The Creative Management Task - Coursework Example

The Creative Management Task The process which was undertaken for the creative management task underwent several changes and alternatives because of the psychology of the group and the learning process that was implemented. Each stage went through perceptions and understandings of what it meant to undertake and develop a creative project. However, as the progression continued, new and alternative methods of communication and the ability to reach others for the artistic development were approached. Understanding how each of these components worked together through the process of developing the “Mind the Music” project provided new approaches to working with artists and preparing events to enhance creativity. The main conclusion which I have reached from the process is that it takes new means and methods to drive forward a project. The management and leadership skills that are now needed are not based on learned formulaic methods that have been used in business in the past. Instead, the success of a project is reliant specifically on the ability to use creativity and innovation while having a sense of openness to the potential opportunities available. I also have grown in an understanding that there is the need to have different levels of knowledge based on trends that are currently used for target groups as well as how to use innovation to enhance and further the trends, specifically by using risk taking methods and creativity. Affective Skills The first changes and progressions which were made were inter-disciplinary and resulted in action based learning, specifically because of the way in which the task was approached. When beginning, there was a focus on artists, specifically because of the emotional involvement in musicians that each of the members had. When looking at the current scene in the UK and among artists, a specific belief became the central concern. The goals that were created at the beginning of the project where taken from the group perspective as well as my personal perspective. The main belief which I held was one that should create a higher level of support and collaboration among both musicians and artists. Providing marketing and business skills is one which I strongly believe in providing musicians with, specifically because I understand the process of making music and the difficulties which it can lead to when working toward a performance. Even though there was a driving force and sense of passion to create different outlets for musicians and artists from the beginning, there were also questions of how this could be validated. My emotional involvement was one that was focused on friends and others who had talent not having an outlet to display their music. However, I noted that my intra-personal development had to change from the passion of connecting to musicians to creating a source in which musicians could play their music in. When the process led to emailing venues and receiving no responses, I recognized a stronger emotional involvement in the process as well as frustration toward the venues. There was a belief that approval and support should be given to the artists because of the difficulties which they had in getting venues. By the end of the project, I had changed in my beliefs with artist performance and leadership. The shift in the project occurred when creative approaches to marketing and more professional concepts were looked into. I specifically began to understand that assisting with musicians is one that required a different type of leadership that was designed not only on traditional methods of finding venues, but also on offering something that was outside of the traditional means of advertising, marketing and working toward support within society. The creativity that followed was based on how to be creative with individual leadership skills and with the organization that it took to complete the performance. Behavioural Skills The behavioural skills that were created were based on the different forms of leadership created among the group. McGregor’s Theory of X and Y Managers were both noted in the group and created the main area of conflict among the group. The X group of managers controlled, directed and threatened the group while believing that work and the efforts made wouldn’t lead to direct results. Theory Y has the opposing viewpoint, which is positive in nature and which is based on the belief that individuals have a sense of self – control and self – direction when moving through organizational initiatives or problems (Gosling, Marturano, Dennison, 7, 2003). The behaviour of other groups members, as well as my interpersonal beliefs all were related to these skills and divisions in management. The most reflective area that showed the colours of leadership and behavioural skills was when Rob introduced the different creative measures for the venue and project. At first, there wasn’t a response; however, the division in the group told that many were against this idea. The body movements became more tense and reserved and facial expressions became serious. Those who were opposed to the idea held this specific type of behaviour when introducing the new ideas. The opposition to the creativity of this idea is one which shows the X group of managers and the need to have security by offering traditional means of advertising for the venue. Those in favour of the idea showed this by listening to Rob with open gestures. The inter communication of the group was led by these two distinct physical presences, which was exemplified with this change and continued to carry forward. The Y group of managers that had a more positive expression toward the new idea then were able to move into the central leadership position to find new and alternative means of organizing the main event, specifically because the actions began to be supported in a positive manner. Cognitive Skills When first beginning this project, the cognitive skills that were relied on were based on the understanding of how business events should be conducted. A logo, name of the event, slogan and marketing of the event were the main considerations. This continued with the group belief that the organization of the event could follow in traditional methods of other concerts while displaying musicians. There was also a belief by the group that musicians needed more outlets and venues and would instantly be interested in the performance and would want to perform. Grabbing the interest was one which the group believed would be easy to implement. There were several patterns and experiential actions that changed the cognitive skills and learning of the group. The transformation first began when the venues didn’t respond to the performance option after being introduced to the idea through flyers and being contacted through email. Since this occurred with several venues, it was noted as a pattern that was among venues. The group was forced to go through a transformation with the understanding that the patterns with venues would alter according to the times and what was expected. The second pattern that led to transformation and learning was from the disinterest of musicians. At the beginning, it was expected that musicians would need more opportunities to gain recognition while making money. However, when contacting different groups, there was a continuous disinterest. The conceptual thinking then showed that a different level of appeal and creativity had to be used when contacting