The Process and Techniques Contributing to Innovative Thinking for Employees and Organizations

Methods for Promoting Innovative Thinking

Discuss The Process And Technique Contribute To Innovative Thinking Either For Themselves Or Their Employees. The Various Process And Technique Have Been Explained By Instructor In Tutorial And Also Can Be Found In Most Of Innovative Thinking Text Book.

What Is Expected Is, Thinking Outside The Box From Student Mind And Idea Of Other Process And Technique. 

Green (2007) states that for a creative organization the belief of creative thinking should be supported and instilled by all the level of the organization. Creative thinking is perhaps one of the leading reasons for the success of the organization. Creative thinking is not limited to the leaders alone, the employees also play a vital role in forming new ideas that can boost the company’s progress (Lu et al, 2017). The following report analyses the process and the techniques which contribute to the process of innovative thinking among the employers as well as the employees.

According to studies, the main objective of creativity is not just to generate ideas within an organization but at the same time having the effective strategy and ability to implement as well (Fong et al, 2018). Adams (1989) suggests that there needs to be a double-scale approach and there needs be a balance between the Green Light thinking skills and the Red Light thinking skills which denotes creating more ideas and the ability of implementation. Fong et al (2018) suggest, that to promote the creative thinking process it is important to ask the right questions that can help with problem solving skills. Incubation period is the next step in the creative thinking process that involves the subconscious mind to help in the problem solving skills (Ritter et al, 2014). In an organization, simply generating an idea is not enough, they should be ready to risk implementing it as well.

Adams (1989) of the opinion that creative process takes two very different types of process for generating new ideas and to solve problems that is exploratory and critical thinking process. When solving any problem it is very important to use both kinds of thinking to come up with a solution. Some organizations ask their employees to think about the problems they might have faced and come up with solution to fix them. Studies show that when such process is promoted at work, employees can often feel more involved in the decision making process as well as it helps to create an environment of creativity at work (Adams, 1989). Group sessions can improve interpersonal relationship among the members of the organization and promote effective problem solving skills (Paulus et al, 2000). Ogilvy is of the opinion that effective creativity cannot compromise on the brand values. An idea no matter how good maybe rejected as it does not correlate to the values of the brand (Ogilvy, 2013). This is very common in creative thinking places and it is important that members as well as the mangers deal with the negative responses more positively.  

Impact of Creative Thinking on Organizations

Studies indicate that there is a relationship between critical thinking and innovation. Criticism is essential for the idea to be analyzed so that it can be improved. It is noticed that criticism can be difficult for the people to handle and can lead to mismanagement of the creative talent (Fong et al, 2018). Managers of the companies must ensure that they asses the various components of the creative idea while ensuring that the team is able to handle the difficult news as well. Studies state that there is a direct correlation between data to decision making process. Hence, when managers want to engage in creative and innovative thinking they must be critical of the various ideas that reach them so that the best can be selected and implemented.

Studies show that innovation through creative thinking process can create long lasting impact on the company and taken it to a competitive position. The case study of Visa shows that, it is one of the very first near-virtual company that in the present day links more than 21,000 financial institution and has about 1.3 billion Visa card holders. Good leadership and management style is responsible for Visa’s success (Lu et al, 2017). Yet it is the innovative thinking that has led the company to its present success. Management attitude is a key factor in promoting creative thinking process.  Lu et al (2017) shows that one of the primary characteristic of critical thinking is encouraging questioning of the process and challenging a conclusion that is normally accepted. When employees are given the opportunity to question the normative pattern without holding any negative attitude this can help to generate new ideas.  

A case study shows that Google is one of the most creative workplace and encourages its employees to constantly innovate. It showed that every Google employee would dedicate 20% of their time in creating innovative ideas that would benefit the company (Oldham & Da Silva, 2015).  This is one of the leading reasons that Google is one of the leading innovators in the world. The brain storming session is considered one of the most common technique to encourage the employees to think about a certain problem and think constructively on how to combat it. The creative thinking is process that involves several stages. Green (2007) has stated the five stages of creative thinking process involves information, incubation, illumination, integration and lastly illustration. Which is often found beneficial to the organization in harnessing the creative minds of the employees.  

