Climates for Creativity and Innovation: Building a Context for Meaning

Abstract

As will be seen in the papers you are about to read, the presentation in the area of Climates for Creativity focused on the need for a broader context in which to view climate work, in order to attain more meaning and usefulness from the study of climates. Peter Wesenberg concentrated on the need to re-examine the assumptions about the role of the individual in the context of the organization — who is serving whom? Harry Nystrom identifies the need for a wider concept for creativity, replacing the current narrow economically derived definitions of the work of the organization. D.A. Baines catalogs the various influences of the external environment on a new product development. Nigel Holder reviews the role effective communication plays in introducing product innovations in foreign cultures. Robert Burnside reviews learnings of how to influence the intrinsic motivation of management teams regarding their use of climate data feedback. Finally Nan Panicker proposes a new model for creativity that dramatically reframes the traditional motivation plus skills plus knowledge model in a more far reaching and dynamic interplay. As you will see, the presenters are asking how climate and creativity can be seen more holistically, with models that better represent the true complexity of the real world.