How organizational culture relates to innovation Essay

How Organizational Culture Can Support Creativity and Innovation when we think of the terms Innovation and creativity we automatically think of the Individual. We often ask ourselves, what can the Individual bring into an organization? What type of creativity does the Individual have that can support the organization and how would it help the organization grow? As we ask ourselves these questions we are often overlooking the important aspects that correlate to an individual’s capability of creativity and innovation It is important to understand the context In which the Individual functions (Mclean. 05, pg,227). one vltal aspect Is the organizational culture. organizational culture Is denned as the shared values, beliefs and traditions that exist among individuals In an organization. When we refer to the culture in an organization we should consider if everyone In the organization have shared values and beliefs that contribute towards the organization. If so what is the organiz ation doing to influence these work ethics. It is important that individuals maintain a healthy organizational culture because it is an observable powerful point In the organization. hitch has a potent effect on the company well king and Its success. Now that we have analyzed the Importance of organizational culture, lets examine In how it can be done. Creativity and Innovation comes into the organization in a form of a cycle in most cases. These two aspects are influenced by the organizational culture, while the organizational culture is mostly influenced by the organization itself and the experience the workers bring with them tom previous employers (Qwabe. 2013, P. 3). The organization Influences from the very beginning of the hiring process. From the selection process the company chooses a certain amount of Individuals In which they eel have qualities that can bring a positive outlook to the company. These qualities may include; dynamic personalities, strong values and a clear vision on how to operate the business. Another way the company influences from this point is the type of attitude the interviewer is portraying to the interviewee. During the selection process the Interviewer gives a sense out their ethos and their attitude towards the company. This approach transmits to the Interviewee and Influences them In such a way that can determine the enthusiasm on being hired (Qwabe, 2013, P. 7) The other influence the organizational culture has is the experience the workers bring with them from previous employers and other external forces. Past experience can affect the work ethics and any contribution an individual may have with the current company. The influence towards the organizational culture can also be vice versa, In which the experience the company had with the previous employees. In such case the organization learns from critical experiences from the external forces. As the learning occurred, the organizations history becomes memories that After the selection process the organization must continue the positive attitudes nd work as leaders to maintain the positive behavior to ensure long term survival for the organization culture. When the organization leaders motivates the employees, the employers are more likely to feel engaged to their work resulting from better and more satisfactorily work outcomes (Sarrows, Cooper, Santora, 2008, P. 46). There are many tactics some organizations have developed to transmit this motivation and to enhance the positive working environment within the organizational culture. There are six factors in which the organizational leaders use to promote the positive environment. These six are; articulating a vision for the future, providing an appropriate role model, fostering the acceptance of goals, setting high performance expectat ions, providing individual support and providing intellectual stimulation (Sarrows, Cooper, Santora, 2008, P. 46-147). Organizational leaders use these six factors to affiliate it into their own leadership style. This helps them with the enhancement of creativity and innovation by advocating the organizational culture. There are four functions in which help bring the organization’s culture to life. These four functions include organizational identity, sense making device, collective commitment and social system stability (Qwabe, 2013, P. 12). The first function that will be discussed is the organizational identity. When an organization has a sense of identity it is giving the employees a better sense with what the organization wants, giving the employee a more coherent vision and understanding to the organizations objective. Therefor it is providing the employee a more comfortable state where the employee can feel more part of the mission while also strengthening the establishment of what the company is really about and what they stand for. The second function is the collective commitment. When referring to collective commitment we are referring to the energy the employee drives around the important aspects of the favors the organization. It is important for an organization to articulate collective commitments because when employees assemble together and commit themselves to their goals and missions, the relationship amongst each other change for the better. They feel morally obligated to embody their own actions and motivate each other to reach their daily goals. Social system stability is another function of organizational cultural, yet it is also a very important appliance to the organization itself. Social system stability provides a more positive work environment giving the opportunity for the employees to have a more respectable work place. This function helps employees with the ability to resolve conflicts using a problem-focused approach rather than a person focused approach or a blaming mentality. These approaches help avoid any possible conflicts in the workplace creating the workplace to be less tensed and a more complaisant environment. device the organizational culture is being given a broader understanding on what the company’s strategy and values are. It gives the employee a sort of behavior shaping hat helps employees a sense of their surroundings. With this function the employees have a better comprehension in to the objective of the organization, how the organization functions and how the organization aspires to succeed their goals (Qwabe, 2013, P. 13-14). In conclusion it is set that organizational culture does indeed support creativity and innovation. These articles have also prover that the organization itself is greatly influenced within the members of the organizational culture. This is an important aspect of a successful organization. References Qwabe, N. P (â€Å"2013). University of Fort Hare Faculty of Management & Commerce Department of Industrial Psychology. (ONINE) Available at:http://www. academia. edu/1964153/ Organisational_culture_lnnovation_and_creativty. (Last Accessed 1 1. Nov. 2013). McLean, L. D. (2005). Organizational Culture’s Influence on Creativity and innovation: A Review of the Literature and Implications for Human Resource Development. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 7(2), 226-246. Sarrows, J. C. , Cooper, B. K. , Santora, J. C. , (2008). Building a Climate for Innovation Through Transformational Leadership and Organizational Culture. Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies. 15 (2), pp. 145-148