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Creativity and Innovation Skills Training and DevelopmentHave a look at our Creativity and Innovation Workshop Find the next available Open Creativity and Innovation And the next available Open Creativity and Innovation Coaching Two Day Course You might also be interested in the next available Open Communication Skills Course Read more about Creativity and Innovation See the Creative Muscle page for more information on how our programmes deal with Creativity Other Business Communication Skills Issues dealt with by Impact Factory More about Effective Communication Skills Training Find out about our Personal Impact Programme A recent Communication Skills Programme for Merrill Lynch Creativity and Innovation Skills Training and Development |
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Organisational Creativity and Innovation
Impact Factory runs tailored
Creativity and Innovation Trainings
We also run Open Creativity and Innovation Workshops
An Open Creative Report Writing Course
and personalised One-to-One Executive Coaching
for anyone working with Creativity and Innovation issues
The following article was contributed by Kal Bishop, MBA
Organisational Structure, Creativity, Innovation
Organisational structure can inhibit or foster creativity and innovation. The problem with organisational structure though, is that it is resultant of many factors, including history, organic growth, strategy, operational design, product diversity, logistics, marketing, client base, supplier base and so forth. Therefore, what managers need, are not recipes for complete structural change, but insights into the properties of fostering structures that can be adapted into the existing structure.
Creativity and Innovation
Organisational structure can inhibit or foster creativity and innovation.
The problem with organisational structure though, is that it is resultant of many factors, including history, organic growth, strategy, operational design, product diversity, logistics, marketing, client base, supplier base and so forth.
Therefore, what managers need, are not recipes for complete structural change, but insights into the properties of fostering structures that can be adapted into the existing structure.
To start, it is useful to analyse the preferred structures against the not so preferred.
There are many definitions of types of organisational structure, but one example is:
a) Mechanistic structures (generally not preferred) includes centralised control and authority, clearly defined tasks, vertical communication links, obedience to supervisors, rigidity and inflexibility.
b) Organic structures (generally preferred) decentralisation of authority, tasks loosely defined, horizontal communications, greater individual authority, flexible, adaptable.
Experience shows that the above can be misleading.
For example, flat organisations are generally preferred and hierarchical ones not preferred, however, even flat organisations are in reality hierarchical.
Importantly, if we have a mechanistic structure, what factors allow us to move in the right direction without wholesale change?
Some answers include:
a) Direct communication links to decision makers.
b) Communication and information flow between departments.
c) Tangible progression of ideas from problem to solution, product development to commercialisation.
d) Creative teams working outside but linked into the organisation, whose culture, processes etc diffuse into the existing structure.
Kal Bishop, MBA
