Barriers Facing Employees in Achieving Innovation and Creativity

• Introduction

Research Context/ Background

In the contemporariness of the corporate world today, there is a need to adopt more strategic approaches to overcome competition. It is not that the needs of the consumers in the global context have increased but their expectation has changed as well. In this context, corporations have been forced to embrace innovation as the means of differentiating their services from all the others. However, similar to change, creativity is difficult to achieve since it involves engaging the employees fully throughout the transformation process. Achieving creativity and innovation is a complex thing because of the associated uncertainties that force most companies to withdraw from the innovation. In this context, the absence of innovation has emerged as what most organizations opt for especially in the public sector. It is evident that even in the public sector consumers are expecting to experience several changes with reference to services delivery. The organizations that are not willing to change or even encourage the development of an innovative surrounding threatens their future wellness. According to Palm,  Lilja & Wiklund (2016) the notion that innovativeness is best suitable for the private sector is unjustified and misleading since acquiring quality services is a need for every consumer regardless of the state of the company. Efficiency is not mainly a matter of owning the most skilled or knowledgeable employees but mainly entails taking the needs of the consumers into account and developing innovative strategies to overcome. In other words, there is a need to embrace participative leadership in the public sector to encourage employees to participate in changing the situation. The dominance of bureaucratic leadership has certainly destroyed the aspect of creativity by demotivating the employees. Innovation cannot exist where employees operate under an oppressive environment that does not accommodate creativity.

Research Aims and Objectives

The aim of the current research is to carry out in-depth analyses to determine the challenges that hinder employee’s innovation and creativity with respect to DSC as the case study. The investigation is important in improving the general efficiency, effectiveness, productivity and performance within the public sector. Thus, the study will seek to analyze the situation and recommend viable solutions that best address the issue. The aim is to increase the general productivity of the corporation while providing quality services to the public. The study will narrow the scope of the study by proposing measures that should be adopted to improve the productivity of the corporations. To meet the objectives of the study, the study will be guided by the objectives below.

1. To establish the barriers that inhibit the ability of the employees in the Dubai Statistics Center to achieve creativity and innovation in Dubai
2. To establish the most appropriate measures that would enable the corporation to be innovative and creativity
3. To establish the effects of the situation and recommend several strategies to mitigate the barriers.

Research Problem, Questions and Hypothesis

Research Problem

Creativity and innovation are the aspects that are needed in distinguishing an efficient business enterprise from those that are on the falling edge. In that in the case that an organization is unable to create unique products or services to its customer base then people tend to enjoy those provided by competitors. The current demands in the enterprise sector are unending thus demanding that companies take rather constructive strategies to fit in and meet all the needs of the consumers. Thus, for the public corporations to completely create an enabling operating surrounding that accommodates creativity completely there is a necessity to eliminate existing inhibitors that have the ability to hinder the ability of employees to develop creative thoughts that solve issues. Powell (2014) notes that it is mainly believed by most scholars that the work environment is mainly accountable for increasing or diminishing both creativity and innovation as a whole. Staffs in the public sector are characterized by less creativity on the ground that the working set is not accommodative of their needs. In that with respect to the public sector, especially in DSC employees need to be highly creative since innovation is a necessity in the quest for delivering quality services to the public as a whole. The corporation in a similar case to all the other public organizations has some leading barriers with reference to employee’s innovation and creativity. Some barriers such as the unwillingness to embrace change among employees and the respective leaders are reasonable since they are common in almost every sector. However, issues such as workload pressure, poor leadership, and organizational impediments have proven to be particularly delicate as they not only affect productivity but also the quality of work. DSC has not been able to maximize productivity and performance as the needed creativity is missing. In that employees are more objected to the use of traditional strategies in delivering services which accounts for a high level of public dissatisfaction due to poor services, that fail to meet their anticipations. In this case, such behaviors have furthered issues related to accountability and efficiency. It is thus, undeniable that there a need to analyze the issues that hinder employees creativity and recommend viable solutions that are applicable largely in Dubai’s public sector.

Research Questions

1. What are the most common barriers that employees face in achieving innovation and creativity in the Dubai Statistics Center (DSC)?
2. What are the effects of the low level of innovation and creativity in the Dubai Statistics Center?
3. How can the Dubai Statistics Center mitigate the existing barriers?

