Corporate policy on fostering creative thinking

Apple Inc.

Apple Inc. is a multinational firm headquarters in California, United States and operates in the technology industry. The firm’s operations include designing, developing and selling different products including computers software, consumer electronics and online services.  There is a constant need for the firm to remain creative in the products it provides in a market that is highly dynamic in terms of innovation. A corporate culture that enhances creative thinking is necessary for the production and technical teams to whom this policy is targeted. The individuals and team working in this section need to operate in a culture that motivates their innovative capabilities for the firm to remain competitive.

 Creative thinking forms the basis of innovation and it is important in meeting the different challenges experienced in a corporate environment that is rapidly changing.  Research has shown that creativity is a very important feature of any firm that wants to be a leader in the future. Even though Apple has been identified as being among the best creative organization, there is a need to retain and improve this area so that the firm can have a competitive edge over its rivals in the market. Creativity means originality and innovation which suggests the ability t o identify problems and devising ways of analyzing, thinking and coming up with solutions to such problems (Xenikou, 2012). There is a need to have a culture that encourages creative thinking so that to make an organization more innovative. Such a culture should transcend the traditional rules, ideas, methods and interpretations and creating meaningful methods of encouraging originality and hence, avoiding the status quo.

The culture should also move the focus away from the notion that leaders in the organization are the only one expected to be creative in problem-solving and shifting it to team approach. Research has shown that people are most creative when their minds are idle and these minds require downtime so as to induce imaginative innovation (Xenikou, 2012). Apple Inc. needs a workplace that is value driven and which will ensure that the organization has more focus on value. This is possible if the culture embraced throughout the organization encourages creative thinking. Apple corporate policy on creative thinking will therefore, encourage employees to feel that their ideas are valued and their thoughts towards solving any problems are respected. The policy is to be developed through activities whose aim is to contribute towards the general corporate culture.

Establishing and communicating values in the organization

The mission and vision of Apple Inc. will include the need to respect the ideas and thoughts of all the teams in the organization so as to encourage them to think differently about solving any problems may arise. Conventional wisdom holds that organizations have to focus on achieving efficiency, management control and even predictability (In Day, 2014). This will be possible when the every employee especially the technical teams feel that their ideas are recognized and taken into consideration at the team level and by the management. The values will ensure that members of team feel that they can take risks without fear of failing. Being fluid and able to embrace uncertainty can only thrive where there is freedom to think and perform tasks outside the normal control procedures. The established values should also encourage creativity at the personal level. Every team is made up people whose ideas and approach to challenges are different the culture should encourage level of individualism that enhances personal creativity (In Mumford & In Hemlin, 2017).

Communication entails being open with the employees so that their concerns are addressed so that the everyday operations do not overwhelm them especially with issues regarding the organizational culture. Where communication is encouraged, a person is able speak up about themselves and their ideas which may be necessary to overcome the current or emerging problems (In Day, 2014). This is especially true for the technical individuals who may have different talents in a team and the morale for these people is boosted if they are provided with an environment to air their ideas.  Values of an organization form the core a culture and suggest the guidelines on mindset and behaviors for achieving the set vision. When these values are fully communicated to employees, they will have a picture of how they are regarded highly especially in providing new ideas and hence innovation.

Investing on people

An organization will establish a coherent culture if it has the right people that share the core values and have the willingness to embrace the established values. In the regard, Apple Inc. needs to have recruitment policy that ensures that the right individuals are recruited for the right roles in the organization. The organization should therefore, be fanatical about recruiting individuals who are most talented and the best suited for the required corporate culture. It is important to have employees who are cultural fit and who will are willing to work on their creativity both as individuals and in teams so as to set the stage for a creative thinking in the organization (Leigh, A2012). People are known to stick to these cultures that they like and bring on individuals who are the appropriate culture careers will reinforce the desired culture in the organization (Leigh, A2012).

Creating a narrative

For Apple to structure a culture, a movement is needed that will emphasize the need for individual and teamwork creativity in the organization. The power of a narrative is that it establishes a unique story and unearthing this story into a narrative in an informal manner so as to have a culture that is aesthetically oriented in the organization.  This means that the elements of the said narrative will be powerful if they are recognized, wrought and retold as major part of the existing organizational culture (Boncheck, 2016). A corporate narrative for Apple will have to be strategic so that it is maintained and communicated to all the individuals and teams in the organization. A narrative is important for building a corporate culture through ensuring that employee engagement is enhanced. It tells where the organization is presently and where it is expected to be in the future (Boncheck, 2016). Amidst increasing competition in the IT industry, Apple has to build a creative culture that specifies where the organization is and where it intends to be in terms of performance.