Management's Role in Supporting Creative Thinking

A study shows that the online retail stores in UAE believe in engaging with their customers through social media and has resulted in increased sales (Agha, 2019). The companies interact with the consumers to understand their point of view and formulate marketing strategies to address those needs. This clearly illustrates how gathering information from the sources can help (Green, 2007). The concept of gathering information is supported by David Ogilvy who has been credited as one of the most creative mind of his time and he states that gathering information though time consuming is an irreplaceable method for creative success (Ogilvy, 2013).

Studies state that the attitude of the organization is one of the leading factors that can affect employees’ creativity. When the management is inclusive and promotes diversity, the employees and the management themselves can be more productive in creating new ideas and innovation (Green, 2007). It is observed that when employees receive critical feedback in a positive manner they are likely to reciprocate better to ideating. When employees find that their ideas maybe recognized in making a positive change in the organization and additionally they can be rewarded it adds to the motivation (Reiter-Palmon et al, 2018). It is essential to ensure that the employees feel inclusive therefore the brainstorming session or ideating session should not be limited to just one sector, it should be open to all. This will result in increased participation and help in building a creative team by the management (Reiter-Palmon et al, 2018).

One of the techniques used in many organization is talking about a “what if” scenario” to explore the possibilities in the future. Where the employees and the management is involved in the creative process analyzing the possible outcome of such scenarios. This is a creative process and encourages different creative personalities. The process should formulate from the data and end up in the decision making process. The management must ensure all the three parts of the attitude, technique and skill to manage their creative team. IBM conducted a research which emphasized the need for cultivating creativity among employees (Reichartz & Weinert 2016). The study suggested that the creative potential of the employees would be achieved through collaboration, social network and sharing information (Reichartz & Weinert 2016). For example if there is an email address that is designed specifically for new ideas. This could result in involved participation from the employees as they would know that they would get rewarded for it.

In conclusion, creative thinking and innovation go hand in hand, from the above it could be understood that creative thinking process is one of the most important part of the process is the combination of the attitude, technique and skill by the organization in promoting creative environment. Creating an innovative and creative team is process that requires the combined effort of the employees as well as the organization.

Reference

Adams, M. J. (1989). Thinking skills curricula: Their promise and progress. Educational Psychologist, 24(1), 25-77.

Agha, Kakul. (2019). Entrepreneurship Ecosystem: Innovative Thinking In Uae.

Fong, C. J., Schallert, D. L., Williams, K. M., Williamson, Z. H., Warner, J. R., Lin, S., & Kim, Y. W. (2018). When feedback signals failure but offers hope for improvement: A process model of constructive criticism. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 30, 42-53.

Green, A. (2007). Creativity in public relations. Kogan Page Publishers.

Lu, J. G., Hafenbrack, A. C., Eastwick, P. W., Wang, D. J., Maddux, W. W., & Galinsky, A. D. (2017). “Going out” of the box: Close intercultural friendships and romantic relationships spark creativity, workplace innovation, and entrepreneurship. Journal of Applied Psychology, 102(7), 1091.

Ogilvy, D. (2013). Ogilvy on advertising. Vintage.

Oldham, G. R., & Da Silva, N. (2015). The impact of digital technology on the generation and implementation of creative ideas in the workplace. Computers in Human Behavior, 42, 5-11.

Paulus, P. B., & Yang, H. C. (2000). Idea generation in groups: A basis for creativity in organizations. Organizational behavior and human decision processes, 82(1), 76-87.

Reichartz, L., & Weinert, L. (2016). The perceived influences of managerial activities on intrapreneurship: A case study at IBM.

Reiter-Palmon, R., Kennel, V. L., & Kaufman, J. C. (Eds.). (2018). Individual Creativity in the Workplace. Academic Press.

Ritter, S. M., & Dijksterhuis, A. (2014). Creativity—the unconscious foundations of the incubation period. Frontiers in human neuroscience, 8, 215.