Hypothesis:

Based on the analysis above the study will be testing the hypothesis below:

Workload pressure, leadership, organizational impediments as barriers to achieving innovation and creativity at DSC leads to poor performance, low productivity, and high turnover rate.

Research Output

Based on the findings of the study there is a notable increase of innovation and creativity in DSC organization when the management adheres to participative leadership. In that the system is effective in not only changing the perception of the employees but also increasing their willingness to be part of innovation as a sense of belonging is developed. The notion was achieved following the interpretation of responses acquired from the Questionnaire and analyzed through SPSS approach.  

• Literature Review

Innovation and Creativity Need Among Employees

According to Mbatha (2013), innovation and creativity are the things that differentiate the most viable and efficient organization from all those that are not. It is not something that should be done in certain sectors but should be used collaboratively to enhance the quality of services and the satisfaction of the consumers. Innovation is about being creative with regard to an existing idea such as coming up with more convenient solutions. In this case, innovation refers to the creation of fresh ideas that bring about efficient more than what people are used to having. Most of the modern organizations have proven to be very successful with reference to the use of updated innovation as a way of fixing existing issues and dominating the market. Innovation can be implemented as either radical or incremental. Radical innovation mainly involves the development of fresh ideas and things towards carrying out operations. In this case, the certainty of such moves is not known and the complexity in most cases discourages individuals from participating. Innovation and the promotion for creativity are normally minimal when it comes to the public sector on the ground that most individuals tend to believe that private firms need innovation more because they desire to occupy the market to the greatest extent for profit maximization. In this case, most companies in the public sector have proven to be very poor when it comes to employee’s creativity and innovation. Employees tend to rely on their skills as the means of delivering quality services rather than seeking for better ways of meeting the needs of their clients. Despite the fact that the public sector is more advantageous given that it is characterized with more resources ranging from finance to skills and a large workforce innovation has remained behind and is not a priority to most firms. The fact that competition is minimal in this sector makes it even worse for the corporations to catch up with the trend for being innovative.

Innovation and Creativity in the Public Sector

Based on Simões, (2017 p.160) most public facilities that are categorized as successful are the ones that are centered on creativity and innovation. In this case, this is the companies that are not engaged in the operation of copying operations or services from others but their main focus lies in the use of innovative ideas from the market as the main means of creating unique and satisfactory services that suits the needs of the clientele. Evidently, the lack of innovation among public sector employees is grounded on the assertion that serving the public does not require any strategy since there is zero to minimal competition that is involved. In the contemporary business scope innovation which is sourced from creativity is a contemporary approach that seeks to bring about long-run success for a company (Mbatha, 2013). Evidently, creativity is an activity that is responsible for the development of knowledge being resourceful and being curious about how to best solve some issues. In this context, there is no likelihood of achieving innovation in the case that such moves are not even supported by a given culture of the company through the provision of resources and effective leadership.

Berman & Chan-Gon (2010 p.620) notes that without a doubt, unlike the private sector where leadership is diverse as companies use the approaches that best suit their needs, the public sector mainly relies on bureaucratic leadership. In other words, leaders are more focused on leading through the use of dictatorship moves when assigning duties to the employees as they expect that things should be done their way. Such leadership normally discourages the employees from engaging actively in operations of the company as they feel as though their needs are less considered or are inferior to the company. On the other hand, innovation is highly encouraged within the private companies since the leaders try to motivate the employees to be very creative in bringing out solutions to the existing issues (Berman & Chan-Gon, 2010). In that creativity is what the companies mainly utilize in gaining competitiveness by developing solutions in the market. Through such strategies, the employees have the opportunity to be creative since the environment is conducive. Bureaucracy normally destroys the working environment as there is a high tendency of the development of fear and pressure among workers since they are not allowed to air their views in addition to the fact that they have to cope with the extensive workload and working pressure which leads to low productivity. The use of transformational and participative leadership in some sectors has proven to be more enabling in encouraging creativity. In that employees are empowered to be part of the organization as a whole by not only focusing on their skills but also borrowing from the real encounters in the industry and market (Ngah, Tai & Bontis, 2016). Dictatorship, on the contrary, creates an environment that discourages employees and affects their abilities to engage in innovative activities. In addition, most companies that are within the public setting are not able to sully support Creativity to Grow Due To the Existing Impediments.

