Exploring the pedagogies of fashion business educators: how they teach for creativity and why

In the last 20 years creativity has been recognised as an attribute of human capital for economic and social good, by governments, industry and educationalists. Yet, intentional teaching for creativity in universities has been found to be limited or 'accidental'. Within the fashion industry creativity is usually associated with the product and designers but this professional doctorate found that creativity was essential for senior fashion business managers. The principal aim of fashion business courses is to prepare students as managers in the fashion industry and so it would be a reasonable expectation that fashion business graduates are also prepared to be creative. Review of the literature indicate that creativity is varied and complex. There are first and second-generation understandings of creativity which determine how creativity is defined, how creativity occurs, what affects creativity and the benefits and dangers of creativity. Conversely, creative pedagogy literature reflects a singular, second generation understanding of creativity. These differences in academic thought raise questions about how fashion business educators navigate through these contradictory approaches when teaching for creativity. By exploring the pedagogies used to enhance and develop students' creativity on university fashion business courses in the UK, the research identifies how fashion business educators teach for creativity and why. As the desired information is individual and personal, the research approach is qualitative. Interviews were identified as the means to explore and gather the thick and rich and data required. Implicit theories among the respondents were found to determine beliefs about creativity and resulted in a myriad of approaches to teaching for creativity. A desire to teach for creativity was identified but limited by a lack of knowledge and discourse about creativity and university systems and structures. These limitations are discussed with reference to Erica McWilliam's theories of creative capacity building and highlight that the practice of teaching for creativity on fashion business courses varies with theory. The findings of this research extend McWilliam's theory and inform pedagogical policy and practice. The need for greater knowledge and discourse about the subject was identified and that management support and direction was required to enhance teacher education for teaching for creativity

Classifying knowledge-sharing barriers by organisational structure in order to find ways to remove these barriers

© 2016 IEEE. Research in knowledge management (KM) has recently revealed that barriers to knowledge sharing (KS) can significantly influence KS and reduce creativity. KS is a critical contributor to creativity and innovation among individuals in organizations. This paper introduces a framework using the Lotus Blossom technique to classify KS barriers. This technique emphasizes the power of brainstorming on the field of interest by the application of a visual representation of ideas. An exploration of steps to classify barriers is discussed. One of the key aims of the framework is to ensure that barriers can be classified in ways that best identify in order to find ways to remove them. A review of a large number of KM articles in the literature has identified 160 barriers to KS in a variety of organizations. These were classified into eight themes: Social, Individual, Culture, Technology, Political, Organization, Content, and Routine, procedure and process. The paper, then, discussed the most significant barriers to KS: Psychological ownership, Lack of a motivation, Lack of trust, Lack of incentive and reward systems, Lack of organization culture, Lack of leadership, Lack of technical support, Insufficient technology infrastructure. Implications and future research in this area are also proposed

Manageable creativity

This article notes a perception in mainstream management theory and practice that creativity has shifted from being disruptive or destructive to 'manageable'. This concept of manageable creativity in business is reflected in a similar rhetoric in cultural policy, especially towards the creative industries. The article argues that the idea of 'manageable creativity' can be traced back to a 'heroic' and a 'structural' model of creativity. It is argued that the 'heroic' model of creativity is being subsumed within a 'structural' model which emphasises the systems and infrastructure around individual creativity rather than focusing on raw talent and pure content. Yet this structured approach carries problems of its own, in particular a tendency to overlook the unpredictability of creative processes, people and products. Ironically, it may be that some confusion in our policies towards creativity is inevitable, reflecting the paradoxes and transitions which characterise the creative process

Disentangling Achievement Orientation and Goal Setting: Effects on Self-Regulatory Processes

Creativity has been underscored as a key factor to organizational adaptability and competitiveness in today\u27s rapidly changing business environment. Designing as well as managing work environments that facilitate creativity have therefore received growing attention, resulting in a multitude of research examining the social-psychological work environment. Few studies, however, have focused on the contribution of the physical work environment to supporting creativity in the workplace. This study focuses on the role of the physical environment in supporting creativity in organizations by identifying specific physical features and attributes of the work environment perceived to promote or inhibit creativity. The research design compares four organizations publicly acclaimed for their innovative social-psychological work environments, but which are distinctly different in terms of the physical work environment. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected by means of survey questionnaires [N = 1 30). Results indicate that the physical work environment exerts indirect influence on creativity by contributing to two significant social-psychological conditions that are conducive to creativity, namely dynamism and freedom. The study specifies attributes of the physical work environment perceived to be positively and negatively associated with both of these conditions

Suggestion systems: a usability-based evaluation model

Usability has been used to design and assess products and websites. This paper takes the concept of usability one step further and proposes a framework to assess suggestion systems. Thus taking the concept of usability one step further and applying it in the area of ideas management through suggestion system. The fundamental premise of the article is that a suggestion system designed, with usability in mind, will improve innovation among employees, and hence increase participation. This framework was then used to assess four suggestion systems in an oil and gas company in the middle-east. These systems were further assessed for employee perception of their usability and participation. After collecting data on these three different aspects conclusions are drawn. Out of the four systems analyzed, the most usable suggestion system had the highest participation rate and the least usable system attracted the fewest suggestions

Assessing creative process and product in higher education

This article examines how Education undergraduates explored their creative processes through the planning and presentation of an artwork. In particular, it addresses how they negotiated the demands of an assessment method which focused on both the reflective process and the finished product. This investigation is part of a more extensive study of creativity and engagement in Higher Education; it is underpinned by the idea that all students have the potential to be creative if they are provided with innovative learning experiences and open-ended assessment tasks. The empirical data was obtained from semi-structured interviews (n=30), students’ reflective sketchbooks and observations. The findings support the view that students are more motivated and engaged when they have access to alternative, creative assessment opportunities which involve experimentation and risk-taking in a supportive learning environment. The data shows that they value assessment methods which enable them to demonstrate their knowledge, understanding and skills in different ways. However, concern about the perceived subjectivity of such an assessment process, and the emphasis placed on meeting the learning outcomes, initially presented a barrier to creative development. One implication is that the conflict between creativity and assessment might be partially resolved if students played a more active part in both the formulation of summative assessment criteria and the on-going formative assessment process

Work Organisation and Innovation

[Excerpt] Innovations in work organisation have the potential to optimise production processes in companies and improve employees’ overall experience of work. This report explores the links between innovations in work organisation – under the broader label of high performance work practices (HPWPs) – and the potential benefits for both employees and organisations. It draws on empirical evidence from case studies carried out in 13 Member States of the European Union where workplace innovations have resulted in positive outcomes

Design thinking and innovation: synthesising concepts of knowledge co-creation in spaces of professional development

This paper explores how design thinking connects to concepts of knowledge creation and innovation. A case study of a knowledge sharing network in the social services sector is used to illustrate how design thinking supports Ba, the spaces for knowledge creation. Further exploration of the four enabling conditions for Ba resulted in delineation of two distinct types: relational and structural. Relational enablers support three groups of enabling conditions: interaction, shared values and communication. It is proposed that design thinking aligns well with relational enabling conditions for Ba to create the ideal spaces for knowledge creation. The group of structural enablers can assist or obstruct change and relate to the culture and management approaches of an organization, which may or may not be assisted by design thinking. However, to ensure that design thinking is not undermined, and innovation is achieved, the presence of an appropriate structural enabler is critical for success