Fostering Innovation And Creativity In Organizations: Challenges And Opportunities

Innovation and Creativity in Organizations

In the present-day dynamic work environment, it is almost impossible to survive without the adoption of proper technologies. Every other business wants to be customer-centric and that is certainly not possible with the traditional methods of operation. But to implement technologies there is a need to be creative and innovative and most importantly there is a need for a Progressive Work Culture (Mehmood et al., 2021). In this report, the main factors that need to be in place for cultivating innovation and creativity will be discussed. The challenges and various opportunities in the context of innovation and creativity within organizations will also be figured out.

For a long, the main aim of innovation policy was to address market failures but in the present times, this cannot be. The situation back then and the workplace environment now are different, thus it is needed that the way operations used to be done be changed. The workforce needs to be supported or rather encouraged to be creative and think of different ways in which they can enhance their productivity (Garcia, 2018). Creativity along with innovation can lead to higher overall success in the organizations, much more as compared to raw intelligence. Supporting the workforce in their creative thoughts and ideas will boost their morale and they can come up with some better options for the company. It has to be understood that a single problem can be addressed from different perspectives and in all ways, explorations of various unconventional possible solutions is a hallmark of the creative process. Divergent as well as convergent thinking has to be supported in any organization (Thompson, 2018). Sometimes the unexpected solutions to a specific problem can certainly get translated into not just new but existing products and services. Creative thinking is something that helps in bringing about innovation and gradually leads to increased productivity. When the focus is on the things that can be streamlined, a more efficient workplace can be built. With creative thinking, individuals can come up with ideas that can not just excite but also motivate the team. It is said that sometimes productivity can slow down unexpectedly and thus without thinking of creativity and innovation as endpoints, these can be taken to as ongoing commitments (Fischer, Malycha & Schafmann, 2019). Creativity and innovation can serve as pathways for the business to reach new heights of product value, productivity, internal harmony, process improvement, and more. This creative process can result in novel ideas and associated concepts.

Current Challenges and Opportunities

Innovation is gradually becoming one of the most significant factors in the context of the success and growth of an organization. The present times suggest that cultivating innovation in the company needs to be a critical initiative of the organization (Nakano & Wechsler, 2018). But it is a fact that organizations face internal challenges that in turn hinder the progress of innovation. Some of the most common challenges are as given below:

1. Human Resource- Reports suggest that human resource has a crucial role in the context of innovation and creativity. But organizations where human resources are lagging in expertise and knowledge and where employees are dissatisfied with their pay scale can never incorporate creativity and innovation in their operations (Palazzeschi, Bucci & Di Fabio, 2018). Innovation and creativity can be integrated with the organizational culture only if the appropriate amount of effort is put in by human resources.
2. Collaboration- This is the key to innovation and has to be understood well. Focussing just on internal collaboration will not be of much help. Organizations often tend to ignore external collaboration and thus fail in their venture of innovation and creativity (Bousinakis & Halkos, 2021). An ideal innovation ecosystem will bring together industry partners, consumers, and competitors and drive innovation in the organization.
3. Poor innovation strategies- Innovation and creativity are in the minds of the organizational authorities but they are ignorant of the fact that certain strategies need to be in place to come up with the desired innovation. Development of a compact as well as concise innovation strategy is critical as this is something that provides direction to the innovation and its operational implementation (Nasifoglu Elidemir, Ozturen & Bayighomog, 2020). Without proper strategies in place, the innovation efforts of the organization risk misalignment.
4. Lack of diversity- Sticking to the traditional way of hiring and avoiding diverse workforce results in devastating results in the context of innovation and creativity. As is known that creativity and innovation are not endpoints but continuous commitments and with a diverse workforce this can be addressed well (Bousinakis & Halkos, 2021). Varied perspectives on a single problem will help realize which can address the problem better and in the process can also lead to innovative solutions.
5. Resources- Creativity and innovation is not exclusively about the implementation of modern technologies but then in the present day dynamic work environment, technology has to be implemented to give proper direction to the innovative idea. Here comes the need for appropriate resources and proper funding (Palazzeschi, Bucci & Di Fabio, 2018). Lack of resources and low funding act as a hindrance in the path of innovation and creativity.
6. Project management- As mentioned innovation and creativity are often measured in terms of new or modern technology that is integrated into the existing operations of a firm. But certainly, the greatest hindrance on the path of innovation and creativity is the traditional way of project management and inexperience in the context of complex projects (Garcia, 2018). Project managers of the organization need to be advanced in their approach to handling matters in the project environment and leave behind the traditional ways of addressing project-related issues.

