Managing Creative Minds
Management and Creativity: Understanding the Ideology of Neo-Liberal Management
Dionna Matlock
LIM College
Abstract
In today’s world of advanced technology and an expanding global economy, considering employees as creative thinkers and understanding their work motivation is an integral part of the strategic process of creative management. Creativity can mean anything from inventing a new product or design, to developing a new approach to an old way of thinking. Managerial intervention plays an important role in developing the creative processes of the creative worker, whether supporting a personal break through, or encouraging the creative worker to express their ideas more often. Such interaction requires thinking in terms of neo-liberal management. In Chris Bilton’s book, Management and Creativity, from Creative Industries to Creative Management (2007), Chris attempts to debunk the myth that total freedom itself will not result in increased creativity, but the management of the creative process will be the catalyst for innovation.
Management and Creativity: Understanding the Ideology of Neo-Liberal Management After reading the argument Chris’s poses against the mythology of the self-motivated worker, I began to associate his idea of who is the “creative genius” to my current work environment at Dolce & Gabbana. At the Dolce & Gabbana company retail store there are three associates; the store manager, the sales associate who self-proclaims to be the assistant manager, and myself. Despite that each of us has had some form of work experience in retail operations, collaborating as a functional team to operate the store has been the greatest challenge. I agree with Chris that “Creative thinking accordingly takes place on the boarders between different parts of the brain, or at the intersection between different style of thinking and different realities” (Bilton, 2007). Coming from different backgrounds of retail, we all had different ideas of
Dionna Matlock
LIM College
Abstract
In today’s world of advanced technology and an expanding global economy, considering employees as creative thinkers and understanding their work motivation is an integral part of the strategic process of creative management. Creativity can mean anything from inventing a new product or design, to developing a new approach to an old way of thinking. Managerial intervention plays an important role in developing the creative processes of the creative worker, whether supporting a personal break through, or encouraging the creative worker to express their ideas more often. Such interaction requires thinking in terms of neo-liberal management. In Chris Bilton’s book, Management and Creativity, from Creative Industries to Creative Management (2007), Chris attempts to debunk the myth that total freedom itself will not result in increased creativity, but the management of the creative process will be the catalyst for innovation.
Management and Creativity: Understanding the Ideology of Neo-Liberal Management After reading the argument Chris’s poses against the mythology of the self-motivated worker, I began to associate his idea of who is the “creative genius” to my current work environment at Dolce & Gabbana. At the Dolce & Gabbana company retail store there are three associates; the store manager, the sales associate who self-proclaims to be the assistant manager, and myself. Despite that each of us has had some form of work experience in retail operations, collaborating as a functional team to operate the store has been the greatest challenge. I agree with Chris that “Creative thinking accordingly takes place on the boarders between different parts of the brain, or at the intersection between different style of thinking and different realities” (Bilton, 2007). Coming from different backgrounds of retail, we all had different ideas of
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