Leadership, Innovation, and Creativity at Oman Air - Case Study Example

Innovation and Creativity Name Class Unit Reflective Report Introduction Leadership is an important component of the innovation process in an organisation (Byrne et al. 2009). In the 21st century, creativity acts as a key driver for success in an organisation. This means that leadership is supposed to take active part in the implementation of strategies that will lead to creativity and innovation in an organisation (Barsh, Capozzi & Davidson, 2008). Leadership is supposed to create an environment which allows renewal and building of an organisational culture which allows innovation and creativity. The way in which leaders manage and encourage diversity in an organisation is also a key contributor to the innovation process (Byrne et al. 2009). At the moment, work processes changes faster unlike past where the environment was slow and stable. There is rapidly changing technology, globalisation and unpredictable environment. In the past, the existence of monopolies in the technology sector meant that they could survive without innovation. At the moment, creativity and innovation are required so that a company remains competitive (Zhou & Shalley, 2008). This reflective report will give a reflective account based on my personal development through several critical incidents that I experienced at Oman Air where I worked as an administrator and the unit. I will synthesise theoretical, practical and personal accounts of my growing capacity in leadership and innovation. This will involve using authentic examples based on my work. At the beginning of the job at Oman Air, my knowledge on innovation and creativity and the role of leadership was low. This changed as I progressed with the work and also observed incidences which further illuminated my understanding. Learning the unit has also helped me a lot in enhancing my knowledge of innovation and creativity. One thing I appreciated is the fact that through innovation, one is able to distinguish a leader and a follower. There is need to change the way of doing things if there are no changes in result (Phillips, 2008). I was able to learn that an innovative culture is made up of six building blocks which are; values, processes, resources, behaviour, climate and success. According to Zhou & Shalley (2008), all the six blocks are dynamically interconnected. For example, value is connected to creating an impact on the way peoples behave the organisation climate and ways of defining success. I learned the fact that handling behaviours, values and organisation climate is hard for the management. Through values, it becomes possible to drive the organisation priorities and decisions. This is seen through the ways in which company spends time and innovation (Phillips, 2008). Values in an organisation are seen by the way in which the employees behave. According to Barsh, Capozzi & Davidson, (2008), through behaviours, it is possible to describe how people act in cause of innovation. I experienced this at Oman Air. The managers eliminated a product and came up with a new one. This was aimed at energizing the employees and gives them a clear description of their future in the organisation. The tenor of workplace is determined by the climate available. When the leadership enables an innovative environment, there is engagement and enthusiasm. The employees are engaged and challenged to carry out risks in an environment which is safe. I was able to appreciate the fact that through a safe and innovation environment, it becomes easy to have independent thinking (Hunter, Bedell & Mumford, 2007). The importance of resources as a building block in innovative thinking cannot be underestimated. I learned that resources have three main factors which are; people, systems and projects. Having innovative champions in an organisation have a great impact on the organisation values and climate (Phillips, 2008). When an innovation is developed, processes acts as the route in which innovations follow. The success of innovation is seen in three main levels. I learned that the three levels are external, enterprise and personal. An innovative organisation is able to gain external recognition. Competitors as well as the stakeholders are able to access the firm innovation and also determine whether innovation have paid off. An example of an innovative firm that I have been able to observe its success is Apple computers. The company have been coming up with innovative products at a very fast rate which have made them to be known worldwide. I was able to understand the way in which success in an organisation helps to instil values, behaviours and processes (Barsh, Capozzi & Davidson, 2008). DuPont, (2002) asserts that connection between leadership and innovation is vital. For the organisation operating in 21st century, creativity and innovations is the key to success through getting a competitive edge. I have been able to know that creative organisations do not emerge without the right leadership. Leaders have to be involved in coming up structure, culture and process that will enable the organisation to be creative and effective (Byrne et al. 2009). Leaders are responsible in determining what will happen in an organisation. An organisational leadership is the greatest source of competitive edge. Leaders have a role to create and manage the organisation environment. I leaned that the organisation comes up with the strategy and work process while the leaders carry out implementation and leads to accomplishment. The leader is supposed to support, encourage and act as an inspiration to the followers. This implies an organisation is supposed to have the right leaders in place for it to succeed. One thing that I was able to appreciate about the leadership is that a leader must be interested in innovation to avoid stifling creativity (Hunter, Bedell & Mumford, 2007). The top leadership in an organisation have a task to ensure that they come up with strategies that leads the organisation to innovation (DuPont, 2002). As I looked at several organisations which have been successful in innovation and creativity, I realised the role played by the leaders. For example, IBM success was