The cause and effect diagram given below shows the various causes of lack of creativity within the organization.

Diagram 1: Diagrammatic representation of cause of lack of innovation and creativity and effects 

It can be said that the greatest hindrance on the path of innovation and creativity is the concern that there are chances of failure of ideas and then a series of explanations to be given for the failed idea. With this in mind some of the ways that can help the organization in fostering innovation are as given below:

1. Leading from the front- It is a fact that innovation starts with the leadership qualities of the higher management and the supervisors. It is required that the leaders be passionate about what they are doing and display a positive as well as optimistic outlook (Brimhall, & Mor Barak, 2018). There is a need to be specific about the vision and be forward-thinking and be up to embrace change. dissatisfied
2. Developing a culture of innovation- People can put their best foot forward only if they are driven by inspiration and encouraged to push their boundaries and think outside the box (Palazzeschi, Bucci & Di Fabio, 2018). The organization needs to ensure that its employees are given enough freedom to own their innovative thinking.
3. Developing effective teams- Effective teams can come up with creative and innovative solutions. Communication is the factor that has to be checked on as, without the exchange of ideas, innovation and creativity cannot be fostered.
4. Rewarding failure- Recognition is certainly the most powerful tool to promote employee creativity and innovation (Bousinakis & Halkos, 2021). Employees of the organization need to be sent the message that their mistakes will be tolerated and lessons learned rewarded. This will give them the confidence to be innovative and creative.

Some of the recommended strategies for the organization are:

1. Leaders should make their intentions or vision clear and lead from the front.
2. Reward failure should be done so that employees be confident to come up with ideas.
3. The organization can go for a flat organization structure that is there will be few or no levels of middle management between the executives and the frontline employees.
4. Programs can be conducted to find out innovation evangelists.

Conclusion

From the discussion done above, it is clear that the organization has to put in much effort to develop an innovative and creative culture. The recommended strategies can help the firm in its direction of developing of innovative and creative culture. Traditional innovation policies need to be discarded and leaders need to lead from the front. The existing situation of the organization in terms of resources needs to be evaluated to find out what resources are needed to come up with the innovation or creativity being thought about. Thus, the organization needs to start from the basics of innovation and creativity and figure out which factor or factors are acting as a hindrance in the path of developing an innovative and creative environment. Thereafter, steps can be taken accordingly to address the issues in place and start their journey towards innovative and creative work culture. 

References

Bousinakis, D., & Halkos, G. (2021). Creativity is the hidden development factor for organizations and employees. Economic Analysis and Policy, 71, 645-659. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0313592621000953

Brimhall, K. C., & Mor Barak, M. E. (2018). The critical role of workplace inclusion in fostering innovation, job satisfaction, and quality of care in a diverse human service organization. Human Service Organizations: Management, Leadership & Governance, 42(5), 474-492. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/23303131.2018.1526151

Fischer, C., Malycha, C. P., & Schafmann, E. (2019). The influence of intrinsic motivation and synergistic extrinsic motivators on creativity and innovation. Frontiers in psychology, 10, 137.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00137/full

Garcia, C. (2018). Innovation & Creativity In Organizations. Leadership & Management–DBA.https://oarklibrary.com/file/2/11825a02-ccaa-4deb-8ce9-01c4d303e365/535b92a1-bdab-4b71-bcde-fa47599721fe.pdf

Mehmood, M. S., Jian, Z., Akram, U., & Tariq, A. (2021). Entrepreneurial leadership: The key to develop creativity in organizations. Leadership & Organization Development Journal.https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/LODJ-01-2020-0008/full/html

Nakano, T. D. C., & Wechsler, S. M. (2018). Creativity and innovation: Skills for the 21 st Century. Estudos de Psicologia (Campinas), 35, 237-246.https://www.scielo.br/j/estpsi/a/vrTxJGjGnYFLqQGcTzFgfcp/?lang=en&format=html

Nasifoglu Elidemir, S., Ozturen, A., & Bayighomog, S. W. (2020). Innovative behaviors, employee creativity, and sustainable competitive advantage: A moderated mediation. Sustainability, 12(8), 3295. https://www.mdpi.com/694330

Palazzeschi, L., Bucci, O., & Di Fabio, A. (2018). Re-thinking innovation in organizations in the industry 4.0 scenario: New challenges in a primary prevention perspective. Frontiers in psychology, 9, 30. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00030/full

Thompson, N. A. (2018). Imagination and creativity in organizations. Organization Studies, 39(2-3), 229-250. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0170840617736939