Creation of informal group space

 This activity involve creating an environment that is intentionally engineered to allow members of the organization to associate informally like running into each other the whole day in  unplanned ways. This means that employees are placed in open environment instead of separate operation rooms that are closed. This suggests an open architecture which normally is more conducive for collaborations which is important in creation of supportive culture in the organization (Xenikou, 2012). Space, both architecture and geographical has a way of impact established values and even behaviors of all people at the workplace.  This is necessary in Apple where operations may be varying such as designing and production and there is a need to build a culture of creation, controlling, collaboration and competing and personal level.

To encourage creative thinking, there is need for a competitive environment but on that is controlled at a certain level through collaboration. Whereas individualism may be necessary for creative thinking, collaboration ensures that boundaries are put in place to avoid collusion and hence, encourage collaboration.  Space for informal group ensure there is room for interaction, sharing of ideas and support at the team level across all the departments in the organization (Xenikou, 2012).

 

 

                                                                                                                   

 

 

 

 

Facilitating a creative work environment

Motivation for creative thinking is found mostly in individuals but the social environment in which they operate also affects creativity. An environment that is positive results to an atmosphere that encourages flourishing of creativity and a negative will squash such efforts. In this sense, Apple Inc. needs an environment that is positive so as to ensure successful adoption of the established corporate culture. Procedures are also put in place to ensure the growth of a culture that encourages a creative thinking among the employees.

Diversifying the teams

Diversity enhances creativity and hence, innovation at the work place since various cultural experiences not only brings benefits to creativity at the individual level but also at the team level. The relation between creativity and diversity is stronger where an organizational culture encourages higher engagement levels. Diverse groups’ results to better solutions since there is a variety of insights, perspective and even learning styles which speed up the process of problem solving (Williams, 2016). In addition, a diverse team has greater chances of coming up with groundbreaking ideas due to the different ways available for approaching a problem or issue. As innovation is constantly changing in the technological environment,

Apple Inc. needs the best ideas but not just the solution offered by a specific group of individuals. Hence, everybody is equipped to come up with innovations or ideas that are essential to the success of the company in the technological world. Hence, the composition of the employees in every team in the organization should be diversified to include people of different talents and capabilities and this will go a long way in encouraging creative thinking. Moreover, diversity increases the chances of creativity and problem-solving approaches that are team-lead and this results to a general improved productivity and hence performance of the entire organization (Williams, 2016). Apple will have to embark on hiring on hiring individuals that have varying experiences, backgrounds, education and even qualification.

Increasing play time

 It has been mentioned that most innovations comes about when peoples mind are not engaged in daily routines and this supports the need to let loose , relax and play. The leisure time is important in activating a default networking mode in the brain so that it can see any problem from a new perspective. It also gives room for trying new things that have the potential for reshaping an approach to the problem and hence, comes up with new solutions.  Activities that make people feel positive at the workplace may make them eager to spend time working when needed in busy periods (Goodman & Dingli, 2017).  Positivity is important in creative thinking since it helps in meditative techniques about issues that may need to be addressed in the organization. Apple Inc. has to provide ample time for people in the various sections to rewind and relax and hence encourage positive thinking.

Rewarding creativity

 Intrinsic motivation which comes with working on a specific task because of its interesting nature has a very strong link to personal creativity. This motivation mostly stems from a person’s curiosity and the challenge if the tasks they have to accomplish. However, the motivation should not be extrinsic especially if it is based on monetary rewards since it normally has detrimental impact on creativity (Goodman & Dingli, 2017). When a person does something for monetary benefit, they are likely to attribute this to that fact instead of an inner value such as the need for growth. As such, rewarding creative thing by Apple Inc. should focus largely on intrinsic motivation of an individual or a team. For a positive work environment, some rewards and incentives for creativity can go a long way to motivate the involved individuals. A good way that may be applicable for Apple Inc. is to an environment where flexibility is valued. For instance, breaking away from normal routines may result to increased productivity of new ideas from employees upon being unyoked from them. A good way to reward risk takers is to a solid feedback since it is human for individuals to want recognition for their hard work in coming up with groundbreaking innovations.

 

References

In Day, D. V. (2014). The Oxford handbook of leadership and organizations.767-771

In Mumford, M. D., & In Hemlin, S. (2017). Handbook of research on leadership and creativity.141-142

Leigh, A. (2012). The Essentials of Management: Everything you need to succeed as a new manager.

Boncheck, M., (2016).How to Build a Strategic Narrative. Retrieved from:https://hbr.org/2016/03/how-to-build-a-strategic-narrative

Xenikou, A. (2012). Group Dynamics and Organizational Culture. Palgrave Macmillan. 9-14

Goodman, M., & Dingli, S. M. (2017). Creativity and Strategic Innovation Management: Directions for Future Value in Changing Times. Taylor & Francis.

 

Williams, C.,(2016). MGMT. Cengage Learning