Nel M. Mostert
Lot H. Frijling
Creativity in organizations can be measured and
acquired
November 2001
Vol. 31, No. 11, pp 50–
53.
Creativity plays an ever-increasing role in organizations as they strive for a
continuous flow of innovations. After all, there is no innovation without
creativity. A model consisting of five criteria for creativity in organizations
was the foundation of the Creativity Awareness Programme (CAP), which is
being applied successfully at Unilever Research Vlaardingen (URV,
Vlaardingen, The Netherlands). Unilever (www.unilever.com) is a global
corporation that manufactures food, home, and personal care products. At
URV, 1600 employees support the Unilever companies worldwide by
providing them with the latest technologies and insights to improve and
develop these consumer products. Like many other companies, URV wants to
stimulate creativity in its workers to reach big and bold innovations (see box,
“‘The making of . . .’ Creativity within URV”).
The Creativity Awareness Programme
References
1. www.synecticsworld.com/home.htm (accessed November 2001).
2. Gaspersz, J.B.R. Management van creativiteit (Management of creativity);
Kluwer Bedrijfsinformatie: Deventer, The Netherlands, 1998.
Recommended reading
Nel M. Mostert is an innovation process facilitator for the Facilitation Unit at Unilever
Research Vlaardingen (PO Box 114 NL, 3130 AC Vlaardingen, The Netherlands;
+31-0-10-4606393; nel.mostert@unilever.com).
November 2001 In late 1998, Unilever Research started the Creative Pathways program, training
Vol. 31, No. 11, pp 50– facilitators in the Synectics method (Synectics, London) (1). The Synectics
53.
Creative Problem Solving Method (www.synecticsworld.com) stimulates creative
thinking by establishing connections between aspects of the problem at hand and
contexts outside the problem area, allowing novel ideas to emerge. Early in 1999,
45 project leaders held a conference at which members of the Synectics crew
gave a presentation on creativity. Each member of the conference was asked to
name a few creativity enablers and barriers within the organization. This resulted
in a list of subjects that was later used to draw up a Creativity Awareness
Programme (CAP).
In 1999 and 2000, several Creativity Awareness sessions were held for those
groups of employees who wanted to learn more about the potential benefits of
creativity to their work, and various Creative Problem Solving sessions were
organized.