brought out through change of leadership. Lou Gerstner is a leader who is credited at bringing innovation and creativity at IBM (IBM, 2011). General Electric success in innovation and creativity was also carried out through leadership of Jack Welch. The two examples are clear evidence that without appropriate leadership, innovation is hardly attained. The leaders are supposed to have the ability to convince the employees the need for organisational culture change that will lead to innovation (DuPont, 2002). Bossink (2007) has proved that organisations that have weak leadership are prone to downsizing and restructuring. This is as opposed to organisations with strong leadership where downsizing and restructuring is rare. This is through leadership that runs the organisation in a way that prevent it from reaching a point where restructuring is needed. During the learning, I was able to relate to an experience during the financial crisis. I witnessed an organisation being forced to downsize due to poor perfoamcne. This was a trend in most organisations during the period. Despite this, organisations which had strong leadership were able to survive the period without downsizing. This is a true indicator that organisations need leaders who are creative and effective in order to be successful (Bossink, 2007). Alex Osborn and Sidney Parnes carried out a research on the process of creative thinking (Bossink, 2007). During the unit, I was able to gain an insight into the creative thinking process. Creative thinking can be broken up into three main steps which are exploring the challenges, generating ideas and preparing for action. The CPM process by Osborn is made up of seven processes. These are: orientation, preparation, analysis, hypothesis, incubation, synthesis and verification. I was able to appreciate how the creative process has been made more deliberate and explicit by the work of Osborn. The process by the author is highly applicable in the real world. As I analysed the process during the unit, I was able to see that the author main interest was emphasized on coming up with a creative talent. Though the main focus was in developing creative talent especially in the area of education, his work is very applicable to organisation’s environment (Hsu & Fan, 2010). Through Osborn process, after a challenge have been identified, there is need to reframe it in a way that will lead to creative problem solving (Hsu & Fan, 2010). This process is referred to as abstraction where we look at the issue in a wider sense. In a problem solving activity, this is a problem that should not be ignored. In the Osborn Parnes process, I was able to appreciate that it is in the fourth stage that where idea finding is carried out. At this point, brainstorming is carried out through meetings. This is a stage where we look for ideas and the real problem is not yet identified. A list of ideas is generated which have to be acted on. I recall a work experience in which a problem solving process failed due to fact that after the brainstorming meeting, the ideas generated were not acted on. The management failed to come up with the way forward after spending time brainstorming on ideas. In idea finding, creativity tools are used a lot. In brainstorming, it is a free association technique (McGuire & Rhodes, 2009). I was able to understand why the time spent on brainstorming is very important. The environment in which brainstorming is carried out determines the ideas being generated. At this point, the importance of leadership creating a good environment is needed (Zhou & Shalley, 2008). During the process of brainstorming, there are three techniques that can help in bringing about the best results. One of the techniques that I was able to appreciate was use of visual stimuli. This is a technique that I have encountered in several of organisations meeting when brainstorming. In this technique, we were given images and asked to list all verbs that are associated with the images and then return to the brainstorming problem. Another technique is using the 5W’s +1h in order to ask questions which are related to the problem. The last technique involves looking for associations by asking questions related to the senses. It is important to note that brainstorming is one of the many techniques that are used in problem solving (Hsu & Fan, 2010). According to Hsu & Fan (2010), after the ideas have been found, it comes to the stage where solution has to be found. The process involves looking at the generated ideas during brainstorming and looking for ways in which they can be strengthened. I was involved in an organisation where we came out with a criterion which was to be considered in helping to evaluate the ideas available. The ideas are supposed o meet the set criteria so that it can be considered as a solution. I learnt that a creative idea cannot help an organisation unless it is implemented (Andrew et al. 2010). Research has proved that creativity is a multifaceted concept. For the generated ideas to be allowed to develop to plan there is need for acceptance. It’s important to gain maximum acceptance. During this process, one can use divergent thinking by listing and answering all questions that may be asked. Convergent thinking is used as a means of selecting the responses which are likely to lead to success (Zhou & Shalley, 2008). After this, one is supposed to come up with a plan for action. This involves coming with the start and end dates for the targets. I was once involved in drafting the plan of action in an organisation. During the process, I was to assign responsibilities and also come up with check points. The action plan that I created had areas for, person carrying out the task, time to start, time to end and the check point. As explained, the whole of Osborn Parnes creative problem solving process ends at this point. The model is based on coming up with different ideas through brainstorming as well as deferred judgement. The process thus breaks the habitual way of thinking (Amabile, 2010). Creativity involves awakening curiosity and being able to break away from rational and formalised procedures. This is what is required for one to succeed in creativity and innovation. As I