I enjoyed working through Ekvall’s ten dimensions of creative
climate. I was surprised to see the opposing aspects of the different
dimensions. Dimensions relating to executing ideas scored high,
whereas, dimensions related to emotional aspects scored very low. If
I had to recommend another dimension, I would incorporate one
relating to promoting development. It says a lot about the culture of
the organization if they are actively trying to develop their
employee's careers.
The hardest dimension for me to assess was the Debate dimension.
The debate dimension assesses the organization’s encounters,
exchanges, or clashes among viewpoints, ideas, and different
experiences and knowledge. In accounting, everything is done to a
certain set of standards, therefore there is not much room for
negotiating viewpoints. As a result, people follow authoritarian
patterns because it is assumed that everything is already been
executed according to standards. Based on that criterion, the
organization would receive a low score on the Debate dimension.
Although, I was left questioning whether many viewpoints are heard
through other departments.
Idea Support and Playfulness and Humor were the easiest two
dimensions for me to assess; one scored the highest and the other
the lowest. I was able to confidently state these scores due to the
fact that I have had first-hand experiences with the two dimensions.
With both dimensions, I had either an extremely positive or negative
experience. With Idea Support, I had an experience where I felt I
could rely on the support of my manager without fail. Therefore,
despite all the faults in the culture, I know that the company has a
good management team. Playfulness and Humor scored the lowest
out of all categories. Over the last 6 months of working, I have
noticed a shift in mood at my organization. The culture has become
all work and no play. This has been something I feel on a daily basis,
and it is truly affecting how I feel about my organization.
I am curious to hear how other companies avoided the negative
impacts of working completely remotely.
