Reference no: EM133839798 , Length: word count:3000

Creativity for Business

Assessment Brief

Introduction and Rationale

This assessment provides you with an opportunity to demonstrate your understanding of what creativity is and why it is important for organisations. It also allows you to show that you can conduct an interview, analyse and report on the data, and use this data to inform your arguments for why creativity is important in the workplace.

The purpose of your report is to explain what creativity is, and why creativity is important to organisations. That is, why should organisations try to be creative and encourage creativity within their employees? What benefits would this bring to the organisation?

Assessment Guidance

Your report should cover the following:

Abstract
A brief summary of the report.

Introduction
Introduce the topic and why it is important. That is, why the reader should be interested in reading the rest of the report. ‘Set the scene' and provide contextual and background information.

Literature Review
Defining creativity
Explain to the reader what creativity is. Provide a referenced definition. You may want to discuss how this definition is the same as, or different to, some of the many other definitions of creativity.

What the literature says: reasons why creativity is important for organisations (critical analysis)
This will be one of the biggest sections of your report, if not the biggest section. You are welcome to use subheadings within this section. Use this section to discuss some of the reasons why creativity is important for organisations (e.g. because it enables them to create new products/services). You do not have to discuss all the reasons why creativity is important: it is better to discuss fewer topics in more depth than discuss many topics with very little or no detail. Use good quality sources to reference your arguments (compare and contrast different viewpoints from authors, theories and real-world examples).

Research approach and Methods: your interview data (reasoned justification +/- of methods used)
Method (how you collected the data). You are expected to interview one person about creativity in the organisation they work in. This could include asking them about what creativity means to them, and why they think creativity is or is not important to their organisation. You could also ask for examples of creativity within their organisation. You can interview anyone who is working.

Data analysis - What your data says: your interview data (reasoned justification +/- of methods used)
Identify and explain the method of data analysis - Results ( analyse your data and explain what the data revealed, connecting your findings from data to theories, providing adequate examples to interpret the data collected) Present evidence that support your argument from transcript in the appendices.

Conclusion (reflection - did you answer, why creativity is important in organisations?)
Remind the reader of the key points you made in your report. The conclusion for a report of this length would usually be approximately half a page.

References
Follow Bath Spa's referencing guidelines for your reference list. Pay particular attention to using only good quality sources.

Appendices
Appendix 1 - Interview script
Appendix 2 - Informed interview consent form
Appendix 3 - Interview plan
Appendix 4 - Ethics form

Your Interview

It is recommended that you record your interview, transcribe it, and then use thematic analysis to analyse the data. You must ask your interviewee to provide their informed consent to be interviewed, and you should mention that you have done this in the Method subsection of your report. Please remain professional at all times when conducting the interview.

Interview question examples:
Q1. Why do you think creativity is important to an organisation?
Q2. How does your organisation encourage creativity?
Q3. How has creativity benefitted yourself and colleagues? Any examples you can think of i.e. risk and collaboration?
Q4. What benefits or detriment examples can you think of creativity brings to the workplace?

Notes

Your report will be capped at 40% if you submit it after the deadline, unless you have an extension. Extensions are granted only in the case of documented illness or other serious problems. Such extensions must be obtained before the submission date from Module Leader, and the work must be submitted by the agreed extension date. Work submitted up to one week late without an agreed extension will receive a maximum mark of 40%. Any coursework submitted more than one week late will not be marked and will receive a zero grade.

Appendix: Ethics Approval Form for Assignment

This is a transcript from a real interview with a senior manager in a large multinational organisation. Identifying features, such as names, have been removed to preserve anonymity.

The interviewee was asked: ‘tell me about a time when you have been, or tried to be, creative at work?'

ASSESMENT BRIF

Examining the Assignment Brief
Breaking down the question
Learning how to conduct a thorough search of available resources
Evaluating resources
Assignment Brief
This assessment provides you with an opportunity to demonstrate your understanding of what creativity is and why it is important for organisations. It also allows you to show that you can conduct an interview, analyse and report on the data, and use this data to inform your arguments for why creativity is important in the workplace. Get reliable assignment help from professional tutors!
The purpose of your report is to explain what creativity is, and why creativity is important to organisations. That is, why should organisations try to be creative and encourage creativity within their employees? What benefits would this bring to the organisation?

Structure
Abstract
Introduction
Defining Creativity
What the Literature Says
What Your Data Says
Conclusion
References
Reasons Why Creativity is Important for Organisations
This will be one of the biggest sections of your report.
You are welcome to use subheadings within this section.
Discuss key reasons why creativity is important for organisations (e.g., it enables them to create new products/services).
Focus on fewer topics in more depth rather than discussing many topics with little detail.
Use high-quality sources to reference your arguments.
Breaking Down the Question
Why should organisations try to be creative and encourage creativity within their employees?
What benefits would this bring to the organisation?
Define and refine your research questions - directions & methods may change based on reading & research.
Compile a list of initial keywords and phrases to power searches.
Consider synonyms, specialist terminology, alternative terms & spellings.
Conducting a Thorough Search
Matches keywords to title only
Matches keywords to title, abstract, and full text
Cross-referencing a specific title vs. searching a topic
Boolean Logic:
AND (e.g., Organisation AND Creativity) - Searches for both terms in a document.
OR (e.g., Organisation OR Workplace) - Searches for either term in a document.
NOT/AND NOT (e.g., Disney AND NOT Walt) - Searches for documents containing ‘Disney' but not ‘Walt'.
Advanced Searching Techniques:
"Employee Wellbeing" (Searches the two words together)
Truncation characters (e.g., Creat*) - Searches Creative, Creativity, and Create.
Single wildcard characters (e.g., organi?ation) - Searches organisation and organization.
Field Searching/Limiters (Restrict searches to full text, abstract, title, keyword fields).
Publication Type Filters (Peer-reviewed journals, case studies, literature reviews, conference papers).

Evaluating Resources
Can I Just Google It?
The Library website is your gateway to: Books, e-books, journals, e-journals, online articles, databases, and more.
High-quality, scholarly, peer-reviewed material.
Resources not available via Google/Google Scholar alone.
C.R.A.A.P. Evaluation Criteria
Currency: When was the information published or updated?
Relevance: Does the information relate to your topic? Is it appropriate for your research level?
Authority: Who is the author/source? Are they credible?
Accuracy: Is the content supported by evidence? Is it free of bias and errors?
Purpose: What is the purpose of the information (inform, teach, sell, persuade)? Is it factual or opinion-based?
Activity
How do you rate a resource found via Google?
Currency? Relevance? Authority? Accuracy? Purpose?
Would you use it in this assignment? Why?
Compare with a Journal Article:
How does it compare to a Google-found resource?
Review
You should now understand how to:
Use the library website.
Create a keyword list.
Refine your search results.
Search smart.
Evaluate resources.

Referencing - Harvard Referencing.