evaluate myself, I find that I have high potential for creativity and innovation. I am always keen to develop new solution which is different from past way of doing things. I have been involved in situations where organisations have been able to expand their horizon and competencies (Hsu & Fan, 2010). According to what I have learnt, innovation is a way of turning opportunity into new ideas which are then put to use practically. Kirton (2003) asserts that innovation has two aspects which are degree of innovation and the scope of innovation. There is need to have a vision and strategy in order to carry out innovation. Leaders in an organisation are supposed to share the common vision so as to come up with a disciplined approach in tackling innovation (Zhou & Shalley, 2008). There is need for an organisation culture that encourages sharing of ideas without need for anonymity. This is where the employees are encouraged to contribute to the organisation any idea. There is also need for transparency when employees generate ideas as this promotes motivation (Amabile, 2010). I learnt that creativity is not innate quality in a few individuals but it is present in everyone. It’s a learned ability that helps us to come up with new relationships between events and leads to a new entity of knowledge. In an organisation, creativity through generation of ideas is very vital. In the research and development sector of an organisation, creativity is needed. I have learned that creativity can be done by any organisation irrespective of its size. Also creativity techniques are applicable to any functional area in an organisation (Hunter, Bedell & Mumford, 2007). As I evaluate my capabilities in innovation and creativity, I find that I have the capability to lead an organisation to success. I can rate myself as a collaborative leader. This is due to fact that when am in a leadership position, I allows everyone to participate in decision making. I have been able to successfully diffuse leadership and ensure that everyone is empowered. This is achieved by ensuring that everyone is trained and coached so that they can also serve as effective leaders. I have been able to encourage the spirit of innovation in organisation. This is through encouraging environment which allows creativity to flourish and also where workers feel secure and accepted. I am versatile with a wide range of interests and also open to feelings and emotions (Hsu & Fan, 2010). During judgements, I am aesthetic and I have always valued orientation during low economic values. One of my weaknesses is the fact that I am aggressive in a masculine way. A creative person is not required to be aggressive in a masculine way but is supposed to have feminist interests. I have to work in ensuring that I am less critical of myself as well as ensuring that my motivation for curiosity is high. In managing creativity, allocating resources is an area that I have been able to excel in. My skills in enhancing creativity are great as I demonstrated during my tenure at Oman Air. This is through fostering divergent thinking which leads to truly innovative products (Hsu & Fan, 2010). I also ensure that I manage creative risks. This is due to fact that creative tasks are connected to high variance of outcomes. There is possibility of coming up with unwanted consequences which includes, low quality of output, and lack of external compliance. Another area is enhancing process perfoamcne. In managing creativity intensive processes, there is need to facilitate transparency. From my experience in innovation and creativity, there is need to manage knowledge. This is due to fact that knowledge management is related to the level of creativity. Organisation success in innovation and creativity is also dependent on resource allocation. There is also need to identify the characteristics of resources as a prerequisite for resource allocation. This involves looking at areas such as job assignments, team building (allocation of people), time allocation and other resources. A good management should be able to allow freedom. This is due to fact that freedom allows increase in variance while reducing predictability. Allowing freedom also enables people to approach problems in ways which they make most of their skills in creativity. There is also need for good and continuous communication. This is due to fact that communication is essential to creativity (Amabile, 2010). Part 2 Case study Creativity and innovation at Oman Air Oman air is one of the most innovative airlines. The organisation has been able to win several awards on creativity and innovation over the years. I worked as an administrator in the company and was able to be part of several innovative and creativity processes. One of the most notable characteristic of Oman Air was the ability for the airline to learn and renew itself when faced with problems. The social organisational context of the airline has been able to foster innovation in the airline. The organisation has been investing in new technology and product innovation which have enabled them to be at the forefront in the aviation industry (Oman Air, 2014). Innovations Oman air was among the first airlines to come up with frequent flyer program. The airline had been a pioneer in various innovations in the airline industry. Earlier on, the airline came up with the most luxurious toilet and later was among the first to introduce onboard wifi. These were new innovations at the time when most of the airlines were spending less in customer comfort. The organisations had succeeded in coming up with new ways of doing things. In 2009, the airline made the poshest toilet in the airline industry. This was a toilet based on the first class crew of their newly purchased A330-300. The flooring was capable of imitating a sand beach. All the products that were offered by the new airplanes were innovative with an aim of attaining a competitive edge. The company CEO was keen in ensuring that the organisation was able to come up with innovative products (Oman Air, 2014). Achievements In 2008, the airline won the prestigious FFP innovation award at a ceremony held in Istanbul turkey. This award that was competed by over 75 international airlines