College of Business-Innovation and Creativity Certificate Program

Transcription

1 Project Title: Clayton State University Business Innovation and Creativity Certificate Program for Undergraduate Students Project Summary: The rapid increase in globalization and competition in the marketplace, diversity among consumers, the availability of new forms of technology, and the need for organizations to differentiate themselves and their products and services have changed the workplace like never before. In light of these changes, successful 21 st century business leaders must understand how to use creativity and innovativeness when designing new products and services, reinventing strategies, workplace processes and teams, and/or developing new or reinventing existing business plans. The College of Business at Clayton State University in Morrow, Georgia proposes to develop a Certificate Program in Business Innovation and Creativity to help undergraduate students across all majors harness, nurture, and apply their creative and innovative skills/potential in preparation for living and working in an increasing complex global society/economy as successful leaders in their respective fields. The Certificate Program in Business Innovation and Creativity will offer undergraduate students a unique combination of proven and innovative methods of teaching and learning based on the practices, skills and needs identified by innovative companies. Specifically, students will complete a three-course learning sequence, Creativity and Change, Organizational Behavior, and Entrepreneurship, designed to provide them with an in-depth perspective of how innovation and creatively impacts an organization s work culture and bottom line. The courses are intended to provide students with applied and practical opportunities to use creative thinking and problem solving skills to reflect critically on an organization s existing and future workplace practices; and, express coherent, cogent ideas and suggestions for fostering a culture that promotes innovative and continuous process and performance improvement. Program participation will provide students with the following knowledge, skills and abilities: 1. Improved skills to effectively lead, design and manage organizational change projects 2. Improved managerial skills to lead others in developing new products and services to improve an organizations work culture and fiscal strength 3. Improved ability to identify and seize opportunities that have a positive business impact 4. Improved ability to build collaborative teams and manage projects across organizations To implement the program for calendar year, January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2013, a grant of $9, is requested the Procter & Gamble Higher Education Grant Program. Project Objectives: The objective is to create a learning environment that encourages and enhances students skills in innovation and creativity. The program will be implemented using an applied, cutting edge curriculum in terms of relevance and effectiveness. The specific objective is to develop an undergraduate program so that students across all disciplines (business and non-business) will be able to acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to creatively and innovatively identify and solve problems any organizational environment, whether a corporation, an entrepreneurial venture, or a non-profit organization. Clayton State University, a senior unit of the University System of Georgia, is located 15 miles south of Atlanta and 15 minutes from the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. Instructional outreach sites are located in adjacent Fayette, Henry, and Rockdale counties. The University is located in an area that is receiving increasing attention from metropolitan planners and administrators as a possible area for Clayton State University Business Innovation And Creativity Certificate Program Page 1 of 5

2 economic growth in the near future, making it a prime location for innovation. Clayton State s plays an important role in the region noted for its racial, ethnic, and socio-economic diversity. The U.S. News and World Report has identified Clayton State University as having one of the most diverse student populations in the southeastern United States in its stratum, eight times since Approximately 6,800 students are enrolled at the Clayton State; the average age of the student population is 29 and most students work while attending classes. Clayton State s mission is to cultivate an environment of engaged, experiential learning, enriched by active community service that prepares students of diverse ages and backgrounds to succeed in their lives and careers. Through co-and extra-curricular programming and participation in an array of relevant experiences on campus and in the broader community, students are challenged to develop innovative and global perspectives. The College of Business is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, the highest accreditation achievable by Colleges and Schools of Business. Based on preliminary research, no innovation and creativity certificate program for undergraduates is currently offered in the state of Georgia, making this the first of program of its kind in the state. Further, there seem to be no programs in the surrounding states of Alabama, Tennessee, and South Carolina, making it a perfect fit for partnership funding under the Procter & Gamble Higher Education Grant Program. How the Project Better Prepares Students for Success in Business: The Business Innovation and Creativity Certificate Program will help students develop key competencies that are needed in organizations today. The program will allow them to develop core competencies which will make them more marketable to employers as compared to their peers from other universities. Preliminary research has found that this type of program meets an unmet need among higher institutions in Georgia; no colleges or universities in the state have been identified as offering a certificate in business innovation and creativity. The program will train and equip individuals with fundamental creative problem solving competencies indicative of innovative leaders to better serve the Atlanta, Georgia business community where several Fortune 500 companies and thousands of medium-size and small-businesses are headquartered. As a result, they will be more valuable and more productive; they will acquire knowledge and skills, which are essential in today s society. In short, it will allow them to obtain jobs more easily, and consequently will allow them to be more successful in their jobs and to contribute to the success of their employing organizations and to the economy. Current State of Creativity in Education: In many articles today, surveys of companies and company recruiters consistently indicate that creatively, adaptability, flexibility, problem-solving, and managing and leading change are key skills that are lacking, but needed by today s organizations. With the demand for creativity and innovation skills increasing, the actual creativity of students has been decreasing since Sir Ken Robinson and Dr. Robert Steinberg, internationally known creativity experts, have pointed out that today s educational systems educate-out creativity in students, discourage students from thinking creatively, even though the need for such skills is essential to compete in today s business environment and Clayton State University Business Innovation And Creativity Certificate Program Page 2 of 5

