Reference no: EM132361166

Assessment Task: Individual Study of the Nature of Creativity and Innovation

Individual Essay/Report - Analysis of personal and organisational styles and assessment of strategies for creative thinking and innovation

Assessment Details

Each student is to submit a written assignment, based on an exploration of the nature of creativity and innovation, how these are defined, what academics and others say about them, and what their own experiences are. The topic will relate to the theory and practice of creativity and innovation in an organisational setting and will require participants to research the current body of knowledge in the area, assess how this might impact their role in an organisation, and present a case based on their research.

To help you focus this, aim to identify examples of people and/or organisations whose success was/is based on creative thinking and innovation, and what they did to achieve their success with innovation. Look to identify the key ingredients to successful innovation - Leadership, Focus, Creativity, Invention, and Entrepreneurship. Try to find people and organisations that are ‘less well known' than the usual examples, such as Apple, Google, Uber, etc. The aim is to learn how to ‘spot' innovation in action all around you, so focus on your own industry, field, country, or area of interest to find your examples.

The assignment report should be a document of about 2,500 words plus an Executive Summary, Mind Map, and Attachments as needed. You should also include a personal reflection on what you learnt by doing this assignment, and how you might apply the insights gained.

Tackling Assessment Task 1

This document provides an overview of Assessment Task 1 with comments on how you might approach it. The primary purpose of this assignment is for you to get an overall understanding of the breadth of the topic, AND for you to find some relevance or relationship to your own situation. Generally speaking, people who understand how creativity and innovation relates to their own situation are more successful in making innovation happen.

For this assessment task, each student is required to submit an essay based on an exploration of the nature of creativity and innovation - how these are defined, what academics and others say about them, what their own experiences are, and how they might apply the insights they gain from reading material on these topics. The assignment report should be a document of 2,000-2,500 words and should include Appendices such as a Mind Map and other images or data. The topic will relate to the theory and practice of creativity and innovation in an organisational setting and will require participants to research the current body of knowledge in the area and present a case based on their research.

The assessment criteria are outlined in the course description.

The issue of what Creativity and Innovation means to different people, organisations, and situations is clearly a tough one to pin down, but you will likely agree that trying to understand it better gives you an insight into running a business better. This is a chance to see the wide diversity in what Creativity and Innovation mean to different companies and ‘experts'.

Is Creativity & Innovation important to individual or organisational success?

If you believe it is then you may like to consider the following...
• How do I define creativity and innovation?
• What's the difference between them?
• Where does one end and the other begin?
• Can you have one without the other? What would be the result if you did?
• Where does intra/entrepreneurship fit in?
• What are examples of people, organisations, or products/services etc. you believe are innovative, and why do you believe they are. What type(s) of innovation do they display or use to be successful?

In addition the following questions may raise your interest...
• Is it important that I have ‘creative' people in our business?
• Are creative people born or developed - nature or nurture?
• What examples do I have of creative genius - and what makes them creative?
• Should I try to find and hire creative geniuses?
• Should I reward creativity and innovation, and if so how might I do that?
• What is your experience in this area?