We need focus more on creativity in both professional and academic settings.
In Importance of creativity in education, I discussed why educators need to emphasize creativity in the classroom and how creativity plays an important role in business.
I stressed that creativity is about innovation.
Companies like Pixar are successful because they have an environment and culture that encourages creativity.
Ed Catmull (2008), president of Walt Disney Studios and Pixar Animation Studios, explains that creativity needs to be present at every level within the organization. Pixar is in a business where customers want to see something new, which means they have to take risks. That is why it is important for people to be able to see things from a different perspective and focus on creativity.
A creative environment also requires a peer culture where everyone is invested in helping each another produce their best work. According to Catmull (2008), one of the benefits is that people will learn from and inspire one another. But in order for this to happen, he stresses that everyone needs to have freedom to communicate with anyone.
Creativity sometimes is not recognized or even possible without support from others (Csikszentimihalyi, 1996).
Catmull (2008) stresses that people are more important than ideas. In addition, he suggests that people need to adopt the following perspective: everyone is learning and it is fun for everyone to learn together.
According to Richard Daft (2012), the author of Organizational Theory and Design, the companies often listed on Fortune magazine’s “100 Best Companies To Work For” all have strong employee development goals. He discusses how employee development, productivity, and innovation play an important role in the success of an organization. He suggests that employee development and innovation are critical because they help motivate employees, which has the potential to help employees become more productive.
Creativity plays an important role in business or any organization as it helps generate new ideas and examine new opportunities. Creativity and innovation also allow organizations to be competitive and be able to adapt to unexpected changes.
But in order for that to happen, people need to be critical thinkers and effective communicators.
In a nutshell, that is what media literacy is all about.
Media literacy education and training helps provide people with the opportunity to see things from a different perspective. It will encourage people to be creative.
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References
Catmull, E. (2008). How Pixar Fosters Collective Creativity. Harvard Business Review, September 2008 (Reprint R0809D). Retrieved from http://www.resourceful-humans.com/Documents/Catmull-CollectiveCreativity.pdf
Csikszentimihalyi, M. (1996). Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention. New York, NY: HarperCollins.
Daft, R. (2012). Organizational Theory and Design. Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning.
"Media Literacy Matters" 