Innovation and Creativity

What is the importance of developing creativity and innovation in organizational employees?  Employees are on the front line of idea generation in that they define problems and find solutions for those problems.  Oftentimes, as Paulus and Dzindolet (2008) note innovations are brought to fruition "by the end-user" and concur with previous studies that individuals are more creative and innovative when challenged in an environment in which they feel safe and valued.  Simply stated an organizations creative idea generators are its employees and for that reason organizations need to encourage idea generation through positive rewards and innovative culture (Paulus and Dzindolet, 2008).

What steps should be taken to create an organizational culture that will facilitate creativity and innovation throughout the organization?  In order to create a successful organizational culture that promotes creativity and innovation an organization should be viewed as a living organism.  In other words, an innovative culture begins at the head of the organization.  According to Cooper and Edgett (2008), seven principles must be applied for an organization to improve productivity through innovation.  The seven principles state that the organization must be first and foremost customer focused, front-end loaded (do research), spiral development (use prototyping or modeling), use holistic approach led by cross-functional teams, measure accountability with continuous improvement,  focus and effective portfolio management, and NexGen Stage-Gate Process.  The most important step in new product development is being customer focused (Ringland and Young, 2006, p. 48-49).

How can creativity and innovation affect new product development (NPD) for an organization?  Without creativity and innovation, there cannot be new product development for the organization unless there happens to be an accidental discovery.  According to Stevens and Swogger, (2009), creativity is genetic.  A division of Dow Chemical was nearing divestiture in the early 1990s; the organization became profitable again by increasing the creativity and productivity of new business development by putting the right people in the right positions, based on personality typing.  Dow used a diverse group of "starters" and "finishers" to maximize creativity and innovation of NPD, which in turn improved the profitability and productivity of the organization.   This is a classic example of how creativity and innovation can affect NPD in an organization.

In summary, creativity and innovation are key components of becoming a successful organization in a global economy.  In today's market, creative and innovative companies are customer-focused, starter-led and finisher-grounded.  What do you think?

References

Cooper, R. G. & Edgett, S. (2008).  Maximizing productivity in product innovation.  Retrieved on May 10, 2010 from http://myeclassonline.com/re/DotNextLaunch.asp?courseid=4130399

Paulus, p. B. & Dzindolet, M.  (2008).  Social influence, creatitivty, and innovation.  Retrived on May 10^th from http://myeclassonline.com/re/DotNextLaunch.asp?courseid=4130399

Ringland, G., & Young, L. (2006). Scenarios in marketing from vision to decision. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

Stevens, G. A,  and Swogger, K. (2009).  Creating a winning r&d culture.  Retreived on May 10, 2010 from http://myeclassonline.com/re/DotNextLaunch.asp?courseid=4130399