Innovation and Creativity Achievement Barriers among Employees

Poor leadership, impediments, and work pressure are some of the leading barriers to the development of innovation. In the case that leaders tend to promote their personal ideologies then the employees in most cases only embrace resistance (Fuglsang & Rønning, 2015 p.470). Change is something that is not appreciated by most people particularly while working but this should not be an adequate reason to not try. Thus, when using the dictatorial leadership employees are likely to resist any proposed amends on the notion that they do not support such changes given that they did not play part in making decisions. Poor leadership is the main driver of failure for most companies because the existing companies are more oriented. Leaders that seek to bring transformation mainly achieve that by encouraging the employees to be creative. Employees are the most valuable asset that any organization can own given that they determine the general productivity of the company and its competitiveness. In such cases, the employees are subjected to heavy and unfulfilling workloads since the management does not take their ideas. The pressure that amounts to fear leads to increased turnover rate since the employees begin to search for more profitable and comfortable working opportunities elsewhere. Most individuals would agree that the public sector has experienced minimal transformation even after the advancement of technology because of its inability to mitigate (Lagunes & Rubalcaba Bermejo, 2015). The leaders and all the employees are unwilling to embrace such moves because they are not sure of the success. However, innovation will most definitely yield success where creativity is well nurtured. The source of innovation is creativity and thus encouraging employees to develop such ideas will definitely be useful to them when it comes to their wiliness and ability to innovate. Innovation is generated from imagination and such abilities are nurtured by willing leaders who are mainly focused on changing the organization. The public sector is not however willing to transform how it delivers services to its clients an aspect that has hindered such development. The facilities face several impediments as the management is not well strategized and resources are in most cases misused by those that are in power.

In the last couple of years, innovation and creativity have emerged to be some of the most important capabilities that lead to achieving success in any given corporation within the global sector. In that regardless of the size of the organization, it has been realized that innovation is essential for the development of the market as a whole (Kaya& Torlak, 2013). There is an increasing need for the development of creative abilities in the quest of solving the existing issues in the public landscape given that the evolution of the sector is mainly dependent on imaginative thoughts that lead to the implementation of suitable solutions to the existing issues. In other words, creativity is not separable from innovation even though they entail two rather different things.  Creativity can best be described as the ability to generate fresh thoughts as well as innovation through executing creativity via the utilization of fresh ideas. In this case, creativity is at the central part that normally influences changes that result in socio-economic changes that normally results in development. Most individuals have a negative attitude when it comes to innovation as it is view that it is complex and unpredictable which is usually the case both for the employees and the respective leaders (Fuglsang & Rønning, 2015 p.471). Such barriers create challenges in corporations by eliminating the general abilities for the employees to maximize their potential for the wellness of the company. Therefore, in the case that the leadership is able to identify existing issues and plans on how to innovate solution lead to a highly creative workforce that is objected on improving the stability of the company.  It is only through recognition and acknowledging the necessity for such changes and the dominance of issues that companies are able to overcome such challenges and hindrances and thus developing a highly inventive and creative workforce. The attitude of the employees mainly depends on the ability of the leaders to engage them in the process of making proper decisions that encourages them to be part of the company.

3.0    Research Methodology

Research Approach/Design

The research approach that this study will use is a deductive one. Based on the approach the researcher begins by conducting thorough research on the study. On the other hand, the inductive approach was found to be unsuitable because it begins by making the specified observation that leads to the production of theories and conclusions leading to the findings of the study (Johnson & Christensen, 2013). The rationale behind the occupation of the inductive approach is on that it normally takes account of the researcher’s effort while it was the most suitable in the production of qualitative information. The approach is not however appropriate for the study because it leads to generalized concepts as the observations might be biased thus affecting the general reliability of the findings. The Deductive approach is more important because it is more reliable and based on actual findings from the field rather than assumptions of the researchers.

