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Generative learning management : A dual-role model for creativity in organizations

Author

  • Peter Österberg

Summary, in English

A main purpose of this thesis was to develop a model of leadership style named Generative Learning Management (GLM), thought to influence goal-oriented interpersonal creativity in organizations, and to test this model. Creativity is a complex consisting of both novelty and usefulness and it is a general mental ability that is determined by the interplay between different regions in a normally functioning human brain. In organizational psychology, neurobiology and connectionist theory have been used as an analogy with the purpose to describe knowledge exchange for problemsolving. The conclusion based on this reasoning is that creative ability within an organization is manifested through inter-personal exchange processes and that this process can be triggered by the intervention of a challenging goal. Leadership is therefore most often defined as a process whereby an individual influences a group of people to attain a common goal. In addition, in GLM another important factor is added: decentralization of decision making concerning goal attainment. Another aim in

the thesis was to explore the influence of participative decision-making in different types of organizations, and also to test the relation between Generative learning management and the Creative climate questionnaire (CCQ; Ekvall, 1996). The results from empirical papers on the one hand supported the hypotheses presented in the first, theoretical, paper, and on the other hand, rejected any overall relation with CCQ. The conclusion from a fourth paper is that participative decision-making is best applied when the culture of the organization is member-oriented, as in a farmers’ cooperative and when people come together to develop strategies for goal attainment. If the culture of the organization is not member-oriented, the application of decisions concerning, for example, goals should be applied with assignment. It is proposed that goal attainment should be applied with the executive function decentralized down to the operators of the organization, to support parallel processing in problem-solving. Also, further research should be made on the relations between generative learning management and creative climate questionnaire, since both models pertain to creativity in organizations.

Publishing year

2012

Language

English

Document type

Dissertation

Publisher

Lund University

Topic

  • Psychology

Keywords

  • Generative learning management
  • leadership style
  • goal-setting
  • decentralization
  • creativity

Status

Published

Supervisor

  • Ingegerd Carlsson
  • Stefan Jern

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISBN: 978-91-628-8467-3

Defence date

15 May 2012

Defence time

13:00

Defence place

Kulturens auditorium, Tegnérplatsen, Lund

Opponent

  • Jan Forslin (Professor)