Assignment Overview
The purpose of this 8-to-10-page assignment is to demonstrate your knowledge and reflexive thinking gained in this course regarding creativity and leadership issues by applying them to an organization with which you are familiar. The organization can be a current or former place of employment, or a civic, social, religious, or other volunteer organization where you have served.
First, you are compiling a thoughtful description of your organization. Imagine you are writing to a person who has never met you before and knows nothing about the organization. Second, you will be composing what we are calling ‘creativity indicators.’ Third, you are assessing or evaluating the degree to which your organization currently embodies these creativity indicators and you will assign a specific rating. This is an ‘organizational audit’ where you scan your organization’s current abilities as a whole. At first blush, this may seem like a deficit-based approach, to some extent, to finding current gaps in how the organization appears to perform. Fourth, you are producing a timetable for bringing your organization forward beyond this initial snapshot of its performance to be more creative, thus leveraging its strength. This is a strength-based approach, focusing on building your organization in positive, bold directions. You are formulating a strategic, tactical plan for introducing principles of creativity in your own leadership activities to your team, unit, program, organization, and/or institution.
Most of all, these actions should be concrete, unambiguous, and clear! In order to accomplish this, you should produce at least two drafts of the assignment to allow yourself time to perfect your thinking so that you are both fair and comprehensive. Finally, remember that you are developing this plan for further use in your paid or volunteer work, beyond the scope of this course. Use bold, fresh thinking. Typically we set high goals and may not live up to them immediately, but they serve as a template for pulling us closer to what we believe we must attain.
Description of the Organization
Use this as a heading in your paper. Provide a two to three paragraph summary description of the organization being audited: e.g. school, hospital, non-profit organization, museum, business, etc. In one or two paragraphs describe the purpose of the organization. Include size, demographics, and staffing. Brief quotes are okay, but please write this description in your own words rather than copying and pasting whole sections from published materials. In another paragraph, describe your role within the organization. Include your title as well as your stated duties and your actual duties, and whether there is any discrepancy. Tell us how long you’ve worked or volunteered at the organization. Make the organization leap off the page and “come to life” so to speak. If you cite your organization’s website, be sure to cite it within the text and include it in the list of References. Add a nice graphic, such as a picture of you working with others on a team project or in front of your building. If possible, make it a bit more dynamic than just working in a cubicle.
Creativity Indicators
Use this as a heading in your paper. Go back and review your prior discussion responses, articles, book chapters, and assignments. You will be describing each creativity indicator yourself based on definitions in the readings and lectures and articles posted in prior weeks in the course.
Creativity Indicator 1: Intrapersonal Attributes:
State clearly in one sentence. Select and cite an indicator of flow and creativity from Csikzentmihalyi. “A leader enhances flow experiences for herself by x, y, z…”
Creativity Indicator 2: Interpersonal Relationships:
State clearly in one sentence. Select and cite an indicator of how creative leaders manage emotions and affective skills from Puccio, Mance, and Murdock chapters 3 or 4 or from Conners chapter 2.
Creativity Indicator 3: Group Dynamics:
State clearly in one sentence. Select and cite an indicator from Tuckman’s Theory of Group Development, or Puccio, Mance, and Murdock Chapter 13 on Adaptor-Innovator Styles in Teams
Creativity Indicator 4: Organizational Conditions:
State clearly in one sentence. Describe how a leader builds a climate for creativity from Puccio, Mance, and Murdock chapter 14. “A leader supports creativity in organizations by x, y, z…”
Organizational Audit
Use this heading in your paper. Using the rating levels and corresponding descriptors in the table below, you will rate the degree to which your organization currently adheres to each creativity indicator above.
Rating Level
Description
1
Fails to meet creativity indicator.
2
Insufficiently meets creativity indicator.
3
Sufficiently meets creativity indicator.
4
Surpasses creativity indicator.
You will write 6-10 sentences for each indicator, analyzing the extent to which your organization currently meets the propositions outlined in each creativity indicator.
Example:
Creativity Indicator 1: Intrapersonal Attributes: Organization is at level 2.
The organization “X” insufficiently meets the creativity indicator of flow experiences as stated in Csikszentmihalyi (date). Etc.
Creativity Indicator 2: Interpersonal Relationships: Organization is at level 1.
Insert explanation.
Creativity Indicator 3: Group Dynamics: Organization is at level 2.
Insert explanation.
Creativity Indicator 4: Organizational Conditions: Organization is at level 4.
Insert explanation.
Action Plan:
Use this as a heading. Now that you’ve identified the current gaps in your organization, this section will be comprised of 1) a 6-10 sentence-long paragraph summarizing your goals to infuse greater creativity into your organization, and 2) an elaborate, chronological timetable of implementing certain viable actions for each of the four Creativity Indicators. Remember, the action-oriented goals must be attainable and feasible, yet bold.
State each creativity indicator and the goal of moving towards a certain level in the rating system. Explain how you will move towards that particular level. What activities will you initiate? How much will it cost? Describe the necessary stakeholders to include. Whom do you want to work with on this activity? Identify a feasible timeline for completing each activity with a specific date. Evaluation measures are the data collection points to provide evidence of moving towards your stated goals. How will you know that your activities have been accomplished? See Table 1 on next page for a sample action plan. Please follow the table template that is provided. Your table should have a title and should begin at the top of a new page.
General Guidelines
Your final project needs to conform to the following parameters:
Be a minimum of 8 to 10 pages in length, including references (double‐spaced, 12 pt. size, Times New Roman, font). If a title page is used, it does not count toward the page requirements.
Contain at least 6 scholarly sources (research articles, books) within the body of the paper
Follow the prescribed outline using the headings provided in the instructions below
Be submitted in stages
Use APA citation/reference list style
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