I feel that the 10 dimensions laid forth for Ekvall capture the elements of creative
environments quite well. For this assignment I related it back to my own organization that I
currently work for. Whilst going through every element there was one that I encountered
whilst working with my teams in the past that boosted our creativity but was not present. I
personally feel that a bit of resource scarcity (funds, man power, materials, etc.) can be not
only an inspiration to initiate innovative efforts but also one that could shape the creativity of a
team’s efforts. When I have been on projects where there was some level of constraint it
caused our teams to brainstorm to produce a greater number of ideas to accomplish our goals
and to try to mitigate some of the areas, we were scarce in.
The hardest dimension for me to evaluate was conflict within the organization. The evaluation
is from perspective which is limited to my office and knowledge of both interdepartmental and
interpersonal conflicts but there truly is not a lot present. Others that were difficult to evaluate
were the organizations comfort with risk taking. The organization is very risk averse in certain
areas primarily those that may have fiscal implications but it does undertake those situations
on a case-by-case basis.
I found the easiest to evaluate though was the freedom dimension. Within our roles a large
degree of personal autonomy is allotted to conduct and manage workloads as we see fit all
levels of the organization. As a result, periodically communications are shared that highlight
best practices that others have experimented with successfully and are disseminated amongst
staff and further innovation encouraged.
I interviewed my wife for this assignment. She works as a CPA in a CPA firm. I was not
surprised by the inclusion of any of the dimensions.
As far as including another dimension, during the interview my wife stated she wishes
flexibility was a dimension. We had a “friendly” debate as to whether her idea off flexibility
correlates to the dimension of freedom. e Although she said she wishes she had more flexibility
in deciding where she works, she does not have the freedom to define her own work due to the
laws and regulations associated with her business.
The two hardest dimensions to evaluate were freedom for the reasons discussed above and
dynamism and liveliness. My wife works in an office setting in a business that is not full of
excitement. It does not lend itself to the possibility of being dynamic or “full speed, go.”
Employees are lively and do interact to an extent as much as you can be in an office type
setting in a rules-based business.
A CPA firm with defined rules and regulations to abide by does not allow for creativity in the
sense one would think of for a tech type firm in Silicon Valley. Her employer does allow for
creative thinking and ideas where and when able. They promote the sharing of information
and new ideas up and down the organizational hierarchy. They promote friendly and playful
interaction that is also respectful. There is no conflict within her organization and personnel
who were negative no longer work there and left on their own accord. Creativity can difficult
to evaluate due to the nature of the business and laws and regulations associated with it.
It being 10 dimensions of a creative climate, I do not believe there is a need for additional
dimensions. Other structural dimensions that would come to mind are more authoritative in
nature and would work well for a structured workplace focused on processes and not creativity
that diverges from a process. No, I am not entirely surprised at Ekvall's singularly negative
correlated dimension, structure and processes generally stifle innovative thought. Being
focused on the same process or task oriented throughout a work shift limits the ability of free
thought to produce an innovative product. Warehouses and other structured workflows do not
benefit from their employees taking time to think through the processes that they are paid to
complete. Things like marketing, publishing, and software design are jobs that could and do
benefit from a creative work environment. Conclusions that can be made from this are that
Ekvall had specific industries in mind when he produced his 10 dimensions of a creative
climate and how this visualization could benefit management in their desire to foster a creative
climate.
Were you surprised by the inclusion of any of Ekvall’s ten dimensions?
I believe the Evkall’s 10 dimensions are necessary in today’s world. The 10 dimensions help
an organization see where they stand and how they are doing. This can aide a firm, by making
it realize and spot the pluses and minuses.
Are there any additional dimensions that you think should have been included?
I think that Evkall’s dimensions are designed so that they can direct and show the firm a
certain path that it needs to take. It can plant the seed that will help the organization based on
the analysis of the 10 dimensions.
Which dimension of creative climate was the hardest to evaluate?
