Fostering a Culture of Creativity and Innovation

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Master of Business Administration, Walden University

WMBA 6020: Fostering a Culture of Innovation

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Month XX, 202X

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Part 1: Incorporating the Creative Process

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Part 2: Incorporating Innovative Leadership for Diverse Teams

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Part 3: Incorporating Innovative Workplace Culture and Practices

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References

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Northeast Business & Economics Association Proceedings, 2017 47

Modeling Creative Processes for Business Performance

Felicia Binkis Megan Killeen Meryl Rosenblatt

Molloy College Molloy College Molloy College

1000 Hempstead Avenue 1000 Hempstead Avenue 1000 Hempstead Avenue

Rockville Centre, NY USA 11571 Rockville Centre, NY USA 11571 Rockville Centre, NY USA 11571

(516) 965-7411 (631) 626-9394 (516) 323-3089

[email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

ABSTRACT

The main aim of the paper is to explore the use of creative

processes, primarily in service-providing businesses.

Creative processes could be considered one of the ways to

improve the company’s performance, as well as increase the

motivation of employees. A company’s performance not

only depends on routine work processes, but also on the

ability to use the creative resources in the most efficient

way. In this case, is it true that creativity is widely used in

large companies? Is it more beneficial to be creative when

the competitiveness is tough? What are the attitude towards

creativity as a tool for boosting business development?

Implementation of new ideas, resource reallocation,

improvement of product line efficiency and other activities

can be optimized with the help of creative processes. This

paper studies the implementation of creative processes in

business development, covering theoretical and practical

aspects for innovation and entrepreneurship.

Keywords Creativity, innovation, business processes, entrepreneurship,

idea development

1 INTRODUCTION

The goal of this study is to explore the use of creative

processes in organizations as a tool for achieving innovative

business practices. The original study was conducted in three

countries, Latvia, Italy and the US, to provide a cross-

cultural perspective across firms of varying sizes. This paper

presents a subset of the research conducted, the findings

reflect the US only.

We begin with a definition of creativity and

entrepreneurship, followed by a review of creative

approaches used by two large, successful companies,

Facebook and Apple. Next, qualitative data was collected

using personal interviews with managers, with the aim of

investigating creative tools used by each firm. Specifically,

we want to identify creative processes in the not-for-profit

service sectors, and how these might be applicable to other

types of organizations.

In the last few decades, creative new businesses have

emerged. The concept of “success” has evolved with the rise

in creative business strategies. Financial success has

extended to public goodwill, corporate social

responsibilities, employees’ satisfaction and customer

loyalty. When competition heightens and resources are

limited, creativity is vital not only to success, but often the

survival of the firm. Whether creativity is applied during

start-up phase, or during a period of maturity or decline, an

offbeat, creative approach to resource usage and work

processes can provide companies with a competitive

advantage. This paper focuses on the use of new processes

for maintaining and improving business performance. It

provides some theoretical concepts, and presents examples,

of companies that have successfully integrated creative

processes into their mission and corporate culture.

2 LITERATURE REVIEW

In the course of writing this research paper, both scientific

and educational literature, articles in periodicals from both

United States and Europe were investigated. The main

sources that reveal the theoretical foundations of

“Entrepreneurship” and “Creativity” are derived from the

texts of Cunningham & Lischeron (1991) and Franken

(1994), in which the authors argue the definition and proper

use of the key terms in the corporate world. Robert E.

Franken in Human Motivation reflects that “creativity is

defined as the tendency to generate or recognize ideas,

alternatives, or possibilities that may be useful in solving

problems, communicating with others, and entertaining

ourselves and others” (1994:48).

Although there is no single, widely accepted definition of

entrepreneurship in the research community, historically

there have been two primary theoretical perspectives which

we considered while conducting our research. One considers

entrepreneurship to be a very specific occupation, related to

Schumpeter’s creative destruction, while the other focuses

on Kirzner’s emphasis on the pursuit of opportunity. Most

assessments are unified by the notion that entrepreneurship

focuses on the creation of an innovative concept or product.

Gartner, Bird & Starr (1992) describe entrepreneurship as

“an individual or organizational behavioral phenomenon, or

a process of emergence … such as organizational formation

and innovation”. They further differentiate entrepreneurship

from non-entrepreneurship which refers to “existing or

customary activities” (1992:8).