hence winning it was a major achievement. The airline frequent flyer program was voted as an innovative idea as it was among the first and most successful program. The employees are supposed to vote for their best competitor who has excelled in customer loyalty. The airline has been very active in innovation as expressed by peers through voting. This have made the airline to be rated among world successful airlines such as Emirates Airline, Etihad Airways, US airways and Virgin Blue among others (Oman Air, 2014). The organisation launched “the future by airbus presentation” (Oman Air, 2014). This is an initiative that was aimed at encouraging the students to be innovative on issues related to future of aviation. The organisation did this with an aim of aspiring students based on its vision on sustainable aviation in 2050. This is an initiative that shows that the organisation leadership is committed to creativity and innovation (Kirton, 2003). According to CEO, the organisation efforts are aimed at inspiring the next generation of experts in aviation due to fact that innovation cannot flourish without inspiration. Leadership and innovation Creativity at Oman air has been stimulated by leadership that encourages innovation. The role of leadership at Oman air have been a major tool that have helped in ensuring that there is good environment for innovation in the company. The working conditions in the organisation are friendly and inclusive. Looking at the social structure of the organisation, it helps the employees feel secure and accepted (Shalley & Gilson, 2004). The social structure have been made in such a way that it can bring out creativity. Leadership at the airways have been able to respect value and harness different ideas and backgrounds (Shalley & Gilson, 2004). This has helped the employees to utilise their unique personal assets in working for Oman air. For creativity to be successful, the top leadership should value it (Vroom & Jago, 2007). This should be supported by leaders who are enthusiastic in coming up with new ideas. This is the case of Oman air where the leadership have been on forefront in encouraging new ideas. Working at Oman Air was a great opportunity as the leadership provided a challenging environment which nurtured creativity. The organisation has an exciting vision which has led to a working environment where everyone works towards a common goal. Shared and an enhanced sense of vision are inspired through the leadership in place. Mohammed Mubarak Al Shikely who was the marketing manager at the time the organisation won the award had led his team to be effective and creative. This was also seen in all levels of leadership where the work environment was conducive to creativity (Andrew et al. 2010). Leaders at Oman Air treat the organisation like a living system which has innovative dynamics in all people. This is proved by the fact that employees are not treated like machines. Employees are treated as human beings who are the main support for the organisation. This has made Oman Air to have employees who have the capability to adapt to any environment and also innovate. The spirit of invocation can only be harnessed by an all inclusive leadership (Mumford et al. 2002). The whole system in Oman air has been engaged to help in ensuring that all intelligence and creativity have been harnessed (Oman Air, 2014). The employees are challenged to come up with new solutions to the problems. The organisation engages the employees in questions which allow them to think freely. To ensure that the organisation culture does not inhibit creativity and innovation, the leadership had to work in creative a culture that fostered creativity and innovation (DuPont, 2002). This was done by ensuring that the organisation changed the way it functioned in the past. Employees are encouraged to be inquisitive on why the organisation works in a certain way. If an employee fails in their innovation, they are not punished for it but it is taken as a learning process. This led to the current organisation culture at Oman air where the employees are able to take risks and make mistakes without fear. Diversity Diversity is one of the vital pillars in innovation in an organisation. Creating conducive environment where diversity can thrive (Meurling, 2004). The difference if employees are harnessed to create a more effective functioning organisation. The employees at Oman air have a sense of belonging which have helped the organisation to get the best out of the employees. Barriers that hinder employees to contribute their best have been eliminated in the organisation. Among the barriers, barrier to diversity have helped to enhance full commitment and contribution. In an organisation where diversity is encouraged, it becomes easier to innovate. This is due to the availability of different mindsets which enhances innovation and helps flexibility (Meurling, 2004). When there are diverse workforces in an organisation, chances for innovation and creativity are high (Amabile, 2010). Discussion Creativity is made up of task motivation, relevant skills and creativity relevant skills. It has also been proved that creativity is based on the work environment. When the work environment has workload pressure and organisational impediments, there is low innovation and creativity. The level of creativity that is experienced at Oman air is thus a product of leadership that have created a working environment that is all inclusive and encourages innovation and creativity. Creative leaders are thus needed to manage innovative processes. Leaders have been able to inspire the employees to bring out their best at Oman air. Organisation culture has a great impact on innovation and creativity. An organisation can only be creative if its environment permits it. Creative climate have been able to differentiate organisations that fosters innovation and those who does not. Oman Air has an environment that encourages innovation and recognises individual efforts in creativity. Organisation climate is a vital tool in determining the performance and change. Several studies have been able to prove the importance of work environment in association with creativity. Climate for creativity at