MANAGING

CREATIVITY AND
INNOVATION
Chapter 7 Managing Creativity and Innovation 1
 Contents
1. Defining Creativity and Innovation
2. The Importance of Creativity and
Innovation
3. Stimulating Individual and Group Crea
tivity
4. Organizational Creativity and Innovati
on
5. Establishing a Climate for Organizatio
nal Creativity 2

Chapter 7 Managing Creativity and Innovation 2

 Unit Learning Outcomes
By the end of this training program, you
will be able to:
1.Define creativity and innovation;
2.Explain the importance of creativity and
innovation;
3.Describe how to stimulate individual,
group, & organizational creativity; and
4.Explain how to establishe a climate for orga
nizational creativity.
3

Chapter 7 Managing Creativity and Innovation 3

Individual Reflection
What is Creativity?
What is Innovation?

Chapter 7 Managing Creativity and Innovation 4

Defining Creativity and Innovation
Stoner and Freeman defined:
 creativity as the generation of a new idea
where as
 innovation as the translation of such an idea
into a new product, service or method of
production.
Lawrence B. Mohr (1969) describes
creativity as "bringing something into
being" and innovation as "bringing
something new into us."
Chapter 7 Managing Creativity and Innovation 5
The Importance of Creativity and
Innovation
Creativity and innovation have become the
important ingredients of organizational life.

They are considered as the two sides of the

same coin, because any organization can only
make full use of its ideas in the presence of
both creative and innovative human
resources.
Creativity and innovation enable the
organization to anticipate change.

Chapter 7 Managing Creativity and Innovation 6

The Importance of cont’d …
Stoner and Freeman explain that the elements of
creativity and innovation flourish best in dynamic
and tolerant organizational atmosphere.
They noted that in order to encourage and
manage creativity and innovation,
 Managers must understand the creative process,

 Know how to select people with creative ability,

 Be able to stimulate creative behavior, and

 Provide an organizational climate that nurtures

creativity.

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Stimulating Individual Creativity
In the words of Stoner and Freeman, the
ideas of creative individuals greatly require
continuous support, checking and shaping by
their leaders.

Accordingly, in their attempt to encourage

and manage creativity, managers must also
understand individual differences in creative
behavior.

Chapter 7 Managing Creativity and Innovation 8

 Stimulating Individual Creativity cont’d …
Highly creative individuals have the following qualities
(Stoner and Freeman):
They generate original ideas of high importance;

They use flexible approach of solving a problem

They prefer complexity to simplicity while solving

problems;
They question authority quite readily and are apt to
disobey orders that make no sense to them;
Motivated more by an interesting problem than by
material reward;
They will work long and hard on something that intrigues
them.
Chapter 7 Managing Creativity and Innovation 9
Stimulating Individual Creativity cont’d …

According to Stoner and Freeman (1989:409),

the creative process involves five basic steps:
1. Problem finding or sensing
2. Immersion or preparation: the individual
concentrates on the problem and becomes
immersed in it, recalling and collecting
information that seems relevant and dreaming
up hypotheses without evaluating them.

Chapter 7 Managing Creativity and Innovation 10

Stimulating Individual Creativity cont’d …
3. Incubation and gestation: after assembling
the available information, the individual
relaxes and lets his or her subconscious mull
over the material.
4. Insight or illumination: often when least
expected - while eating, or falling asleep, or
walking - the new, integrative idea will flash
into the individual's mind.
5. Verification and application: the individual
sets out to grove by logic or experiment that
the idea can solve the problem and can be
implemented.

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Stimulating Group Creativity
Creative ideas can also be generated by mass
(group) participation. Stoner and Freeman
have identified four methods of stimulating
group creativity. These are:
Brainstorming,

Nominal group process,

Synectics, and

Creative decision-making

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Organizational Creativity and Innovation
Just as individuals differ, organizations differ in their
ability to translate the talents of their members into
new products, processes, or services.
To enable their organizations to use creativity most
effectively, managers need to be aware of the process
of innovation in organizations and to take steps to
encourage this process.
The creative process in organizations involves three
steps:
1. Idea generation,
2. Problem solving or idea development, and
3. Implementation

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 Establishing a Climate for Organizational Cr
eativity
It is to be noted that creativity is best nurtured
in a permissive climate, one that encourages the
exploration of ideas and new ways of doing
things.
However, a vast majority of managers are reluctant
towards creating such climate to create.
They may be uncomfortable with the continuing
process of change, which is a necessary complement
of creativity and consider a permissive atmosphere as
negatively affecting discipline or cost control.

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 Establishing a Climate cont’d …
Some of Kanter’s prescriptions for fostering
organizational creativity include the
following:
Develop an acceptance of change
Provide clear objectives and freedom to achieve
them
Encourage new ideas
Permit more interactions
Tolerate failure
Offer recognition

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