Date of Award

9-2009

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Specialization

Communication and Leadership

School or Department

School of Leadership Studies

First Advisor

Dr. Joseph Albert

Second Advisor

Dr. Heather Crandall

Abstract

Creative imagination is required to comprehend complex challenges, solve business problems and develop the solutions that organizations need to adapt, and prosper in a dynamic and increasingly global environment. Multiple factors influence an organization’s ability to tap that imagination. For more than a half of century, research in cognitive and organizational sciences has investigated those influences and identified dimensions of creative climate, characteristics of creative people and processes for improving innovation. However, research explicitly linking organizational communication and organizational creativity has been limited. With a theoretical framework based in small group theory, this study explores the connection between intra-workgroup communication and the creative climate of five teams that are part of the same multi-national corporation. Using an interaction assessment questionnaire developed for this study, one-on-one phone interviews with workgroup members, and creative climate profiles developed with the Situational Outlook Questionnaire®, this study confirms a relationship between informal, daily workgroup interaction and creative climate in teams. The study then identifies in-group activity indicative of a creative climate and makes suggestions for further exploration and research.

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