Improving the creativity of MBA students

Abstract

Purpose Describes how The F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College features creativity as one of the early and essential components of its innovative two‐year MBA program. Design/methodology/approach Article reports on the indicators that the program is a success. Findings For corporations seeking creativity in new hires, MBA graduates who have completed the “Creativity stream” offer increased confidence in their ability to express themselves creatively; willingness to accept ambiguity and the uncertainty of process as part of discovery; openness to alternatives ways of seeing a problem, solution, or scenario; and renewed trust in themselves and their potential as creative thinkers. Research limitations/implications Employer survey results suggest that there is a link between Babson MBAs’ success at producing more and better creative solutions on the job and their exposure to creative process in the “Creativity stream”. Practical implications There is only limited evidence that arts experiences as part of corporate creativity training are noticeably beneficial, but Unilever's management contends that such training leads to changed perceptions and better decisions. Originality/value Creativity training can help employees and their managers develop new approaches to resolving corporate challenges.

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