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Overview

Your active participation in the discussions is essential to your overall success this term. Discussion questions will help you make meaningful connections between the course content and the larger concepts of the course. Conducted over a time period, these discussions give you a chance to express your own thoughts, ask questions, and gain insight from your peers and instructor.

Assignment Details:

For each discussion, you must follow up with at least two response posts.

For your response posts, do the following:

· Reply to at least two classmates outside of your own initial post thread.

· When responding to at least two of your peers’ postings, your responses should show that you have given thought to what the original post said. They should also push the conversation forward, offering insights or asking clarifying questions if necessary.

Consider the following questions:

· Does your response push the conversation forward?

· Does your response offer your perspective?

· What about your peers’ stories can you relate to?

· What can you learn from your peers’ stories?

· Are your responses clear?

· Have you considered the viewpoints or insights of the original posts?

1. Review the posts by your peers about Ekvall’s ten dimensions and provide your feedback by answering the following questions:

· Do you agree or disagree with the need for additional dimensions?

· Were you surprised that Ekvall included only one dimension that is negatively correlated? What conclusions can you draw from that fact?

· Do you agree or disagree with the post about the dimension that is the most difficult to assess?

2. Review the creative climate assessments posted by your peers and provide your feedback by answering the following questions:

· Based on the notes, did you disagree with any of the ten ratings in the assessments?

· Do you think it would be more beneficial for organizations to try to strengthen the aspects of their creative climate that are the strongest or to improve the aspects that are the weakest?

· What recommendations would you make to the organization to improve their creative climate? For example, think about how established organizations with existing structures designed for efficient and effective use of resources can relax some of their restrictions to allow playfulness, freedom, and risk-taking without losing control of the things that allow it to be currently successful.

RESPOND TO EACH PEERS POSTING MINIMUM 2 PARAGRAPHS.

PEER ONE:

I was not surprised by any of the dimensions. I do however think that a few of them are intertwined. For example, if Trust & Openness are not high it would lead to the negative correlation of Conflict. What do you think? I think there should be a resources dimension. If the company, does not have the resources to develop and implement the creative idea the creative climate is stopped. In our company, the focus has been on treatment of patients and expanding the company. Our IT department has been requesting the resource to upgrade and implement new software, but management will not allow them the resources to do so.

The hardest dimension for me to assess was Risk Taking. In the Healthcare field, it is hard to be a Risk Taker. Risk taking for new treatment options is limited due to regulator agencies and insurance companies. If the treatment is not generally accepted, the insurance companies will not pay for the treatment. If the insurance companies do not pay for the treatment, we would be out of business due to lack of revenue. The only department I could slightly think of as being a risk taker is marketing.

Most people would probably not think of Playfulness and Humor as a dimension, but it was one of the items that I ranked the highest. Previous management had generated a stigma of strict rules and no questions/ideas. Once the CEO/CFO come on board, they have made it their mission to change the culture to one of open communication and support. Having worked under both management teams, I feel that the playfulness and humor the new management team has completely changed every employee’s attitudes toward their work. No one is afraid to ask questions or suggest new ideas. I believe that positive environment has contributed to the lowest scoring dimension of Conflict.

PEER TWO:

At first I was surprised that Playfulness & Humor were included as one of the dimensions, I assume this is just because as a kid I thought workplaces were always quiet, controlled and so focused there wasn't time for jokes or the atmosphere shouldn't be relaxed. However, after reading more into the dimension I can understand why it's included as it does make an impact on the working environment. During the evaluation of my current company I found that Risk Taking & Idea Time were hardest just due to the field that I'm in. My company installs elevators, I help run the office with my future mother-in-law and the mechanics work in the field. We aren't really allowed to take risks in the majority of the business due to regulations/standards mandated by State offices. I would say that my company supports a creative climate. I gave the company a 3 in many dimensions such as Trust & Openness, Idea Support and Playfulness & Humor. What scored the lowest (0) was Conflict. The positive evaluation, I feel has a lot to do with working with family. There is already an established level of trust and openness with family so any conflict (real or perceived) can be address directly before spiraling into a "warfare" atmosphere.