Managing & Developing Innovation & Creativity Assignment Sample

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Managing & Developing Innovation & Creativity Assignment Sample

Introduction: Managing & Developing Innovation & Creativity Assignment Sample

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To be successful, it is becoming more vital for firms to be original and creative with their approaches. The workplace is becoming more complicated, and we need new ideas and new ways of thinking to keep up with it. In recent years, there seems to have been a surge in the number of management difficulties that need the use of new techniques in order to generate practical solutions. The productivity of the organisation rises as a result of the stimulation of creativity and the discovery of new and previously unknown terrain. Having a complete and effective solution-based strategy in place is critical for any organisation or company, and as such, it is absolutely necessary to have one in place at all times. In order for an organisation to adequately act in an approaching crisis and ensure a solution, it is necessary to adopt and implement the suitable methodological approach (Rafferty, 2020). So, I am going to perform a comprehensive study of Microsoft's human resources concerns, taking into consideration new analytical methodologies as well as a plan for fixing the issues that the firm is now experiencing.

Identification of Specific Problem Existing within a Firm

Microsoft employee who has been with the firm for three years asked help from a list of female colleagues in the sector on how to further her career inside the organisation in an email that was sent out on March 20th, 2019. Women from the industry were among those who got the email, which was sent to a group of female co-workers (Chanthadavong, 2022). Despite the fact that she had previously been working for a number of years without earning a promotion, she said that her advancement had been hampered by the fact that she was a woman working in a male-dominated setting (Gershgorn, 2021). Over the course of the next several days, dozens and hundreds of other women flocked to social media to express their dissatisfaction with the company's sexism and bullying, and the trend has persisted to the current day (Kerzner, 2022). In the last several years, there have been instances of individuals being exposed to sexual harassment with no punishments for the harassers, as well as charges of physical and verbal abuse, according to reports.

My understanding of how Microsoft employees were subjected to racism and sexism remains unclear, and I would want to learn more about this. It seems that there has been no substantial change in the way things are handled by the company's human resources department since March of this year, according to five departed and current Microsoft employees who worked there in the preceding year. After leaving the firm earlier this year, two former employees have highlighted a lack of human resources operations as the key reason for their departure from the organisation (Vrchota et al., 2020). After analysing this data, it is possible to conclude that the company Microsoft is experiencing significant operational challenges in the area of human resources, which is resulting in a high number of staff departures and a fall in HR morale.

Assessing the Application of Creative and Innovation Methodologies for Solution

When it comes to maintaining organisational efficiency and overcoming problems, efficient problem-solving is required. In my view, when a company is confronted with an internal difficulty, it should follow and adapt to proven methodical strategies for overcoming potential obstacles and reaching feasible solutions (Vrchota et al., 2020). There are a lot of inventive approaches that Microsoft may use in order to handle its human resources challenges and come up with a solution that is both acceptable and realistic in nature.

Six Sigma: In terms of finding and executing operational efficiency and improvement improvements, Six Sigma is by far the most extensively utilised approach available. In this technique, it seems that there are a lot of important components. Problem scenario formulation, information collecting, analysis, and, ultimately, outcome improvement and control are just a few examples of the tasks involved in problem solving. Each of these processes is divided into five unique stages, which are as follows: Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control, and Evaluate (Numonjonov, 2020). In order to take a practical approach to the matter at hand, it is necessary to first recognise the challenge, then analyse the progress made, and then collect ideas for better performance.

Agile: Since priority and improvement are so important to the overall programme, there is an enormous amount of idea management that takes place in an Agile environment. Various alternative review techniques may be used to prioritise and develop and improve all of the many features, product requirements, and change requests as ideas, as well as to prioritise and create and enhance the concepts themselves. These five stages include brainstorming, designing, implementing, ensuring quality assurance and deploying the finished product. After then, the problem at hand may be analysed and resolved with the help of this approach (Kerzner, 2019). In this particular theory, Microsoft may analyse and define the problem, communicate the goals to the employees, gather information on the development of the problem, conceptualise the proper solution, choose the best solution, implement it, and assess the results.

Design Thinking: Design Thinking allows for the generation of new ideas and innovative approaches to rethinking processes and developing new solutions. Because it takes a human-centered approach to issue solving, it is more suited to organising and defining the problem at hand than other approaches. Through the use of this approach, the problem may be highlighted, recognised, and ideas for future interventions, prototypes for alternative solutions, tested, and adopted for improvement alternatives can be generated (Gemünden, Lehner and Kock, 2018). When the interests of the people involved are taken into consideration, the problem is reconstructed from a human perspective, multiple solutions are generated during brainstorming, and a hands-on approach to prototype as well as research is taken, solving difficult, vague, or ambiguous problems becomes much easier.

Global Innovation Management Method: In particular, one of the most alluring elements of this method is that it can be used to practically any situation, regardless of whether it is progressive in form or disruptive in nature. Participants in the five-stage process define and clarify their objectives, conduct analysis, match the strategy with their abilities to generate hypotheses, and spark new ideas in their particular areas of expertise via the application of the method's five stages of development (Oprins, Frijns and Stettina, 2019).

