Assessing the Work Environment for Creativity - Case Study Example

Reflective Learning Log (Name) (Institution) (Course) (Instructor) (Date of submission) The variable of change At a personal level, change has been characterized by an adjustment in behavior, where in the past and in the present, I have changed the way I do things or perceive them in order to generate a different positive result. At an organizational level, I have realized that the variable of change is used as a catalyst for performance and productivity as supported by Weick and Quinn, (1999). As highlighted in the course, modern organizations are relying significantly on their change processes and programs to enhance their competitive advantage in a highly competitive, globalized and knowledge intensive market environment. Organizational change in modern organizations is characterized by an increased focus on human resources as the most valuable asset, where the management is keen to leverage interdependencies between human resources with other types of organizational resources such as financial resources, information technology and structural capital among others as supported and argued by Lepak and Snell, (1999). Ruona and Gibson, (2004) supports (Wilson, 2000) by suggesting that for sustainable success and competitiveness, organizations must engage the human resource and embed continuous process of change in the organizational culture in a bid to ensure that existing organizational systems, processes and people are flexible and adaptable to environmental uncertainties. This is specifically important in ensuring there are no strategic tensions as discussed by De Wit and Meyer, (2010). Using strategy to facilitate change Facilitating effective change and aligning the organization to present and future environments does not occur automatically. In order to ensure that organizations are able to manage change effectively and to align the organization to its external environment as effortlessly and as sufficiently as possible, it is crucial to formulate and implement strategy both proactively and reactively (Quinn, et al., 1995). In modern environments however, responding proactively is highly encouraged in order to ensure that organizations are not only aware of their surrounding but also are ready and prepared to capitalize on its strengths, ameliorate its weaknesses, take advantage of the market gaps and opportunities and more importantly, manage any potential risks and threats(Weick, & Quinn, 1999).Be it as it may, I would think that the uncertainties and unpredictability of life may more often than not, fail to afford us time to plan and to respond proactively and it is therefore important to be on toes at all times and apply emergent approaches to strategy formation. Therefore, it becomes vital to blend the emergent and planned elements to strategy development, which is achieved by integrating strategic planning and strategic planning. Integrating strategic planning with strategic thinking means combining the aspects of direction, commitment, coordination, programming and optimization generated by planning with the aspects of opportunism, adaptability, learning, entrepreneurship and support generated by emergent approach to formation of strategy (De Wit & Meyer, 2010). The importance of engaging everyone in the change management process From the course readings and discussions I have engaged in, I have learnt that despite the positive outcomes that comes with change both at a personal and at an organizational level, change is difficult and not every change initiative translates to success. As a result, it is important that those responsible for developing and implementing change initiatives at an organizational level, actively engage all the relevant parties and stakeholders in understanding change, embracing change, gaining the knowledge on why change is needed, how it should be implemented, when it should be implemented and what role each party or stakeholder plays in implementing the mutually agreed organizational change (Lepak & Snell, 1999). In personal view, engaging all relevant stakeholders who includes the management, the employees, customers, shareholders and business partners among others in the whole change management process is important in helping each one of them to take ownership of change management goals and to be more committed and accountable to ensuring that the anticipated change management outcomes are achieved effectively and efficiently. More often than not, organizations must alter their existing organizational processes, systems, people and operational frameworks in order to accommodate new change initiatives (Eriksson & Sundgren, 2005). However, I have learnt that in a bid to change existing organizational processes, systems, people and operational frameworks, the management must be keen not to lose focus, but more importantly, align the change initiatives to the strategic goals, vision and mission of the business. At an individual level, this means accommodating changes but ensuring that changes do not alter one’s ideals, principles and ethics. Encouraging creativity and innovation to enhance sustainable competitive advantage To adequately align the organization to its environment, to enhance one’s competitive advantage and to ensure change initiatives are successful, continuous process of creativity and innovation are encouraged across and along all structures of an organization. Creativity and innovation permits individuals to think outside the box, to come up with ideas and concepts on how best to perform better and compete better but cost effectively as echoed by McFadzean, (1999). As a person, I need to be more creative and innovative in how to carry out my roles and responsibilities as an employee, which will separate me from the rest. In a competitive labor market environment, I have no choice but to be unique and inimitable and the only way to achieve this is by being more creative and more innovative. Through creativity and innovation, organizations are better placed to counter competition and to enhance its competitive advantage by producing products and services that are quality, unique, rare, imitable and costly for the competitors to substitute. I totally agree with the view that