Prof Double R - Achiever Papers

THE FIRST UPLOAD IS HILARY AND THE SECOND IS YAMI

Review the posts by HILARY AND YAMI about Ekvall’s ten dimensions and provide your feedback by answering the following questions:
Do you agree or disagree with the need for additional dimensions?
Were you surprised that Ekvall included only one dimension that is negatively correlated? What conclusions can you draw from that fact?
Do you agree or disagree with the post about the dimension that is the most difficult to assess?
Review the creative climate assessments posted by your peers and provide your feedback by answering the following questions:
Based on the notes, did you disagree with any of the ten ratings in the assessments?
Do you think it would be more beneficial for organizations to try to strengthen the aspects of their creative climate that are the strongest or to improve the aspects that are the weakest?
What recommendations would you make to the organization to improve their creative climate? For example, think about how established organizations with existing structures designed for efficient and effective use of resources can relax some of their restrictions to allow playfulness, freedom, and risk-taking without losing control of the things that allow it to be currently successful.

HILARY POST

I really liked that playfulness and humor was included. I have never worked in a job where that was a priority until my current job. The atmosphere in my branch is happy, light, and often silly. It makes every day go by much faster, and we all leave with smiles on our faces. I can’t think of a dimension to add, as these ten cover everything.

I had a hard time with idea time. This isn’t something that we do and I can’t think of a job where I have had it in the past.

Dynamism and liveliness and challenge were the 2 highest scores for us. JPMC creates an environment of pride for their employees. Most employees love what they do, and they want to do well. They also reward their employees for contributing and doing well. We face complicated challenges every day, as we never know what is going to walk through our door on a daily basis. We have to adapt to the issues every day.

My lowest scores were in Idea Time and Debate. We aren’t encouraged to spend extra time test ideas, and in fact we can’t really implement new ideas as banking is so regulated. Also being at the branch, we can only input feedback, we cant have discussions or debates about things that are passed down to us.

YAMI POST

This page automatically marks posts as read as you scroll.Adjust automatic marking as read setting

Ekvall’s ten dimensions provide a comprehensive framework for assessing a creative climate, and I found them to be well-balanced. One addition that could enhance the model is psychological safety, which focuses on employees feeling secure in taking interpersonal risks without fear of negative consequences. While trust and openness address aspects of this, explicitly recognizing psychological safety could further highlight its role in fostering innovation.

The most challenging dimension to evaluate was idea time, which I rated as 1. While the organization might claim to support creative thinking, the actual workload and priorities often dictate whether employees genuinely have time to explore new ideas. Without structured opportunities for brainstorming and experimentation, innovation may be stifled despite an overall openness to new concepts.

From my assessment, the organization scored highest in playfulness and humor, idea support, and trust and openness (all rated 3). This indicates a generally positive atmosphere where employees feel comfortable sharing ideas, and collaboration is encouraged through active listening and mutual respect. However, the lowest scores were in challenge and idea time (both rated 1), suggesting that while the work environment is supportive, there is a lack of strong engagement in long-term goals and limited time allocated for creative exploration. Risk-taking and conflict (both rated 2) also highlight a hesitation to pursue bold ideas, likely due to underlying concerns about failure or interpersonal tensions.

Overall, the organization fosters a friendly and open environment, but it could benefit from stronger goal alignment, structured innovation time, and a culture that encourages calculated risks. Addressing these gaps could further enhance its creative potential

>MBA 58

Ekvall’s Dimensions of a Creative Climate Assessment Worksheet

Complete this template by replacing the bracketed text with the relevant information.

For your chosen organization, take notes on each dimension of creative climate identified by Göran Ekvall. Then apply a rating for each dimension and write a summary of your overall opinion of the organization’s creative climate.

Use this scale for your ratings:

· 0 (Not at all applicable)

(Applicable to some extent)

· 2 (Fairly applicable)

(Applicable to a high degree)

Dimension	Notes	Rating
Challenge	Having a team that is motivated to make contributions to our new project because they find joy in the work and want to invest their energy towards finding a new solution. This is highly important for my company, JP Morgan Chase. It is important because if a team member doesn’t believe in what they are doing it can create a negatively public image for their customers. It also is important for employees to be happy where they work because JPMC prioritizes the well-being of their employees			3
Dynamism and Liveliness	Having a team that can adjust to new situations and change their thinking to handle new issues as they arise positively. Things change constantly in banking. New laws are passed, new scams emerge, everyday a new issue will show up. Being able to adapt and change is important for JPMC.
Playfulness and Humor	While my branch is full of laughter and jokes, it depends branch by branch because of the individual employees. While it isn’t integral to the success of the company, it does foster a happier work environment.			2
Freedom	While we aren’t hovered over, there is very little freedom that can be taken at a bank. We are heavily regulated which means we have to follow a very strict way of doing things.		1
Risk Taking	JPMC really values employee feedback. Voicing your opinion is highly encouraged. However, we are not the ones able to get our ideas in motion. They have to go through strict regulator processes.
Idea Time	This is not used at the branch level at all. We can’t venture out of the SOP. At the higher levels this is likely used to test out new ideas.		0
Idea Support	This is highly encouraged at JPMC. Branch employees can make changes at a national level when they voice their concern. However, we cannot test out our ideas at our own level, they have to be directed to the corporate teams.
Trust and Openness	Trust is extremely important at my company. Our goal is to build trust every day. We can give and receive feedback without fear.
Debate	We can always voice our concerns with leadership, however there isn’t much that debate that comes from it. We will discuss the best way of offering a product to help others do better with it.
Conflict (negatively correlated)	This does not happen at my branch. The team is very close and works hard to support one another.

Summary: JPMC is a wonderful company for its employees. They can voice concerns without fear of retribution. However, the way for low level employees to get their concerns or feedback heard is complicated and some concerns do go unaddressed. While you can share your thoughts and insights and make real changes, it takes a long time for the changes to go into effect.