Managing Creativity at Shanghai Tang

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- Restoring Autonomy through collaborative goal setting

By placing constraints on the designers such as color schemes and themes from which they need to design their collection, placing imposed goals and tangible rewards such as having compensation tied to creativity, Le Masne is affectively challenging the autonomy of his designers and in turn their intrinsic motivation to design and create pieces of fashion. Thus, to restore autonomy to the designers, which would lead to higher productivity and more cohesiveness, Le Masne must understand that the designers are fundamentally motivated differently i.e. intrinsically and therefore engage them in setting goals. This will lead to higher productivity as research has shown (Latham & Kinne 1974).

- Feedback Process through the hiring of a new creative director

Ooi served as an important link in performance management and must be replaced by Le Masne. He must look for an individual that has the same characteristics and experiences and restore the feedback system originally in place. In fact, having an effective feedback system promotes the employees to stay on the goal and even incentivizes employees to exert greater effort (Weitz, Antoinetti, & Wallace, 1954). Further, the unique approach of Ooi to supervision must me mimicked since several research such as that of Amabile (1996) have found that a supportive style of supervision not only impacted and increased creativity but also that there a positive correlation between the support given and self-esteem and confidence. Lastly, through constant feedback from a creative director, Le Masne can eliminate what is known as ‘zone of indifference’ whereby research has shown that “an individual will accept a communication as authoritative only when… at the time of his decision, he believes it to be compatible with his personal interests as a whole” (Kerr, 1975).

- Changing Compensation Structure

Shanghai Tang’s current compensation structure for its’ designers includes various components such as meeting revenue objectives, ability to innovate and a capacity to be a team player. And while it does satisfy some hygiene factors, it fails to satisfy motivational factors such as achievement, career advancement and recognition. Even though the research of Eisenberger and Cameron (1996) has shown that extrinsic rewards can aid the creative thought process through the satisfaction of basic needs it however fails to satisfy motivational factors of employment. Amable (1997) states that an optimal mix of reward strategies should be used to appeal to intrinsic motivation. Such strategies could include training and development opportunities, recognition as well as time to pursue personal professional interest such as opportunities to collaborate on other design campaigns. This sort of hybrid rewards programs would ‘capitalize on both intrinsic (e.g., greater autonomy, additional developmental opportunities, etc.) and extrinsic motives (e.g., pay increases, promotions, etc.) (Mumford, 2000).

References

Amabile, T. M., Hennessey, B. A., & Grossman, B. S. (1986). Social influences on creativity: The effects of contracted-for-reward. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 50, 14-23.

Eisenberger, R., & Cameron, J. (1996). Detrimental effects of reward: Reality of myth? American Psychologist, 51, 1153 -1166.

Kerr, S. (1975). On the folly of rewarding A, while hoping for B. Academy of Management Journal, 18(4), 769–783. doi:10.2307/255378

Latham, G. P., & Kinne, S. B. Improving job per- formance through training in goal setting. Journal oj Applied Psychology, 1974, 59, 187-191.

Locke, E. A., Shaw, K. N., Saari, L. M., & Latham, G. P. (1981). Goal setting and performances: 1969-1980. Psychological Bulletin, 90, 125-150.

Mumford, M. D. (2000). Managing Creative People: Strategies and Tactics for Innovation. Human Resource Management Review, 10(3), 313-351. doi:10.1016/s1053-4822(99)00043-1

West, M. A., & Farr, J. L. (1989). Innovation at work: Psychological perspectives. Social Behavior, 3, 31 - 57.