Assignment on Creativity and innovation

Executive Summary of Creativity and innovation

Creativity and innovation can be rightly called as the lifeblood of any organization. Creativity and innovation are conceived as the integral parts of the same process. Innovation can be rightly called as the life-blood of any organization, because the world of today is so dynamic and things change in a matter of seconds. So, to keep pace with the ever-changing technologies and processes an organization needs to be ready for change and innovation all the time. Especially over the last decade, innovation and creativity are deemed as the critical skills for the achievement of success in the developed economies. Many of the problems in management today require creative insights to be able to find perfect solution. Creativity and innovation go hand in hand, and the fact is that one cannot innovate without being creative. Creativity can be defined as the ability to generate new ideas that are unique in their nature, whereas innovation is the implementation of that creative idea. It’s a whole process which includes, the introduction of a new idea, solution, a product or a process. The driving force behind innovation is called creativity, it is also the incorporation of looking at things with a different perspective, and having no restrictions by the rules or any written norms. Creativity can be defined as the process that is needed to solve problems. In today’s world, if a business wants to stay ahead of the competition there is no other way to do it other than being more creative and innovative then others.

Introduction of Creativity and innovation

Innovation and creativity are inevitable for any business to stay profitable; our topic of discussion is a bank called the HBSC bank which is around 155 years old. HSBC is the largest bank of Europe and 7^th largest bank in the world. It stands for Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC). It is a multinational investment bank and also a financial service holding company. Its assets total, $2.558 trillion. Presently, it is established in London, it was originated in Hong Kong. It has branches in 65 countries and territories and has around 3,900 offices. It is organized with four business groups, Global Banking and Markets, Commercial Banking, Retail Banking and Wealth Management and Global Private Banking. In the following we have discussed the need of change, creativity and innovation in the HBSC bank, and what measures a business needs to take to stay in alive in a competitive environment. The road block and hurdles in the way to innovate are also discussed.

The Importance of Change of Creativity and innovation

The world is transforming every day, the population is changing, trends change every day, technology is advancing and economies are changing. Any business that, do not have the potential to innovate can be easily left behind in the race. Following are the factors due to which change is necessary;

Advancements in Technology: Technology is the biggest determining factor in today’s world. It has affected every aspect of human life, from how we communicate to how we think. Business leaders now do not have to meet up people in person and hold laborious talks. They can easily hire experts for any work from the online portal and get the best services. If, a business do not have the potential to use the technology the right way it surely would be left behind.

Ever Changing Customer Needs: Customers demand new and improved products after a while and that is possible only with the efficient use of technology. Businesses are using the most advanced technologies to stay ahead of others. Experts are hired to give ideas, to innovate and create new products and services. Now in this fast paced change, a business should be able to keep up and deliver the best possible service to its clients.

Changes in the global economy: Some economies are strong and some are weak, the countries with a strong economy have a natural competitive edge over smaller economies. In this tough competition, just to be able to stay in the market a business needs to be unique in its ways and products and services.

Change derives Opportunities: Change if taken and assessed the right way can lead a business to a host of opportunities. The need is to be competent enough to explore the new ideas and not turn a back to new horizons. This can be done by having a capable and determined team, who are ready to innovate and create.

Componential Theory of Innovation: This theory is concerned with the creativity on an individual and organizational level. According to this theory, creativity takes four components;

1.      An intrinsically motivated person: it means that the person that is put to work is motivated enough and would put skills and effort into creating new and innovative products.

2.      High domain expertise: includes knowledge, expertise, technical skills, intelligence and talent in the particular domain in which the individual is working.

3.      High skills in creative thinking: it means that the individual that is skilled enough to come up with ideas, to innovate and also to solve problems

4.      Works in an environment that highly supports creativity: for a person to be creative, an environment that would permit such creativity is also essential.

The componential theory has described what it takes to innovate and create products and services that are unique in their nature. The organizations need to follow the principles given by this theory. HSBC bank needs to give its employees, the motivation to create something new, it needs to develop skills and hire experts for each domain. For promoting creativity, it needs to let people think what could be done new and how the processes can be made better, also for innovation it is necessary to give the environment that would allow individuals to be creative.

Roadblocks in the Process of Innovation and how to overcome them

It has been proved from the above conversation that, innovation is the need, and it is to be there for any business to stay profitable. Being profitable is one thing but without creativity and innovation the business lacks the appeal for its customers as well. You cannot eat the same for a week, similarly consumers also need new things to avail, they want newness in the products and services every time they buy a product. In the banking business like the HSBC bank, consumers want new policies for depositing, if other banks are providing more interest than HSBC than consumer has no reason to invest in HSBC. HSBC is doing fine but the same policies would not work for long and soon they would lose their appeal for the clients. The need of the hour is to innovate before running out of customers, but there are some hurdles that are faced by the HSBC, we are discussing hem in detail and have also tried to figure out a solution.

Groupthink: Innovative ideas do not come in group thinking. When people are working in a group they unconsciously take the decision to follow whatever the group decides. If a member who dominates mostly, come up with an idea, no one challenges him, and then the other creative minds that are there simply fall to a side and all the potential is lost.

The solution: The solution to this problem is that, when ever group meetings are held, every person’s opinion will be taken and they will be encouraged to give ideas, and implement a reward system, that whoever gives the best idea will be rewarded. This is a great way to make everyone participate.

Burnout: Not everyone is a spontaneous thinker; some people need time to come up with their best ideas. Companies should encourage creativity but they should not create a pressure cooker situation. Employer should not stress people for coming up with ideas right away.

Solution: The solution to this hurdle is easy, the employers simply need to create a relaxed environment in which people can think and have adequate time to weigh and analyze the situation and come up with the best possible ideas.

Insufficient Trust: Trust is an important component for innovation to take place. If team members do not trust each other, the riskier ideas that are also most often the most rewarding, cannot be implemented. When people do not trust each other they also would not believe on each other’s ideas.

Solution: This problem can be eradicated by, giving the employees the assurance that they are trusted and they are allowed to think out of the box. Encourage them to get out of their comfort zones.

Recommendation: In the above discussion we have seen the significance of innovation for a business. We have seen the problems that the HSBC bank was facing in their way to innovate, and have also give them the best possible solution to eradicate those problems. Innovation involves brainstorming and that is hard, but that is what is needed. Businesses that have talented individual as their managers and CFOs are destined to succeed. Innovation is to business, what blood is to a human. Creativity only resides in an open brain for that purpose businesses need to let people think out of the box. Change is inevitable in this world, and only the ones who keep pace with that it will be successful.

References o f Creativity and innovation

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Jung, D. C. (2003). The role of transformational leadership in enhancing organizational innovation:. (14), 525–44.

Neil Anderson, B. B. (2014). Innovation and Creativity in Organizations: A State-of-the-Science Review, Prospective Commentary, and Guiding Framework. Journal of Management , 40 (5).

Seyed Hadi Razavi, O. A. (2013). Management of Organizational Innovation. International Journal of Business and Social Science , 4 (1).