Entrepreneurial development today has become very

significant; in view of its key to economic development. The

objectives of industrial development, regional growth, and

employment generation depend upon entrepreneurial

development. Therefore, entrepreneurs play a major role for

state economies. Entrepreneurship involves the creation and

use of innovative ideas, maximization of output from given

resources, creation of new jobs, invention of new

Northeast Business & Economics Association Proceedings, 2017 48

technologies, and all these factors are essential for the

economic development of a country. In light of long-term

forces, such as the rise of digital technology infrastructures,

that are reshaping the global business landscape, a more

applicable definition might be someone who sees an

opportunity to create value and is willing to take a risk to

capitalize on that opportunity; some elements of this are

opportunity spotting, risk taking, and value creation (Hagel,

2016).

Creative Process Models of Facebook, Inc.

Facebook was founded in the United States in 2004, by

Mark Zuckerberg, the chief executive officer and chairman

of the board, in a grassroots structure (his college dorm

room). The social network corporation has since grown into

a large company headquartered in in California. The

company employs about 17,048 employees from a range of

diverse backgrounds and fields. The highly influential and

far-reaching site can be translated into 70 different

languages with profits stemming primarily from

advertisements. Liley states, “Facebook's engagement or

interactive advertising may be the future for the industry

where people are encouraged to have a conversation or

dialog on a product” (Liley, 2012:85). Zuckerberg remains

highly involved in the creation process. He sits at a desk

with his employees and when at home is constantly on the

site. He wants to keep the company flexible like a typical

start-up a company. He engages in product creation and test

the products before they are made available to the public. To

describe such a structure, Zuckerberg coins the phrase

“move fast and break things”

(https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/).

One of Facebook’s effective processes is to keep their

employers happy. Their offices are designed purposefully

without dividers or walls to promote the company ethos of

openness. Each branch of the Facebook offices features

outdoor basketball courts, a game room, a large lunch room

with healthy, free menu options, and a laundry room. The

Silicon Valley building includes a rooftop grill with musical

entertainment. Zuckerberg believes the employees need time

to relax and take a break from looking at computer screens

and provides breaks through the use of creative work spaces.

Keeping employees happy helps them work efficiently and

creatively.

Apple Park

Apple announced back in February that it would begin

moving in employees to its new Apple Park headquarters in

Cupertino, California starting in April 2017. The scattering

of thousands of Apple employees across more than 100 sites

in Silicon Valley has rendered more difficult the

collaboration necessary for innovation. Apple places great

importance on employees being physically together at work,

where face-to-face communication is essential during the

beginning of a project and when an idea is incubating. Once

a model emerges from a series of conversations, it draws

people in and gives focus. Envisioned by Steve Jobs as a

center for creativity and collaboration, the goal was to create

an environment to where many people can connect and

collaborate and talk.

3 METHODOLOGY

This paper posits that promoting and effectively using

creativity in business processes translates into business

success. A semi-structured in-depth interview was designed

to collect information for each company to better understand

their:

 Offerings or services

 Industry demand for innovativeness

 Company requirements for innovativeness

 Details of processes employed to encourage

creativity, including contexts, experiences, financial

implications, challenges, successes and

applicability to other organizations

We propose that some of these processes and findings can be

applied universally. They can serve as a model for future

companies to use in order to achieve the highest rates of

success.

Manager Interviews

Six interviews were conducted in three countries: Latvia,

Italy, and the US. These interviews were designed by to

examine the various creative processes each selected

companies utilized, and their benefits and challenges. The

company managers discussed their feelings about the

universal application of their methods. Results presented

here represent those interviews conducted for two not-for-

profit companies in the US.

4 FINDINGS

Following are insights garnered from this exploratory

research.

Little Flower Children and Family Services of New York Little is a regional New York non-profit organization

serving the most vulnerable children and families. Little

Flower Children and Family Services of New York: they use

team initiatives, generative discussions, respectful

disagreement is encouraged and strategic planning is done

very collaboratively.

Excerpts From Interview with Corinne Hammons, CEO:

 “Little Flower provides residential and community

based programs for over 300 individuals with

disabilities, and foster care to 500 children in

Brooklyn and Queens, among other services… our

ultimate goal is an increase in safety and well-being

for our clients.”

 “Our industry changings rapidly and one way we

stay relevant and competitive is to ensure our

programs are innovative and our operations are

efficient, and that we tell our story of success to

potential clients and donors.”