Selection of Solution and Implication of Solution Plan

When it comes to dealing with Microsoft's upcoming challenges, the agile methodology may be used. According to Microsoft, the company will successfully identify the root cause of the HR problem, evaluate its source, determine appropriate alternatives, and select the best solution, which will include regular meetings, continuous learning opportunities, collaborative task execution, and feedback assessment. It is necessary for human resource teams to undertake frequent and regular evaluations of their preparation procedures in order to successfully implement Agile practises (Harrison et al., 2021). In order to properly educate staff on their roles, Microsoft may actively engage in these preparation procedures while using the agile methodology. Workers may be educated about the value of cultural diversity and justice in the workplace, which is a good thing.

Using the below agile methodological framework, a practical strategy may be outlined:

Identification of potential issues

According to the report Chanthadavong (2022), Microsoft's board of directors has hired law firm Arent Fox to conduct an evaluation of the company's policies and procedures on sexual harassment and gender discrimination.

According to an advisory shareholder resolution voted at the 2021 annual shareholders meeting, after several charges were made concerning alleged episodes of sexual harassment and discrimination, notably against the company's founder, Bill Gates. CEO Satya Nadella remarked, “Our culture remains our number one priority and the entire board appreciates the critical importance of a safe and inclusive environment for all Microsoft employees,”

This study by Arent Fox is fully impartial, according to the firm's board, since “has not previously been involved in representing Microsoft in employment matters, nor has it done a significant amount of work for the company in the past”. The board said that the investigation would focus on employee complaints presented in an email thread after a class-action lawsuit filed in March 2018 claiming 238 incidences of sexual harassment and/or discrimination by Microsoft female workers between 2010 and 2016 (Gemünden, Lehner and Kock, 2018). There will also be a review of the company's response to those concerns, and any extra actions that need to be done.

The assessment will also examine Microsoft's policies, procedures, and commitments to creating a safe, inclusive work environment, as well as measure Microsoft's present standards to “best practises” followed by other firms in order to find areas for improvement (Oprins, Frijns and Stettina, 2019). Board members said Arent Fox would produce a report explaining its findings and suggestions, which will be followed by the company’s management team putting up an implementation plan and reporting back to the board.

Afterwards, the board will provide a public transparency report on the company's workplace sexual harassment and gender discrimination training, policies, practises, and procedures. According to a board committee's investigation, which began in 2019, allegations against Bill Gates included allegations of sexual harassment (Gemünden, Lehner and Kock, 2018). “The report will also evaluate steps taken to hold employees, including executives, accountable for sexual harassment or gender discrimination and include data on the number of sexual harassment cases that were investigated and their resolutions”.

In Microsoft, the possibility of considerable challenges and conflicts as a consequence of such a settlement, in addition to the possibility of substantive resolution, exists. Some employees, for example, may be resistant to the change because they have stereotypical notions about the company or the industry. The actions of one boss who has anti-feminist or sexist views toward women, for example, may be counterproductive to the company's creative goals (Harrison et al., 2021). A negative influence on the workplace may be caused by social prejudices, enviousness, and poor behaviour, all of which can be prevented.

Recommendation for Overcoming issues

In order to ensure the least amount of pushback from the labour base, management would need to develop a comprehensive change process model. Microsoft may choose to use this method in order to ensure a seamless transition for its customers. A possibility in this area may be the Tuckman Model of team development, which was developed in the 1960s (Vrchota et al., 2020). Using the five procedures outlined below, it is possible to deal with and address the resistance of employees. During the Forming stage, for example, a person can inquire about things, socialise with other people, and otherwise display signals of eagerness. Management would be required to take the reins and issue clear instructions in this situation (Gemünden, Lehner and Kock, 2018).

When confronted with resistance, a lack of involvement, and conflict during the Storming phase, it is feasible to boost the efficacy of leadership while simultaneously normalising the events that are occurring around you. Throughout the Norming stage of the reconciliation and building of cohesiveness and alleviation process, opportunities for feedback and acknowledgment, as well as expressions of gratitude for efforts, must be offered. Individuality may be shown while maintaining a healthy system at the same time via celebrations of triumphs, as well as encouragement and the availability of possibilities for growth and development (Numonjonov, 2020). In addition, but by no means least, during the Adjourning stage, it would be required to stimulate the move to process orientations, coordination, and control by expressing thanks for assistance, recognising accomplishments, and evaluating results.

Conclusion

In this way, evaluating contextual learning has allowed me to determine that, while HR practises and employee treatment are important, the application of an agile framework's effective and innovative methodological approaches will guide and ensure the effectiveness of Microsoft's management processes. The inclusion of the Tuck Man hypothesis would help to guarantee that appropriate safeguards and controls are in place to counter any potential for resistance or denial.