3 Role of Schools of Business: Experts in industry and education recognize this need and the role of Schools of Business. An expert in service innovation has voiced concerns about this dearth of skill and knowledge of innovation and the role of business schools. This expert says that the trouble right now is that the majority of business leaders seem to have gaps in their understanding about how to make innovation work in large corporate or institutional environments. This only underscores how important it is that business schools hit the topic hard. George Daly, the Dean of the Georgetown University School of Business, established innovation as a strategic focus for the school. According to Daly, "The ability to understand, lead, and deal with the consequences of innovation will be one of the most important determinants of the success of the next generation of business leaders," he says. "This is why we are making it one of the central themes of our educational programs 3." Corporations seek out students who are creative and have imagination. David Greenberg, at L Oreal USA, human resources executive, states that, We are focused on creativity and innovation and would be very interested in people who went through those kinds of experiences in school and thrived. We always try to find students with that ability." This is a need that is recognized across cultures. The associate dean of the HEC School of Management believes that Understanding the creative process is of great importance whether you want to be an entrepreneur or not. We need to open students' minds and make them think more broadly." (Alsop, Ronald. (2006, Sept. 12). M.B.A. Track: Schools find fun a worthy teacher to foster creativity. The Wall Street Journal, B8) A survey of employers of Babson College graduates found that approximately 90% asserted that being able to develop creative solutions was very important to successful job performance. (Pinard, Mary C. & Allio, Robert J. (2005). Innovations in the classroom: Improving the creativity of MBA students. Strategy & Leadership; 33 (1), ) Daniel Pink, author of A Whole New Mind: Why right brainers will rule the future, and Thomas Friedman, columnist for the New York Times, believe that top leadership competency of the future is creativity 4. Innovation is an increasingly valued and necessary skill in today s business environment. Peter Drucker, the father of modern management, stated that Every organization needs one core competence: INNOVATION. Bill Gates believes that organizations that do not innovate will cease to exist. There is some evidence that more innovative companies such as Proctor & Gamble and Apple, not only survive, but are more profitable than less innovative companies. Both companies are consistently rated among the world s most innovative companies 5. Project Description: Program participants must complete a three course sequence: Creativity and Change, Organizational Behavior, and Entrepreneurship. Students will receive a certificate after completing various reading assignment, pre-test and post-test exams, self-assessment surveys and reports as measures of learning, and a comprehensive exam on the relationship of creativity and innovation, on the manager s role and responsibilities in encouraging organizational creativity, the conditions which encourage and discourage creativity in the workplace, the use of collaborative creative teams, and the role of leadership in leading change, creativity, and innovation with a passing grade; and the following applied projects and pre-and post-tests: Clayton State University Business Innovation And Creativity Certificate Program Page 3 of 5

4 1. Development of a prototype of a product/service which will be evaluated by a panel of judges; 2. Development of an elevator pitch to persuasively sell their prototype to either upper management or to investors, and will be evaluated by a panel of judges; 3. Design of an organizational change initiative to implement innovation within an organization; 4. Development of business plan and oral presentation with their prototype; 5. Development of organizational change simulation As part of the course curriculum, students will visit local companies who emphasize innovation and visit local art museums for two reasons: one, to reinforce what they are learning from their projects and the classroom and, two, to expose them to different experiences. Berns, a neuroscientist, has determined that one of the keys to being more creative is to have unique and different experiences, to be exposed to activities in which they do not normally participate, otherwise the brain becomes lazy and uses fewer neurons 6.Once the certificate program is established, then the plan will be to offer an undergraduate minor, and possibly a major in innovation and creativity and a concentration for MBA students. Program Outcomes: The specific outcomes of the program are: 1. Prototype: Development of a product/service prototype which will be evaluated by a panel of judges, and completion of a design-based simulation designed by IDEO. 2. Elevator pitch: Pitch their creative ideas with an elevator pitch to persuasively sell their prototype to either upper management or to investors, and will be evaluated by a panel of judges; 3. Organizational change initiative: completion of an organizational change simulation. 4. Business plan: Development and oral presentation of a business plan for their prototype; 5. Comprehensive exam: a pretest/posttest comprehensive exam on the relationship of creativity and innovation, on the manager s role and responsibilities in encouraging organizational creativity, the conditions which encourage and discourage creativity in the workplace, the use of collaborative creative teams, and the role of leadership in leading change, creativity, and innovation; 6. Improved creative skills: a pretest/posttest measures of creativity skills; and 7. Self-reported learning: of innovation, creativity, and team effectiveness. Program Budget: Indicate How Much Funding Requesting: $9, Project Targets: Undergraduate students of all majors at Clayton State University. There is current interest from the following departments: management, marketing, supply chain management, accounting, information technology, aviation management, English, Music, and psychology. Does your project have potential to be reapplied or adapted by other US colleges/universities? Yes, Clayton State University s Innovation and Creativity Certificate Program is replicable and scalable. It is expected that this program can be expanded into an academic minor and major, and a concentration in our 6 ( Clayton State University Business Innovation And Creativity Certificate Program Page 4 of 5

5 professional MBA program. Given the few programs that exist across the country, it is anticipated that it can and will be adapted by other educational institutions. Clayton State University Business Innovation And Creativity Certificate Program Page 5 of 5