With respect to the research design, the study will utilize a quantitative design. Research design mainly involves the development of a study framework without interfering with the reliability and validity of the results (Johnson & Christensen, 2013). In this case, a quantitative design mainly involves the utilization of a systematic research plan that provides a strategy on where and the manner of gathering data from a selected sample. The implementation of the quantitative approach is very important in the generation of adequate information that supports the research’s hypothesis while answering the research questions. The design is mainly associated with some benefits because maximum data is needed to ensure that the information is credible as well as measurable. Further, the strategy is more effective as it permits the researcher to carry out a thought evaluation of DSC Company as the case study. The approach is successful in the collection of maximum and verifiable information since the study is much secured from any form of manipulation. It is through the approach that the research will be able to answer the questions fully while seeking to ensure that the results are reliable. The approach is more suitable because it will be useful in the generation of adequate information from a small sample.

Data Collection Methods

While the study will follow the quantitative design, the research will mainly collect data through the use of questionnaires. In that questionnaires are more effective because they will incorporate both open and closed-ended questions that will allow the research to acquire more information that is reliable from the smallest sample. In this context, questionnaires will mainly be distributed to the participants via their addresses which will be acquired from the company’s DSC database. The responses will then be analyzed personally by the researcher to ensure that the confidentiality of the participants is preserved. Questionnaires as the data collection tool were chosen since it is associated with flexibility, cost-effective and easy to utilize. In this case, it will be the only tool to be used for the entire investigation.

Data Sampling

Questionnaires were distributed to all the 150 employees chosen from DSC as the participants which included managers as well as junior staffs. The questionnaire also informed them of the objective of the study. Since the researcher had preserved copies on the internet of the questionnaires they were then distributed in the organization through emails as directed by the management. Links were sent that helped them to access the questionnaires with ease. Employees of the company were the ones that served as participants of the study without any outside sourcing. In this study, therefore, the sample population was chosen since they have a special connection with the case study which is DSC which is under investigation. The sample is therefore dependable since sufficient and accurate information will be collected based on their relevance to working with the company. Being actively involved in the company is important. Random sampling was not selected since it is likely to increase bias or the selection of participants with minimal experience at the company which will ultimately affect the reliability of the study. Since the company has 200 employees only 150 were selected as those excluded had not worked in the company for more than three years and most of them are not well equipped in terms of knowledge about the company and its operations. The selected sample is appropriate for the study.

Design of the Questionnaires

I designed the questionnaire on my own based on experience. I work as an opinion polls expert for 4 years now. I have had the experienced of working with too many questionnaires and it came out of experience linked to the nature of the DSC work and its environment. Also, I acquired adequate knowledge from engaging in a discussion with regard to the state of DSC with the innovation unit at the organization.

The design of the questionnaire took a closed-ended format where chooses for selection were developed. The design, therefore, followed a 5-point Likert scale approach as the participants were required to select the answers that felt most collect to them on the range of extremely satisfied to extremely dissatisfied which sort to measure their feeling with regard to what hinders the growth of creativity and innovation in the company. The first set of questions mainly sought to determine the effect of leadership, work pressure and organizational impediments to creativity development in the firm. The three aspects were established to be the most pressuring ones and thus the researcher was seeking to get justification for each for the development of feasible solutions. The next set of questions were mainly grounded on the effect of such barriers on their work productivity as a whole. In general, the questions were mainly seeking to measure the general satisfaction of the employees to the services that they provide to their clients and whether they feel that promoting creativity would best solve the issues that they are facing within the sector. The design of the company mainly considers the reliability, efficiency, and assurance of the results by examining the needs of the employees and examining the main challenges towards achieving an innovative and creative working team. The responsiveness of the participants is important to the study since it will determine the credibility and reliability of the study as a whole.

Variables

As the study is objected at discussing the barriers to the achievement of creativity and innovation among employees at DSC this section will discuss both independent and dependent variables as present in the study. The variables were used in the study to assist in testing the feasibility of the study’s validity.

Dependent Variables

Innovation and creativity achievement among DSC employees with reference to their operations in the company was the dependent variable.  In that, they are dependent because they are constant and their outcome is mainly determined by all other factors. The variables mainly represented the things that mainly affected the ability of the employees to achieve greater performance in terms of quality. In that, the variables mainly illustrate the satisfaction of the employees with reference to their work and the services that they provide to their clients and the industry at large. The questions asked of the respondents therefore aimed at establishing how creativity and innovation are affected by the three barriers as a whole. The questions were mainly developed based on the assertion that employees are the main determinant of an organization’s productivity and thus they should be motivated to achieve greatness by creating an enabling environment for them to work.

