Representation and Structuring of Organizational Creativity applying Soft System Methodology

Nikghadam Hojjati, Sanaz; Rajabzadeh Ghatari, Ali; Rajabzadeh Ghatari, Ali; Alborzi, Aahmood; Hassanzadeh, Gholamreza

Representation and Structuring of Organizational Creativity applying Soft System Methodology

Authors

Sanaz Nikghadam Hojjati ¹

Ali Rajabzadeh Ghatari ²

Aahmood Alborzi ³

Gholamreza Hassanzadeh ⁴

¹ Ph.D. Candidate of Information Technology Management, Department of Information technology Management , Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

² Associate Professor, Department of Management, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran

³ Associate Professor, Department of Information technology Management , Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

⁴ Full Professor, Department of Anatomy, School of medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Sustainable competitive advantage is crucial for organizations to survive in modern competitive environment. Since competitive advantage based on creativity is one of the most crucial factors for the survival of current organizations, factors influencing organizational creativity processes should be considered at organizational decision-making level. As many people and factors are involved in organizational creativity, decision-making becomes complex and unstructured real world issues with chaotic systems behavior, and consequently, hard operation research methods are not able to represent and solve it properly. Soft system methodology is one operation research’s methods applied to represent, structure and solve complex problems. Therefore, in this study, which is part of a PhD thesis, in addition to explaining the soft system methodology’s steps, we describe how the first four stages of the Checkland soft system methodology were applied to represent and structure the sustainable organizational creativity problem in detail. The conceptual model was created based on information gathered from experts and specialists in organized meetings and in-depth interviews who were exposed to data previously collected in reviewing individual, group and organizational creativity existing research results. At the end of these meetings and interviews we designed and developed a rich picture, root definitions, CATWOE analysis and the conceptual model for organizational creativity.

Keywords

Soft systems methodology

organizational creativity

Checkland

Sustainable Competitive Advantage