Northeast Business & Economics Association Proceedings, 2017 49

 “Open dialogue and brainstorming always lead us

to good ideas … Many of our programs do go

through a pilot phase and we only go forward with

viable ones.”

 “Teamwork and joint problem solving have given

us better results and created better organizational

cohesion.”

 “We have launched several matrixed teams in the

last two years (e.g. Risk Management, Health Care

Management) … we have seen a significant

improvement in both in internal communications

and effective planning which have prevented

problems and also led to new initiatives.”

 “We do work closely with peer organizations to

collaborate on projects and share best practices. For

example, we are part of one collaborative where we

are co-owners of a Children’s Health Home, one of

just a few chartered by New York State.”

 “This work is essential for our future financial

sustainability, because our innovative new program

ideas allow us to expand our services and bring in

new revenue.”

Rotacare (US)

Non Profit Primary Care Medical Services. Rotacare

believes in dividing large groups into smaller working

groups that can build a core group to effectively bring about

change. Of critical importance are the links across the

various organizational units, such as merging teams of

doctors with nurse and practitioners in order to find effective

solutions.

Excerpts From Interview with Dennis Greely, Treasurer:

 “The Mission of Rotacare is to facilitate free health

care for the relief of pain and suffering to those

who have the most need and the least access to

medical care. Rotacare has a team of 100 +

volunteers that includes MD’s, Nurse Practitioners,

Nurses, translators, social workers and others who

facilitate patient access to medical care. In addition,

we refer patients that need specialized care or

services to medical partners to treat our patients.”

 “Their main goal is to keep their patients out of

emergency situations and improve their quality of

life.”

 “In the medical service industry, one needs to be

creative to be able to listen and diagnosis ailments.

The industry is always changing with medical

advances and insurance/regulatory changes.”

 “Rotacare needs to be creative to forge partnerships

with hospitals and other doctors’ offices to provide

care.”

 “We foster communication and teamwork where

appropriate by realizing that sometimes dividing

large groups into smaller working groups can build

a core group to effectively bring about change.”

 “Medical services is one of the fastest changing and

complex businesses. There are ever changing public

and private insurance. There are new medicines,

new treatments, changing population demographics

etc. We need to be creative to adapt to the changing

environment.”

 “We have recently set up working sub-committees

on our Board. These committees are smaller and

nimbler than the large Board group meetings. The

initial benefit has been to identify organizational

strengths and weaknesses. Next step is to create a

plan and action steps.”

5 CONCLUSION

Having garnered greater insight into the use of creative

processes in Little Flower and Rotacare, we have determined

creativity to be highly necessary for both non-profit

organizations. As such, it is crucial that creativity be

streamlined in both companies as to maximize its positive

effects on business performance. We found that as

companies in the small to medium sized business range, both

Little Flower and Rotacare could benefit from some of the

structured creative business processes popular in larger

companies.

Following the preliminary research and field interview

portions of our study, we affirmed our initial hypothesis that

effective implementation of creative processes is essential to

the successful performance of any business attempting to

compete in the current market. The modern successful

business is one with the ability to adapt to the ever-changing

business environment and consumer population. Successful

businesses regularly brainstorm, implement, and evaluate

new processes as well as allocate adequate funding, research

and development, and time to such processes. As these

processes and their implementation are often considered

secondary by businesses in both the for-profit and non-profit

sectors, by creating new processes, companies gain the

ability to differentiate themselves from competitors and plan

for long-term goals. These processes also aid in allowing

companies to better serve consumers. The most sustainable

processes were analyzed in relation to three constraints:

feasibility, questioning whether the technology needed to

power the design solution is available or within reach,

desirability, determining if the solution is desired and

suitable for the customer, and viability, predicting if the

design solution aligns with the business goals. Creativity

must be implemented on every level, from assembly to

advertisement, with definitive structures on each level to

allow for the most efficient processes. Each of the

company’s members must work in cohesion toward a shared

common goal, while avoiding internal discrepancies.

The cost and time required for the implementation of

creative processes in businesses should not be

underestimated, but companies that believe in their creative

element often achieve success and stability in their market

field. The LEGO Company, for example, made a complete

recovery from the brink of bankruptcy in less than ten years

through combining creativity with effective management.

Following unsuccessful attempts at bringing the classic toy

Northeast Business & Economics As