Creative Employees: A Challenge to Managers

Employee creativity and corporate innovation have become important topics in management literature. Because the broadcast industry is dependent upon entertainment to attract viewers and listeners, most radio and television stations are staffed by artistic, creative personnel. These creative employees do not always respond to standard management and motivational techniques. Recent theories focus upon the end product to define creativity. Artists, however, often consider the process of creativity as more important than the final product. A new modified-process definition of creativity is suggested in which the artistic concerns of production personnel and the goal-oriented business requirements of management combine to form a structured system for creative endeavors. Characteristics of creative people are discussed along with techniques to manage creative personnel.