Convenience

Enhancing Creativity in Organizations
Managers who wish to enhance and promote crea-
tivity in their organizations can do so in a variety of
ways.
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One important method for enhancing crea-
tivity is to make it a part of the organization’s cul-
ture, often through explicit goals. Firms that truly
want to stress creativity, like 3M and Rubbermaid,
for example, state goals that some percentage of
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Lipitor, a cholesterol-fighting drug, is one of the most
successful pharmaceutical innovations in history. The scientist
who first demonstrated the potential effectiveness of Lipitor
was fully engaged in the creative process during the
development and testing of the drug.
Chapter 9:
Basic Elements of Individual Behavior in Organizations
2 8 1
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future revenues are to be gained from new products. This clearly communicates that
creativity and innovation are valued. Best Buy recently picked four groups of salespeople
in their twenties and early thirties and asked them to spend ten weeks living together in a
Los Angeles apartment complex (with expenses paid by the company and still earning
their normal pay). Their job was to sit around and brainstorm new business ideas that
could be rolled out quickly and cheaply.
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Another important part of enhancing creativity is to reward creative successes, while
being careful not to punish creative failures. Many ideas that seem worthwhile on paper
fail to pan out in reality. If the first person to come up with an idea that fails is fired or
otherwise punished, others in the organization will become more cautious in their own
work. And, as a result, fewer creative ideas will emerge.
TYPES OF WORKPLACE BEHAVIOR
Now that we have looked closely at how individual differences can influence behavior
in organizations, let’s turn our attention to what we mean by workplace behavior.