Module Catalogue 2024/25

Pre Requisite Comment

It is important students have taken a foundation course in management and organisation (BUS1001 or BUS1015) before attempting a stage 3 module in managing innovation and creativity.

Co Requisite Comment

N/A

Aims

This wide ranging module explores the concepts of creativity, product design and development, and innovation in the context of innovative and creative organisations. The module will draw upon concepts derived from the economics and sociology of innovation, theories of creativity, theories of the firm, product design and innovative cultures. The course will give students an opportunity to develop an understanding and critical awareness of current theories and approaches relevant to managing creativity, design and innovation in the workplace. The course is designed to help students understand how innovation and creativity is managed in a variety of settings. Through a series of lectures, workshops and small group learning activities students will develop an understanding of the importance of creativity, design and innovation on a personal, organisational and national level in a world characterised by the globalised economy.

Aims
• To provide an understanding of the concepts of creativity, design and innovation, managing creative organisations and people, the economics of innovation, managing innovation and core competencies, product design, creative and innovative cultures.
•       To enable students to develop an awareness how to develop their creativity at the individual level during the process of problem solving
• To enable students to identify, analyse, discuss and debate the broad range of perspectives and practical issues concerning creativity and innovation in any organizational context.
• To encourage students to critically evaluate the determinants of competitiveness stemming from understanding, managing effectively creativity, design and innovation in the real business world.
• To equip students with the knowledge and skills needed to improve their perspectives about managing and managing innovative people, organizations and cultures.
• To encourage students to critically evaluate the determinants of successful creative and innovative businesses.

Outline Of Syllabus

Semester 1
1. Introduction to creativity
2. The creative mind (creativity at the individual level)
3. Creativity at the organisational level
4. Introduction to Innovation management

Semester 2
1. Project organization for innovation 2. Innovation Management
3. Open innovation management
4. Design Management
5. Entrepreneurship and Business Model
5. New Product Development and business model innovation
6. Managing mature products and product deletion

Intended Knowledge Outcomes

At the end of the module students should be able to:
- Describe and discuss the concepts of creativity and innovation at the individual, team and firm levels.
- Recognise the requirements for the successful management of creativity, design and innovation in any business.
- Indicate the advantages for enterprise’s competitiveness through the effective and efficient development and management of creativity and innovation.
- Synthesise the knowledge gained from the course and critically assess the relations between creativity, design and innovation and the wider economic, social and cultural contexts.
- Apply the appropriate theoretical frameworks of creativity and innovation in selected case studies.

Intended Skill Outcomes

At the end of the module students should be able to:
- Understand how to manage creativity and innovation.
- Develop an awareness how to improve their creative capability at the individual and team level
- Analyse and reflect on creativity and innovation using suitable theoretical concepts.
- Assess the importance of innovation for any business.
- Demonstrate the capacity to engage critically and comment upon current theories and debates about creativity, design and innovation.
- Demonstrate possession of creative and analytical skills in identifying the conditions to foster creativity and innovation in an organisation.

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

The course is structured as one hour teaching sessions during 9 weeks in each semester. There is also a 1 hour drop in session evert alternate week. Each week there is a core reading, which students should do before the session and a range of further reading, which will enable students to explore each theme in more depth. We will also be recommending other material – ‘non-academic journals’, newspapers, television programmes, websites, blogs and so on – which will give the student further insight into the management of creativity, design and innovation in the real business world as part of the directed research and reading. Case studies, real-world examples and problem-based learning will be used in the two hour sessions sculptured around the philosophy of a student-centred learning process; the academic environment provides ample opportunities to create core expertise, analytical and critical thinking, and to produce high-quality practitioners, while making the sessions enjoyable to participating students.


Canvas Learning Environment:
The lecture notes, PowerPoint slides, details of assessments and other information, together with important announcements, will be available on Canvas web site for this module. We will be using Canvas to communicate with you.

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

Aware of the variety of knowledge outcomes of this module, undergraduate students are required to develop their understanding of the concepts of creativity, design and innovation. There are two essays for each semester and different themes of the modules will be assessed in each essay so as to test the ability of the students to apply the theories in a critical way. The length of the essay is 2000 words. Students will be given feedback on the semester 1 essay and the Semester 2 scenario-based essay.

General Notes

N/A