musicians for performances. The beginning beliefs and the end results then differed because of changes of the time as well as assumptions that were left behind with the changes which were currently in society. Conative Skills The process that was undergone with the creative management of this project was one which helped to redefined what is needed for forecasting and future needs. The transformation process and the need to create unique opportunities is the driving force in managing and leading an event for artists or creativity. There are no determined outcomes or capabilities of reaching a specific target market in a formulated way, such as was done in the past. From this process, I have now begun to understand that innovation and risk taking are the driving forces that help with the success of a project, whether it is for artists or other types of creative management skills. More important, there is a growing belief that the patterns and traditional means of putting together an event are no longer effective. Trends and the desire to see new and innovative means are instead the leading aspect of those that are in society. The conative skills that have been developed with the basis of innovation and risk taking are directly linked to the concepts of how business is changing today. Many have noted that the process of businesses is no longer one that is based on continuous improvement and is instead disrupted by changes in trends, information and technology that are a part of the work force. “One of the primary characteristics of the increasing complex and chaotic environment faced by business today is not just change, but an increasing proportion of discontinuous, disruptive change. Inventing the ‘next great thing’ – or, the new new thing – defines a business’s success, or if it is invented by competitors, its demise” (Adler, 490, 2006). The process that the group underwent with getting responses from the public, musicians and venues is an example of how innovation and risk taking are the driving forces of an event. There is a general knowledge that having the basic types of entertainment and innovations will not provide the same levels of interest to those that are interested in performance and venues, or any other types of performance. To enhance conative skills in the future, I can develop a focus on leadership that is based on measures of innovation. However, the decision making process will need to consist of others in the group that are also interested in the same risk taking and innovation. The example of this is when a different approach was needed in reaching venues and finding musicians, specifically by adding in alternative attractions, such as body painting. As the group moved from the traditional methods of marketing and leadership to innovation and creativity, the project was able to boost and was enhanced. This shows that it was the innovation and the ability to take risks with the specific project that allowed for the complete organization of the project, as well as the ability to reach a different measure of success that wouldn’t have been available with traditional perspectives that would have been a part of the project. For the future, the approach to leadership in which I will take will have the foundation of providing innovation and creativity to any management need. Process – Evaluation The ability to work with creative management is not only related to personal associations with the development of a project. The capacity of the group is one of the driving forces of effectively building an event that is successful and innovative. The process that was used specifically for creative management and which was developed with the group altered how the activity was approached as well as the results that were achieved. The process that was combined with this was built through goals and objectives defined as the foundation of the group and grew with the actions that were taken and the learning process which developed while going through the main components to achieve the main goal. Formulation of Objectives The creative industries have often been disregarded because of the division between artistic and commercial objectives within the music industry. Fallacies have been created, specifically with the belief of businesses that artists don’t have the capacity to make money. Artists have supported this ideology, specifically because of a closed market and the inability to link business to artistic endeavours. However, the experience economy is one that is now justifying the link between artists and the business industry, specifically by noting that artists can contribute to businesses and vice versa. Breaking the stigmas of artists from the past and incorporating it into a different role is the basis of the objectives. The fallacies which are focused on include art being a luxury as opposed to being a craft and business, defining art and what it means to a business and that commerce corrupts the true meanings of art (Austin, Devin, 1-30, 2009). Breaking these stigmas and supporting artists with a commercial endeavour grew specifically because of the need to begin closing the gap between artists and businesses. The aim of the project undertaken by the group was to create a space that artists, both visual and musical, could use to make money while advertising their work. The support of the group was to act as a business that provided investment and support, specifically as a business, so artists could have more opportunities while working within their chosen field. The tasks which were defined were divided by financial, administrative, organizational and marketing requirements. The financial component was based on group members finding sponsors and organizing the money needed for the venue, security, sound technician, food and artists. The administrative component consisted of correspondence while working with the website and other forms needed for advertising. The marketing component was based on creating banners, ads and working with production companies as well as finding ways to distribute the different items for sale. This was furthered with technological means used for advertising the event. The last component of organizational tasks was based as a liaison between the artists, venue, sponsors and members to ensure that the event was completed in the correct manner. Planning and Organization The planning and organization phase of the project is one that was driven by two factors. The first was the planning that divided the group, specifically because one group was interested in the first aims and objectives of the project while the second part of the group understood the process for change that was needed for a successful project. Planning and organization of a project is known to be driven by frequency, impact and the planning of change. The frequency of change is one that is noted by how often one has to alter plans before an event. If this occurs too often, then it can lead to resistance to change and ultimate failure of the project. However, some frequency of change and manoeuvres for effective growth are also required to begin to alter the trends in society and the innovations required. The impact that is made with change can work both positively and negatively. If change is one that doesn’t produce results and which leads to complications, then resistance to future change will grow. However, if there is a positive response, then the impact will help to propel the project forward. The planning of change