternative employment strategies. In the current global shift towards E-commerce and internet, methods to work from thousands of miles away have been invented. Examples of these are hot-desking, telecommuting and e-commuting. Working from Home (WFH) is a new concept in the marketplace. Several companies are adopting it not only to save on finances but to provide better working conditions for their employees. Organizations have reported up to 30% reduction in overhead expenses when they schedule their employees telecommuting days appropriately. They have consequently reduced their office space requirements and rents by requiring the telecommuting employees to share desks and other resources and facilities in the company offices (Boyd,1996). Telecommuting is more economical for employees who save a lot of money on transportation allowances, clothing and food spent on lunch or snacks outside the home. Companies not only save on rent, by getting smaller offices, but also on electric and water utilities, having less people reporting for work. More importantly, work-life balance is established as workers get to spend more time with their families, which in itself is a rewarding situation for most workers. The workers of Epic have happily agreed to working from their homes and only reporting a few times a week, or as needed, to work. With the availability of internet communication such as Skype, video chat and email, as well as social media sites and applications, it is now possible to conduct business with people from various places. If necessary, the team reports to the office to share with each other the work they have done at home. Meetings with clients may likewise be held outside the office upon the convenience and common time of the client and the Epic staff. This set up is much cheaper to maintain than retaining their huge office space. With regards to the pursuit of alternative projects, the creative team, who has vast knowledge in marketing and access to several business contacts, decided to offer event marketing projects to businesses which are in need of a jolt in their marketing strategies with the hopes of injecting more income. These businesses have likewise experienced a drop in their sales and need fresh strategies to launch their products and services to their target markets. Although the team has been accustomed to organizing private events such as birthdays and office parties, event marketing is an activity where they can use their special creative skills. In event marketing, brand equity is built (Keller, 2009). This is the “added value” which a given brand provides a certain product (Farquhar, 1989). The marketing event is an interactive communication of brand values by engaging consumers in the event’s activities resulting in their emotional attachment to the brand (Wohfeil & Whelan, 2006). The event is a more direct and highly interactive way to launch products and services of companies rather than the distant, one-way broad-based nature of mass media advertising (Zarantonello & Schmitt, 2013). Attendance in a marketing event engages potential customers in first-hand experience with the product or service being marketed. This establishes memorable brand experience leading to patronage. Explanation of the Opportunity Being Exploited The need to relinquish their huge office space and only retain a modest one translates to more savings. This situation may seem problematic at first due to the fact that the small space retained will not be enough for all the staff members of Epic Events Management Company. However, scheduling them to report to the office alternately with hotdesking, and allowing them to work from home, and entertaining clients outside the office is a viable solution to this problem. Another problem solved creatively would be to expand their services to accommodate event marketing projects. This way, they get to help other companies who are in need of dynamic ways to bring back their products or services to their target market. In turn, they become open to more opportunities to earn from new clients and make use of their creative resources. The Epic team found creative and innovative ways to solve their company’s problems. Not only were the solutions favourable to them and to their potential clients, but it is also financially beneficial to the company. The opportunity to work from home allows the Epic workers more flexibility in their work schedules, making them more productive in both their work and personal lives. Both the company and the workers get to save – the company, with lower rental expense and the workers with less transportation, clothing and food expenses. Ideas and plans for event marketing projects may be shared online through email or Skype, and presentations to the client may be done either at the office or offsite. Overview of How Creative Culture Could be Created Within the Organization Organizations foster creativity among its members when they feel secure enough to contribute their own ideas and try out their innovative approaches without fear of reprimand in case they fail (Amabile, 1998). Members are encouraged to think ‘out of the box’ as they explore and generate ideas on their own (Sosik et al., 1998). Old problems are thought about in new ways. Members are pushed to keep questioning their long-held values, beliefs and assumptions (Bass, 1985; Hater & Bass, 1988). Organizational leaders facilitate members’ brainstorming sessions as they generate creative and innovative ideas and solutions to solve problems and issues. Members are comfortable with unconventional ideas and are not afraid to be evaluated by their leaders (Diehl & Stroebe, 1991). When everyone’s ideas are considered no matter how insignificant it may seem, a creative culture emerges. At the same time, the freedom to explore and experiment is balanced with an agreed system of evaluation (Robinson, 2011). Creative potential of each member is acknowledged when they are allowed to participate in discussions as they share their ideas. Members’ feelings of self-worth are boosted, knowing they are doing something to contribute to the organization. Lifelong learning is encouraged in creative organizations to further hone members’ skills. They are fully supported in nurturing their creativity and learning when there are opportunities to gain new knowledge and skills. This not only benefits the organization, but contributes to the personal development of the members (Robinson, 2011). Process and Barriers To Creativity Creativity does not flourish in environments characterized by distrust, lack of communication, limited autonomy and ambiguous goals (Mumford & Gustafson, 1988). If workers are pressured to always conform to the norm and do not feel trusted enough think “out of the box” or to explore possibilities apart from what they have been accustomed to in the past, then their creativity is stifled (Torrance, 1965). Summary and Recommendations Having accepted that creativity and innovation are highly valued in today’s business environments, companies, such as Epic Event Management Company, should loosen the reins of control on their workers and encourage them to think freely to come up with novel ideas and solutions. It is ironic how society expects innovation but likewise discourages non-conformity and divergence of thinking. Creative people under such a situation would always be in a tight spot, and their ideas may be repressed. For creativity to flow, society should undergo a paradigm shift in acknowledging, accepting and eventually celebrating the benefits of creativity and innovation. References Amabile, T. M. (1998). How to kill creativity. Harvard Business Review,76(5), 77–87 Bass, B. M. (1985). Leadership performance beyond expectations. New York: Free Press. Boyd, P.C. (1996) Six Organizational Benefits of Telecommuting, Available at http://research-advisors.com/articles/ttorgbens.html (Accessed 15 March 2014) Diehl, M., & Stroebe, W. (1991). Productivity loss in idea-generating groups: Tracking down the blocking effect. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 61, 392– 403. Farquhar, P. (1989) Managing brand equity. Journal of Advertising Research, 30 (4), Hater, J. J., & Bass, B. M. (1988). Superiors’ evaluations and subordinates perceptions of transformational and transactional leadership. Journal of Applied Psychology, 73, 695–702. 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(2006), “Consumer Motivations to Participate in Marketing- Events: The Role of Predispositional Movement”, European Advances in Consumer Research, 7: 125-131. Zarantonello, L. & Schmitt, B. H. (2013) The impact of event marketing on brand equity: The mediating roles of brand experience and brand attitude, International Journal of Advertising, 32(2), pp. 255–280 2013 Read More