creativity and innovation are essential to gaining sustainable competitive advantage as presented by Tesluk (1997). For instance, at an organizational level, organizations that have been able to take advantage of its human capital resource by tapping into their creative and innovative minds are currently global market leaders and they have been able to not only maintain their strategic positions but also, meet the changing needs, demands and expectations of modern customer and take advantage of advancement in technology. Among such organizations is Apple Inc. At a personal level, I have observed that organizations or employers are willing to pay the highest price to not only attract but also retain employees who are considered creative and innovative. This has routinely played out within media organizations where creative and innovative journalists and reporters are bought out by competing media firms at very high prices. This is because an innovative and creative employee ensures their organizations are always ahead in terms of uniqueness, quality and more significantly developing new products and services that perform better and adequately satisfy the changing needs and expectations of global customer. Relying on creativity and innovation to succeeds means being able to take risks since creative ideas and innovations have the potential to either flourish or fail (McFadzean, 1999). It is important to remember that creativity and innovation should not be implemented as a one-time thing, but it should be evaluated and adjusted every so often in order to adapt to any changes in technology and in the needs of customers (Amabile, 1996). As a person this means sharpening my skills and knowledge regularly by keeping myself updated to changes and advancements in my profession and industry. This is achievable by attending conferences, training and consulting with other professionals within and across profession, disciplines and industries. Motivation as a way of developing and improving personal creativity and innovativeness The most eye-opening aspect about creativity, innovation and change that I have learnt and observed during the course and from readings is that motivation can be used to drive and enhance them. As a person, I have engaged in taking risks and trying out new things in a bid to facilitate positive change. For instance, when assigned challenging roles by the teacher such as taking up a leadership role in group discussions, I have found out that it provides me an opportunity to analyze varied ways of working as a team and coming up with new ideas on how to not only tackle the group assignment but also how to facilitate group cohesion and coordination. In organizations, employees can be encouraged to work on their creative and innovative selves through use of varied motivational techniques such as engaging them in interesting but yet challenging performance goals, offering incentives both monetary and non-financial rewards to creative and innovative employees and permitting employee autonomy as discussed by McFadzean, (1999). As highlighted by the majority of readings on the use of motivation to drive creativity and innovation, organizations and employers must incorporate extrinsic and intrinsic motivational incentives and depend less on financial rewards as a way of promoting employee creativity and innovativeness. Diversity as a source of creativity and innovation Encouraging workforce diversity is not only important in facilitating equal employment opportunities but also in generating improved employee creativity and innovativeness in an organization. Workforce diversity entails having employees from varied cultural backgrounds and with different beliefs, gender, age, ethnicity, race, abilities, disabilities and socioeconomic status who bring on board varied experiences, perspectives, ideas and insights, which stimulates and enhances the organizational culture of creativity and innovation (Amabile, 1996). As an individual, I can tap on diversity creativity and innovation by engaging in work or assignment groups comprising of people or students respectively with diverse elements in terms of culture, ideals, experiences, origins and perspectives, which will broaden my thinking that will results in improved levels of creativity. Reading on diversity creativity and innovation has changed the way I look at the person sitting next to me in a lecture room, in a train or simply walking besides me from a diverse culture or with attributes different from my own. Other than seeing them as strange and different, I now and in the future perceive them as a source of inspiration for me to think differently, act differently, respond differently, and avoid narrow-mindedness. They are a source of new ideas and new concepts. References Amabile, T. M., Conti, R., Coon, H., Lazenby, J., & Herron, M. (1996). Assessing the work environment for creativity. Academy of Management Journal, 39(5), 1154-1185. De Wit, R. & Meyer, R. (2010).Strategy Synthesis: Resolving Strategy Paradoxes to Create Competitive Advantage. London: Cengage Learning. Eriksson &Sundgren. (2005). ‘Managing Change: Strategy or Serendipity—Reflections from the Merger of Astra and Zeneca.’ Journal of Change Management, Vol. 5, No. 1, 15–28. Lepak, D. & Snell, S. (1999). The Human Resource Architecture: Toward a Theory of Human Capital Allocation and Development. Academy of Management Review, 24:1, 34-48. McFadzean,E. (1999). ‘Techniques to enhance creative thinking.’The Leadership and Organization Development Journal, 20/7. Quinn, J.B., Mintzberg, H.,& Goshal, S. (1995).Strategies for Change, the Strategy Process. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs. Ruona, E.A.& Gibson,S.K. (2004). ‘The Making of Twenty-First Century HR: An Analysis of the Convergence of HRM, HRD and OD.’Human Resource Management, 43/1: 49-66. Tesluk, P. E., Farr, J.L.,&Klein, S. A. (1997). Influences of organizational culture and climate on individual creativity. Journal of Creative Behavior, 31(1), 27-41. Weick, K. E. & Quinn, R.E. (1999). ‘Organizational Change and Development.’Annual Review of Psychology, 50: 361-86. Wilson, E.(2000). ‘Inclusion, exclusion and ambiguity: The role of organizational culture.’ Personnel Review, 29/3; p274-303. Read More