Innovation and Creativity - 3 Innovation Variables
Innovation is very important in a company. It is the key to continued success. In order to compete successfully with other organization, the organization must create new products and services and adopt new technology. To understand Innovation we first need to understand what is creativity.
1) Organic Structures: When the structure of the company has less formalization, centralization, and work specialization then it creates flexibility and sharing of ideas easily possible which helps to be innovative.
2) There should be high job security so that employees do not fear getting fired for making any mistakes.
3) The organization should encourage individuals to be creative people or idea champions who are actively and enthusiastically supporting new ideas, building support, overcoming resistance, and ensuring that innovations are implemented. They are extremely high self-confidence, persistence, energy, and a tendency toward risk-taking.
Creativity and Innovation
Creativity refers to the ability to combine ideas in a unique way or to make unusual associations between ideas. But creativity by itself isn’t enough. The outcomes of the creative process need to be turned into useful products or work methods, which is innovation. So, innovation is taking creative ideas and turning them into useful products or work methods.
The desired output is innovative products and work methods which involve transforming input. So, the creative people are the input but those people are not enough. It also requires the right environment to help transform input into innovative products.
Innovation Variables
So, there are three innovation variables that stimulate innovation. Structural variables, cultural variables, and human resource variables.Structural variables
2) Abundant Resources: When there is the availability of plentiful resources it helps to innovation. More resources give an opportunity to think in a new way and help the company to find a new way to make products.
3) High Interunit Communication: communication is very important. So frequent communication will help to be innovative.
4) Minimal Time Pressure: Time pressure cause stress and make less creative so minimizing it will lead to creativity.
5) Work and Nonwork Support: When an organization’s structure supports the creativity of the employee it creates creative performance by the employee. So employees need encouragement, open communication, readiness to listen, and useful feedback.
Cultural variables
1) Accept ambiguity: Giving Too much special importance on objectivity and specificity which constrains creativity. There will be uncertainty and we must accept it.
2) Tolerate the impractical: an employee who offers impractical answers which might seem foolish at first may lead to innovative solutions.
3) Keep external controls minimal: Minimizing rules, regulations, policies, and similar organizational controls may lead to innovation.
4) Tolerate risk: Employees should be encouraged to experiment with new things that may lead to innovation. Mistakes will occur and it is learning opportunities. So employees should not fear of what others will think or losing a job.
5) Tolerate conflict: Everyone should accept diversity opinions. Harmony and agreement between individuals are evidence of high performance.
6) Focus on ends rather than means: Employees are encouraged to find alternative solutions to meet their goals. Goals are clear and there might be several right answers to the given problem.
7) Use an open-system focus: Everyone should be open-minded and monitor the environment and respond to changes as they occur.
8) Provide positive feedback: Managers should provide positive feedback, encouragement, and support to employees so that their creative ideas get attention.
9) Exhibit empowering leadership: Employees should be given the opportunity to participate in decision making. A leader should show the confidence that they have the capability to get high performance and outcomes and let them know the work they do is significant. So this will have a positive influence on creativity.
3) Keep external controls minimal: Minimizing rules, regulations, policies, and similar organizational controls may lead to innovation.
4) Tolerate risk: Employees should be encouraged to experiment with new things that may lead to innovation. Mistakes will occur and it is learning opportunities. So employees should not fear of what others will think or losing a job.
5) Tolerate conflict: Everyone should accept diversity opinions. Harmony and agreement between individuals are evidence of high performance.
6) Focus on ends rather than means: Employees are encouraged to find alternative solutions to meet their goals. Goals are clear and there might be several right answers to the given problem.
7) Use an open-system focus: Everyone should be open-minded and monitor the environment and respond to changes as they occur.
8) Provide positive feedback: Managers should provide positive feedback, encouragement, and support to employees so that their creative ideas get attention.
9) Exhibit empowering leadership: Employees should be given the opportunity to participate in decision making. A leader should show the confidence that they have the capability to get high performance and outcomes and let them know the work they do is significant. So this will have a positive influence on creativity.
Human resource variables
1) There should be training and development of their members so their knowledge remains with the current situation.2) There should be high job security so that employees do not fear getting fired for making any mistakes.
3) The organization should encourage individuals to be creative people or idea champions who are actively and enthusiastically supporting new ideas, building support, overcoming resistance, and ensuring that innovations are implemented. They are extremely high self-confidence, persistence, energy, and a tendency toward risk-taking.
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