Oman Air have been catalyst for innovative results in the organisation (Hunter, Bedell & Mumford, 2007). A very important issue that is upheld at Oman air is reflection. This involves making sense about the current situation and coming up with new ways of doing things. According to research, reflection is a very important part in creativity and innovation. This involves looking at organisation past events and trying to make sense about them. This has been attributed to coming up with new ways of doing things and making informed future decisions. This was seen when Oman air introduced the frequent flyer program. The airline looked at past perfoamcne of its customer services and came up with a way that would enhance service delivery (Andrew et al. 2010). All employees are given equal opportunities to give their ideas (Teller, 2010). This also helps in creating an interactive workplace where ideas are shared and commented on. Ideas are presented without need for being anonymous. This helps the employees to give feedback and ask questions where possible. The organisation uses electronic software to gather feedback sand also communicates at all levels. This method has been transparent and cost effective (Andrew et al. 2010). Oman Air management have been able to manage creativity intensive processes. This is through facilitating transparency through making an identification of creativity pockets. The management makes sure that those involved in creativity have been equipped with actions and strategies. By identifying that creative tasks are knowledge intensive, the organisation has put in place a strong knowledge management framework (Isaksen & Ekvall, 2010). The organisation determines what kind of knowledge is need for any type of creativity. The organisation then engages in encouraging both divergent and convergent management to ensure that the employees are truly creative. The organisation than allocates resources to creativity tasks identified (Hunter, Bedell & Mumford, 2007). This is done through ensuring that the organisation is able to identify the characteristic of the tasks before allocating the resources. Resources involve people through making sure that jobs are assigned to the right people who are creative. There is also team allocation where the organisation ensures that the selected team does not inhibit creativity. During this process, the size of the team is looked at. Large teams are prone to inhibiting creativity as opposed to smaller teams (Amabile, 2010). Time is a very central resource in creativity and innovation. At Oman air, the allocation of time is given paramount interest. All processes have deadlines which are supposed to be met. It is important to know that time pressure can encourage innovation in some instances. This is through increasing an individual motivation. Through understanding that assigning resources effectively influences innovation and creativity, Oman Air has been able to succeed. At the same time, the organisation has been keen not to add resources above the set threshold of sufficiency (Andrew et al. 2010). Allowing freedom is associated with an increase in variance and reduces predictability. This has helped Oman Air to increase their level of creativity though it has also increased risk levels (Teller, 2010). The management are involved in a task of deciding the freedom to allow for any particular task to ensure there is high creativity. Allowing people freedom is associated with increasing the level of intrinsic motivation as well as sense of ownership. This has made the employees at Oman Air to approach problems in ways which allows them to utilise the best of their skills (Andrew et al. 2010). The main problem that was identified with Oman Air was the long approval process. This is a process that was followed in ensuring that the creative products made were of high quality and meets the set standards. Airline industry is sensitive and requires that the products being made are safe and does not attract criticism that can damage the organisation reputation (Teller, 2010). During the innovation of the most posh toilet in the airline industry, there was criticism on the costs involved as well as the need for such an expensive facility. This was countered due to fact that the approval process had identified on ensuring that the products was important and met all criteria. The airline can work in ensuring that the approval process is simplified while at the same time ensuring there is no compromise on the safety of innovations (Amabile, 2010). Oman Air has been able to recognise that communication is very vital for innovation. The organisation has appropriate communication strategies that allow smooth flow of information. This has helped in mitigating variance brought about by freedom and weak specifications (McGuire & Rhodes, 2009). Looking at the way Oman Air handles innovation makes one see the connection between excellent communication and creativity. All those involved in innovation does so through smooth communication channels where consultation and criticism as accepted. In the latest innovation, the organisation was able to portray the effects of cooperative workforce in tackling problems (Amabile, 2010). One of the most remarkable aspects I noted at Oman Air is the fact that members of the organisation are allowed to speak their mind without fear of being rebuked or punished. The organisation holds creativity at high esteem. During brainstorming sessions, being invited is seen as an honour and trust. The organisation is always keen on the facilities that they provide (Teller, 2010). As I worked for the company, I was able to contribute and also engage others in innovation and creativity. This work at Oman Air acted as a great milestone in understanding the requirement for innovation and creativity. The work helped me to understand the role I am supposed to play as a leader in ensuring that innovation flourishes in the organisation (Byrne et al. 2009). The organisation had empowered the employees and everyone was free to give their ideas. The organisation has always been keen to follow up on ideas that are generated during the brainstorming sessions. 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