Conflict and risk were the two hardest dimensions to evaluate. Everything that can result in a
failure or loss. It is difficult to predict all the turns that could go in a wrong direction or slightly
incorrect way. Risk may come from many different directions, sometimes at the same time.
Conflict was also a bit difficult to evaluate because it depends on the conflict type, and its
severity. When it comes to conflict, there should be a plan set in place on how to deal with it
and how to solve it.
Were you surprised by the inclusion of any of Ekvall’s ten dimensions? Are there any
additional dimensions that you think should have been included?
None of the 10 dimensions particularly surprised me. I believe that each one has an important
role to play in fostering a creative work environment. I would be surprised to find a company
that was all 3’s or all 1’s. The addition of a dimension that captured leadership and
followership could be a good inclusion since both of those attributes are key to a creative
workplace.
Which dimension of creative climate was the hardest to evaluate?
The hardest dimension for me to evaluate was Freedom because we are extremely regulated by
the Air Force in many aspects, but at the same time we have a fair amount of latitude to create
innovative solutions to problems at the unit level and in our tactical duties. e
Share any insights or thoughts about the creative climate for the organization you evaluated.
Discuss the one to two dimensions that received the highest and lowest scores.
Due to how hard it was to evaluate; Freedom got a one in my assessment. The same rules and
regulations that determine the creative freedom that we have are also used to mitigate risks,
which is why that dimension also was scored as a 1. Both the “Playfulness and humour” and
“Trust and openness” dimensions received a 3 because of the nature of our work. The military
is very different from a traditional work force, and even so in the Guard. We do not change our
postings every few years, so many of us are together for our entire careers. This allows
members in my workplace to grow close and develop bonds that allow us to be open and trust
each other.
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. e
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 Humour 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
since 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
Humour 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 daily, 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.
I do not agree with the need for additional dimensions because there is 10 dimensions. I
believe 10 is enough dimensions for creative climate. e I was not surprised that Ekvall included
only one dimension that is negatively correlated because of Conflict. The organization I
decided to choose was my company I work for currently. I work for a major bank company so
this was a little bit hard for me because it depends on the type of leader you may have a branch.
The organization encourages idea support because if the idea is effective, they will want you to
patent it for them. Playfulness and humour depend on the type of management you have as a
leader. Some places have higher playfulness and humour at different branches. My branch is
stale. The employees are still bond to the rules and regulations of the banking in industry.
There is no escaping this because it is federal regulations.
I was surprised to see that in the Apple Inc. organization, each of the dimensions that have
been identified by Goran Ekvall are included. These elements play an integral role to shape the
organizational culture and its approach towards creativity and innovation. The organizational
personnel play a proactive role in the dynamic work setting and give rise to new ideas, which
help the organization to function in an innovative manner.
The dimension of the creative climate that was hardest to evaluate was ‘playfulness and
humour.’ As the ease that employees demonstrate while functioning in the Apple Inc. firm is
not a tangible or quantifiable element, it was challenging to investigate the specific aspect.
The creative climate of Apple Inc. has been evaluated by using the ten dimensions. It has
helped to identify the core elements that allow the organization to focus on innovation while
creating new offerings for its target market audience. One of the dimensions that received the
highest score is freedom. Employees are given autonomy while carrying out their roles which
helps them to grow. The dimension that received the lowest score is ‘idea time.’ As Apple
operates in an evolving market environment, employees have limited time to generate new
ideas.
References
Creative climate - ekvall - creative problem solving. (2021). Retrieved December 2, 2021,
from http://creativeproblemsolving.com/tools/creative_climate_ekvall.pdf
Narayan, S., & Ramu, D. (2018). A STUDY ON THE ORGANISATION CULTURE OF
APPLE COMPANY. International Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics, 120(5), 3797-
3808.
Cultural Adaptations. 9/4/2020. 10 Dimensions for Organisational Creativity and Innovation.
https://www.culturaladaptations.com/resources/10-dimensions-for-organisational-creativity-
and-innovation/
