Analysis of Creativity and Innovation

2010年2月总第211期Analysis of Creativity and Innovation江苏大丰市彩虹贸易发展有限公司何玛中国热带农业科学院徐惠敏摘要:创新与变革是企业在当今全球化信息时代生存发展的关键之策,它能使传统行业起死回生,它是新兴产业的制胜法宝。革新为企业创造了财富,为社会创造了价值,管理学大师彼得德鲁克认为,人类的革新活动本身就创造了资源。不仅是科学家和企业家致力于科技和产品的创新,社会学家和学者们也热衷于研究社会变革所推动的社会进步。同时,个人创造力和集体创新能力的相互影响和制约关系也是管理者关注的问题,即如何在组织中形成个人与集体的创新能力的合力。本文简要介绍分析了创新与变革在学术领域中的一- 些基本概念和理论,并论述如何构建集体创新能力。对研究企业管理和从事市场营销工作的人士可以提供理论和实践.上的参考和借鉴。关键词:创新 创造力变革想象力发散性思维集体创新能力合力比Introductioninnovation as a series of intersecting circles (ee Figure 1), whereStated it simply, creativity ,is to make something new. As the creative. ideas are the input and innovation is the output. Ideas arecreature of the God, we human beings have been creating enormousscreened to produce results, which include making something newer,things on this planet, for the sake of survival and protection, contest better, faster, cheaper, and/or more aesthetic. This view is supportedand conquest, wellbeing. and enjoyment, even mischief, or just of no by Amabile (1997) who considered creativity as the first step in inno-reason. Hence there are bows and shields, telephones and spaceships, vatin, which is the sucessful implementation of the novel, appropi-medicine and movies, as well as computer virus.ate ideas.Nowadays, people love the new, the original, the creative andinnovative. They love it not only because of the popularity of revolu-tionaries or the trend of liberalization, but because it is the necessityto deal with the rapid environmental changes. Over the past fewdecades, creativity and innovation have become a highly fashionabletopic, especially in business world where its importance to the con-tinued success for business has been well recognized. Cook (1998)Figure 1 Relationship between creativity and innovationconsiders creativity as an element of competitive advantage for orga-nizations, and Majaro (1991) suggests enhanced creativity can provideTitus (2000) has defined creativity as "the birth of imaginativea company with a competitive edge. While many businesemen alsoew ideas"."' In general, the mathematician tends to get good ideas inallege that companies must innovate or they will die.mathematics, the musician in music, the psychologist in psychology.Either favoured by researchers or critical for executives, creativ-Creative thinkinearises moreeasily in fieldeandinrelationtoorob-ity and innovation in business management has been investigated andlems that we know a good deal about (Proctor, 2005). Locke (1964)practiced at all levels from organization structure, team project, to in.maintained that the source of all ideas is human experience and un-dividual performance. In this paper, first there is a brief overview inderstanding, that is, ideas sprang from knowledge. This implies cre-the area about some key concepts and major theories relating to cre-ativity is the essence of profound knowledge. While Albert Einsteinativity enhancement and creative problem solving. Next, a discussiononce wrote:“Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowl-on team creativity building is elaborated.，edge is limited. Imagination encircles the world."比A Broad View on Creativity and InnovationCreativity is very much concermed with how we imaging things.Creativity v8. innovation.Imagination is generally the first step in leaming, or creating, some-CneativityInnovationthing radically new. In creativity, imagination is making plans, seeingpossibilities, even drawing blueprints. Egan (1992) defined imagina-tion as the capacity to think of things in terms of possibilities, and isa conscious and intentional act of mind as well as the source of newNotions about creativity and innovation are complex, and thereand useful ideas and thingg in a particular context or discipline.is no one standard authority on the subject (Proctor, 2005). The twoBailin (1994) agreed that creative achievement requires the use of theterms are often used interchangeably and that may sometimes misleadimagination. Skill and imagination are interwoven, and the reciprocalliterature reviewers who are new in the field.interaction between them allows for creative achievement and growthThe concept of creativity often comes across in our daily life,to manifest in new and useful developments in a given context or dis-and there are varous definitions of it. The simplest one is' *thinkingAccording to Roger Sperry's Left Brain/Right Brain theory con-diferently" from Dennis Gioia (1995) who saw creativity 8 the pro-cerning creative thinking (see Le Boeuf, 1994), imaginative thinkingcess of“ making the familiar strange and making the strange famil-.is controlled by right brain, while problem solving is done by leftiar." Amabile's (1996) definition of creativity as“the production ofnovel and useful ideal in any domain" has been widely ciled. Simi.brain. To put them work together to form one big mind, then it islarly, Gilliamn (1993) defined creativity as a process of discoveringcreative problem solving.what has not been considered.- the act of making new connections.The contrasts in academic and practioner creativity themesThey all imply that creativity involves seeingGioia (1995) captures the essenice of creativity by comparing theand idea generation is the key component of cretivity McAdamways that academicians and practitioners construe the world of cre-&MClelland, 2002). However, the concept is muli faceted and morativity in organizations. The contrasts in academic and practitionercomplicated than what it is expressed in words. Ascreativity themes reveal that there are intriguing distinctions in thesaid:“"True creativity ofen starts where language ends.ways that the two groups think and act conceming creativity. DespiteWhile cetivity is cleardy idenifed with idea generation, Curgeneration. Cur-diference in conceptions of creativity in organizations, there are alsoa number of commonalities among the academic and practitioner. Onetee (99) defines inovation is aouoputins the ideas inte aetionof these convereences is that manacerial leadership and support areby sifing, refining and implementing.heusoponertite convergentcriticah Amabile ' s (1997) Com-is about divergent thinking whereas innovation require convergentponen中国煤化工Winnovation must come,hinkingHeap。(0980ou8st thtinonaofpthetreseuerairoeprimanativity.. IhompsonHCNMHGement.ideas, then innovation pertains to the services and products that reDivergent thinking. and convergent thinking are both related tosuMasyar (198 dpiced the reaionship betwen ceativi andcreativity. Convergent thinking i诏thinking that proceeds inward orMajaro134川>