www.1001TopWords.com |
Creativity and Innovation Management ? Psychological Reward
Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation. There are other useful definitions in this field, for example, creativity can be defined as consisting of a number of ideas, a number of diverse ideas and a number of novel ideas. There are distinct processes that enhance problem identification and idea generation and, similarly, distinct processes that enhance idea selection, development and commercialisation. Whilst there is no sure fire route to commercial success, these processes improve the probability that good ideas will be generated and selected and that investment in developing and commercialising those ideas will not be wasted. Psychological Reward Psychological rewards and recognition are major factors in the motivation equation. Status theory argues that every action, movement and inflexion of human beings is in some way related to status. There are compelling arguments that human behaviour is based on status seeking. In the animal kingdom, higher status individuals have more sex, more access to food and resources, more space and so forth. The present day occupation with celebrities is a testament to the power of status. Big Brother and reality TV show how far people will go to get it. Status is addressed in the corporate world in expressions such as "give the dog a bone." Consequently, there is a tendency to give people high-sounding names without considering the other motivational factors. People either resent this or are happy for only short periods. Psychological rewards include an environment of psychological safety and freedom ? accepting an individual as unconditioned worth; recognising that the individual is capable of producing but that their value is not based on producing; understanding empathetically; understanding the individual from their point of feeling and view (Vernon, 1970). These and other topics are covered in depth in the MBA dissertation on Managing Creativity & Innovation, which can be purchased (along with an Innovation Management Bible, a Creativity and Innovation DIY Audit, Good Idea Generator Software and Power Point Presentation) from http://www.managing-creativity.com/ You can also receive a regular, free newsletter by entering your email address at this site. Kal Bishop, MBA ********************************** You are free to reproduce this article as long as no changes are made and the author's name and site URL are retained. Kal Bishop is a management consultant based in London, UK. He has consulted in the visual media and software industries and for clients such as Toshiba and Transport for London. He has led Improv, creativity and innovation workshops, exhibited artwork in San Francisco, Los Angeles and London and written a number of screenplays. He is a passionate traveller. He can be reached on http://www.managing-creativity.com/
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Increase In-House Nursing Homes Collections The following nursing home collections report outlines 11 guidelines you can follow to increase the amount of in-house long term care collections your facility collects. Getting Your Employees Attention Back to Work It is 9:00 am on a Monday morning. Do you know where your employees' attention is? Is it on work? Must Project Managers Be Technically Savvy? "Must Project Managers be technically savvy?" This topic always seems to cause quite a stir. While some believe that all you need to manage a project is a PMP certification, others are convinced that you can't successfully manage a software development project unless you truly understand the intricacies of the product. Micromanagement and Delegation Micro-Management and Delegation Recently I had a long discussion with a friend of mine about Managers and managing. She is a former HR Manager for several major companies and was bemoaning the fact that training for managers has been cut back so significantly in recent years and that managers no longer receive the type of help, guidance and assistance that they received just a few short years ago. My background has been in retail and telecom. Hers was neither. Yet the same problems and issues seem to rise in every industry. Of course, this is exactly the reason that I got into coaching. Coaching allows those managers who want to improve a very personalized venue to do just that.We went on to agree that the common pattern these days seemed to be for the department star performer to be promoted from contributor, to team leader, to manager in seemingly record time. We agreed that new managers have difficulty moving from the contributor to the manager role because no one is willing to spend the time and energy to coach them through the various hurdles that new managers and leaders face. We agreed that this lack of training never seemed to lower the expectations of the manager, just the performance. Then we disagreed, strongly. What caused the disagreement? Theconcept was micro-management. My friend explained to me that she has "coached" many employees recently and that many of them complained about one particular manager who was micro-managing them. She told me that she helps the employees understand and come to grips with "their problem". "You're not going to be able to change that manager, she explained to me, "so you've got to change the employees". She explains to them that if they are being micro-managed, there's probably a reason for it. They are probably doing something wrong. If they just identify that problem and improve, their manager will stop the micro-management. "The employees need to improve themselves. It's as simple as that."I wish my life was as simple as that.She acknowledges that with that many employees complaining thatit's likely the manager is the problem. But changing the manager is too much trouble, she says, so let's tell the employees it's their fault.While it is true that it is sometimes necessary to micro-managepeople, her explanation makes little sense to me. You might micro-manage an employee if their performance is lacking. Or because the project they are working on is very high visibility and any chance of error must be minimized. But when a number of employees are complaining about the same manager micro-managing them it implies one of two things. Either this manager:1. Has a lot of problem employees and needs to start weeding them out, or2. This manager does not know how to let go and properlydelegate to their staff. Excessive micro-management is not the sign of a healthy manager. When someone is constantly micro-managing their staff it's generally their problem, not the