Independent Variables

In this study, three main independent variables were identified where each occupied several questions to gather adequate information for verification. The three variables are leadership, work pressure and organizational impediments which appears to be a common occurrence in the public sector. In that, the first variable was used to determine how bureaucratic leadership, as well as other leadership strategies such as transformational and participative, affect the achievement of creativity and development of innovation among employees. In that employees were asked on how the existing leadership at the organization acts as a hindrance or a driver and also for the possible changes that would help to change the situation. It is rather surprising that there are no options when it comes to leadership in the public sector since dictatorship is the order of the day which appears to be having major effects on the morale and productivity of the employees. The other variable was useful in demonstrating how work pressure creates hindrances when it comes to the ability of the employees to develop inventive thoughts that would be useful for the company. Thus, employees were asked about whether they were subjected to any workload pressure and how they were being affected by it. On the other hand, organizational impediment was counted from the lack of resources for impairment of leadership.

Data Analysis Tool/ Technique

Thematic analysis was used in analyzing all the theoretical data that was acquired from the investigation. This technique mainly involves arranging data based on themes and concepts to make it easier for comparison. In this case, all the acquired data was categorized into the category of the three barriers and their responsive effects. This is mainly useful in establishing uniformity of the responses and determining the factors that hold more weight with regard to the case. On the other hand, statistical data will be analyzed through the use of SPSS. The obtained data will be analyzed through the statistical package. The correlational and central tendency digits were selected to institute the association amid different variables. The approach will deal with statistical data while conceptual details will be analyzed through thematic coding. The utilization of SPSS was used for the study as it generated reliable information regarding the existing barriers to the adoption of creativity and innovation. The strategy also assisted the researcher in narrowing the scope of the study as well as ensuring that the study does not deviate from the primary objective. This is because the study was focused on a rather broad topic that would not be assessed fully within the limitation of the study. However, the methods necessitate caution because it is associated with bias since the researchers tend to twist the result towards their preferred side. Regression test was used in testing the validity of the study tool and results. This is a statistical measure utilized to determine the strength of the relationship amid a dependent variable and multiple independent variables. The approach is suitable for forecasting and establishing the causal relationship amid variables.

Ethical consideration, Limitations reliability and validity

The study follows a case study of DSC which makes it sensitive since the employees are required to offer sensitive information about their company which is likely to discourage most of them. Thus, the study took account of all the ethical issues to be observed in the case. The privacy and confidentiality of the employees were mainly accounted for. In other words, the researcher did not gather any private information. In this context, the researcher excluded details such as contacts and names to preserve their confidentiality. Also, the participants will mainly be informed that the study is voluntary and that they can withdraw at any point. In addition, the researcher will be involved in the analysis of data to ensure that the results are valid and reliable.

In research dependability and validity are some of the most important factors that help in determining the feasibility of the investigation Antonisamy, Solomon & Prasanna, (2010). Reliability is mainly about the reliability of the entire process which helps in determining the worthiness of the process. Contrary validity is mainly linked to the transparency and accuracy of the findings. Thus, every researcher must strive to ensure that the study adheres to validity and reliability measures in guarding the wellness of the study (Lim, 2013). In this case, the researcher ensured that the investigation was reliable through the collection of information in an organized strategy as well as analysis. The researcher also worked to ensure that the responsibility of analyzing information was a sole role to avoid any alteration. The approach was useful in ensuring that the study remained objective as intended. Also, the sample populace was chosen on the ground of expertise, knowledge, and experiences with reference to the challenges that affect the ability of employees to achieve creativity and innovation in their workplace. Validity was guarded on the ground that the researcher ensured that all the concerns of the populace such as confidentiality and privacy were fully observed. This, therefore, worked to guarantee protection to the employees as well as encouraging them to participate and offer truthful information in their responses.

            Similar to all other studies this study was subjected to several limitations but this has no ability to affect the reliability of the study. First, time is minimal for investigation and thus settling for a small sample was more effective since it created a better opportunity for better analysis of data thus eliminating errors. In addition, the subject was rather broad and the questionnaire was not too extensive to cover the subject comprehensively.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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