can be used to develop a positive response and to ensure that the success of the project from the beginning aims is kept in perspective, specifically for the growth of the corporation (Rafferty, Griffin, 1154, 2006). The group work that developed the planning and organization saw positive impacts with the organization through the project, which propelled different components forward. The initial planning was based on brainstorming that each of the members agreed to. Since the tasks were not divided, each of the members was able to create a connection to the project with the understanding that change would be needed as the process continued. The second component of this was the division into the different groups, specifically with two group leaders that provided a sense of consistency while delivering specific components of the organization. In the marketing group, this led the two group leaders to develop venue organizers, invitations and a list of sponsors for organization of the event. After this, there was change, specifically by combining groups so faster work could be done. When this was done, new change was offered through more innovations. The impact was one that led to positive results as new ideas and resources became available, specifically with advertising methods that could be used to enhance the project. The turning point with the organization was in week 6 when it was noted that the organizational pattern didn’t provide consistency or a positive impact. The organization was changed into smaller groups that were divided into 4 – 6 members. This was specifically so press releases, flyers and sponsorships could be distributed while contributing more to the project. The change led to each member having a specific and defined task, as opposed to having several tasks for the group leaders. The problem with this was based on inefficient assignments with tasks. While the motivation was to add more creativity and personal leadership into the groups, the groups became disorganized and stopped growth of the project. This shows that the main change in the organizational structure led to resistance in change and didn’t provide effective outcomes with the organization of the event. Transformation / Action Effectiveness The effectiveness of the product is one that is different because of the several musicians and artists which can be involved. The Mind of Music that is presented is not only designed as a basic concert, but one which has both an indoor and outdoor use of space with visual artists. The appeal that is created from this is able to present more effective means of drawing crowds. This combines with the different methodologies of commercial products which create a sense of professionalism to the event while offering more capabilities for the venue to draw in a crowd and revenue because of the looks that the event carries. The product, while having some traditional concepts that still apply, is effective because of the collaborative arts that are a part of the venue. Surprise, Satisfaction, Stimulation, Savouring The aesthetic value of the event is one that is based on the hybrid approach to the artists in the event. However, the surprise was one which showed a lack in the beginning, as venues and musicians didn’t respond or believe in the project. It was from this that there was awareness that the unusualness was not enough to support the event. The satisfaction followed this with the decision to have several activities as a part of the event. This became appropriate because of the need to have innovation while providing music as a centre of attention. Caricatures, painters and others that were found to support the event then created different levels of satisfaction. The stimulation of the event was one that noted a lack of motivation and transformation. When beginning the project, there was a lack of motivation and response from musicians and venues. The artists also had a lack of response, specifically by giving higher prices and not being as interested in the event. The transformation required to change this was based on creating new alternatives for the artists and for commercial sales. The intellectual and emotional meaning was one that could be savoured because of the approach to the hybrid arts that could create a specific atmosphere. At the same time, there was a direct meaning that responded to the fallacies that musicians and artists carry, specifically which disregards the arts and the ability for musicians and artists to make money. Efficiency, Consistency and Reliability The success of the project is one that relies on two components. The first is the timing and consistency of developing the project and the other is the level of developing a creative city that can be a part of the community. Each of these are intertwined with the capability of moving into the community and attracting, producing and retaining artists for the work within the city (Markusen, 2 2006). The efficiency in this project was one that was done correctly, specifically because the main problems and events were taken care of in the first four weeks. However, the sixth week noted several changes as well as the inability to move forward with various components of the project. This created a gap, specifically because of the change that was required and the inability to reach specific individuals in the community. For a creative city and cultural initiative, this lack of development at the end could lead to difficulties in attracting artists and others in the community. The consistency and reliability had the same framework, with the changes creating a lack of consistency. The change of the organization in the 6th week led to a lack of consistency; however, all members remained committed to finding the different proponents for the event. The reliability was then able to follow this with different alternatives through the change as well as following the initial aims and objectives of the project. Analysis and Evaluation The process that was used for the event was one that noted several different outcomes. The societal components noted that there are changes occurring among venues and artists, specifically because the response to the event was one that was not initially met with enthusiasm. There is now an expectation that there will be a commercial return, specifically through marketing and advertisements and having different sales products. The group was required to change the main event based on the societal expectations and the need to create a successful project. My relation to these different concepts noted the changes and how each was reflected specifically to providing the right engagement for the project and working with the changes used for the success of the event. References Adler, Nancy. (2006). “The Arts and Leadership: Now That We Can Do Anything, What Will We Do?” Academy of Management Learning and Education (5), (4). Austin, Robert, Lee Devin. (2009). “It Is Okay for Artists to Make Money...No, Really, It’s Okay.” Harvard Business School; Working Paper. Gosling, Bolden, J Marturano, P Dennison. (2003). “A Review of Leadership Theory and Competency Frameworks.” Centre for Leadership Studies. Markusen, Ann. (2006). “Cultural Planning and the Creative City.” Project on Regional and Industrial Documents Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs. Rafferty, Alannah, Mark Griffin. (2006). “Perceptions of Organizational Change: A Stress and Coping Experience.” Journal of Applied Psychology (91), (5). Read More