employees. If you are micro-managing your staff, refusing to delegate routine, and not so routine tasks to them for completion, then you are setting yourself up for trouble. Have you ever heard yourself say, "I would delegate this to someone else, but it's just as easy to do it myself"? Or maybe you say, "This task is too complicated to delegate. I have to make sure it's done right." If so, I hope you like your job. Because you aren't going anyplace higher. Delegation can be difficult to learn because it looks like a huge risk and a huge leap of faith. But it doesn't have to be that way. There are techniques that you can learn that will help you delegate and get you out of the detail. And you have to get out of the detail if you really want to be an executive. What To Do When Your IT Project Is Late, Over Budget, and Looks Like It?s Never Going To Work Here's a scary statistic. According to four prominent research firms, only around 20% of all IT projects are finished in a timely manner. By "timely" the researchers mean without loss of quality or being over budget. They go on to say the average project runs approximately 200 percent late, roughly 200 percent over budget, and contains only 2/3 of the original functionality. Try It Out On Your Team First Wow! You're brilliant! You have a great idea. You've looked at it every possible way to find holes in your logic, fallacies in your assumptions. You know it will work and you can't wait to turn your new brainstorm loose then reap the rewards of your genius. I know you're excited but before you unleash your great idea, first try it out on those around you for analysis, discussion, improvements, and (gasp!) criticism. Dividing The Loot It is when the going gets better, that the going gets tough. This enigmatic sentence bears explanation: when a firm is in dire straits, in the throes of a crisis, or is a loss maker ? conflicts between the shareholders (partners) are rare. When a company is in the start-up phase, conducting research and development and fighting for its continued, profitable survival in the midst of a massive investment cycle ? rarely will internal strife arise and threaten its existence. It is when the company turns a profit, when there is cash in the till ? that, typically, all manner of grievances, complaints and demands arise. The internecine conflicts are especially acute where the ownership is divided equally. It is more accentuated when one of the partners feels that he is contributing more to the business, either because of his unique talents or because of his professional experience, contacts or due to the size of his initial investments (and the other partner does not share his views). What Every Manager Should Know About How to Reduce the High Cost of Employee Absenteeism Employers pay a high price for absenteeism, often more than they may realize, in terms of both financial and production losses and employee morale. Managers may view the tasks of finding a substitute employee as a short-term inconvenience; however, absenteeism frequently has more serious long-term effects. Employers can, nevertheless, ensure that employees report in regularly and remain on the job. More Computer Consulting 101 Hiring Tips (Part 2 of 2) Does your company need to retain the services of a competent computer consulting firm, but you have no idea how to really evaluate "competence"? In the first part of this two-part series on Computer Consulting 101 hiring tips, we looked at why small businesses find it so difficult to hire good computer consulting companies, as well as four basic questions that you must be addressed when searching for a new computer consulting vendor. Now in this second and final installment of this two part series on Computer Consulting 101 hiring tips, we'll look at how you can evaluate the true, often-confusing expenses of using a computer consulting company, as well as how to more thoroughly review the computer consulting company's professional credentials and experience. How to Leverage Your Strengths for Peak Performance Ask almost any business leader how to most effectively develop people and build teamwork and you'll hear, "tap into employees' strengths." Yet when it comes to their own careers, many managers still focus the majority of their personal development efforts on shoring up areas of weakness. Innovation Management ? Raw brainpower versus experience Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation. A Tricky Supervision Challenge Many managers believe that treating their team members as responsible adults will assure excellent results. The truth is that while this usually is effective, some people need much firmer limits than others to perform their jobs. The Seven Cs: Partnership Danger Signs - Conflict Becoming the Norm ? Part 1 A series of articles exploring the seven critical areas that can indicate a partnership is in trouble. Retaining An Expert -- What Every Business Owner Needs To Know As an entrepreneur, hiring an expert can be one of the most efficient ways to turbo-charge your business. However, thousands of consultants flood the Information Highway, and each one promises to positively impact your bottom line. How do you know which expert has the right combination of smarts, skills, experience and personality to move your company in the right direction? How to do SWOT Analysis for your Business SWOT analysis is needed for all business to understand how to improve their business. Ten Top Ways for Managers to Motivate Their People So to help start the ball rolling, here are ten top ways to get your people motivated. Ten small steps for you to start with. Business Relationship Germs In management seminars I often compare debt to an infection. A reasonable amount of debt will not kill a business, but too much debt will. While most businesses carry a substantial amount of debt from time to time, it must be maintained in an acceptable relationship to stockholder's equity. Coaching Can Get The Boss In Shape Who tells the boss that they can improve their management or leadership? How do they look at themselves objectively and identify what areas they can improve and the benefits of doing so? Learn to Assert Yourself Pinpoint your own blocks to assertiveness: fear of disapproval, need to please others, fear of being too masculine or feminine, or the dread of making mistakes. Managing Yo-Yo Style Does being managed by others smack more of "Survivor" than Stephen Covey for you? Could there BE any more management styles out there-have you gotten to experience all of them yet? And what kind of manager are you-or should you try to be? |
© Athifea Distribution LLC - 2013 |