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Under the sweeping currents of cultural industrialization, creativity and performance evaluation are deemed as an absolute causal relationship. In fact, the expression of creativity and management system often conflict and contradict with each other. The lack of related research about creativity management and practice experiences of the industry has created a gap between creativity management and organizational performance. Without related literatures or empirical studies, culture industry sector has neglected the importance of management for a very long time. Based on the complete production chain model and the economic scale of the publishing industry, this paper aims at exploring the issues of creativity management signified by the relationship between the creative working environment shaped by the administrators and organizational performances. With the theory deriving from the historical literatures and exploratory analysis to develop case studies by taking the following methodological steps. Step 1 through step 3 focus on the discussion of theories reviewing the related discourses, and then formulate a verified complete theoretical model. Step 4 to Step 6, after the studies of related theories develops a questionnaire. Through the empirical studies to substantiate the development of the questions, and to ensure the availability of credibility and validity to measure each variable – the construction of the creative working environment and the organizational performances, thereby determining the measurement model of this research. In addition, the subject of the study has been scarcely explored in the past, and the related research materials are also limited. To strengthen the credibility of the survey and to understand the practical experiences and viewpoints of the publishing industry sector, in-depth interviews with senior publishers of major publishing company are conducted as the theoretical base of the study. The result of the study indicates that the management of publishing industry is inseparable with the search for the core value. From the internal motive of the practitioner, improvement of machinery shortening the operational time and procedure, flexible management, these are the measures to inspire the employee, initiating creativity, which then transforms to organizational performance. Based on the survey and the in-depth interviews with the senior publishers, the study can be concluded as follow: 1. People, As the Core of Creative Management Dealing with the management of people, in terms of internal communications in the publishing company or the editors and external writers communication, which all require good management with creativity and imagination. The formulation of the new ideas, open-minded to different opinions, frequent exchanges of opinions and objective performance evaluation, these are the main reasons for the publishing practitioners to keep a creative working environment. Providing a creative working environment where the employees can express their creativity freely, challenge oneself and keep the flows of ingenuity, which constructs the most important foundation that allows Taiwan to keep the advantage ground of the Chinese publishing market. 2. Creative Management and Performance is a Cycle of Feedback The study based on practical examples to prove that creative management and performance has positive influences on each other. Managing writers and books with creativity, the effects will be feedback to its performance on the market. A creative working environment encourages employees to face situations in an irregular approach, and nurtures innovative thinking to develop new products. The group members can always challenge each other in a constructive way, and hold every opportunity to the success. In fact, after monitoring the infrastructure of the creative working environment, the result also reflects on the sale’s figures, which justifies the causal relationship between creative management and performance evaluation. Large or small publishing company should make use of their organizational advantages. For good product, with greater imagination and creativity, the editing unit and the marketing, administration unit should have closer communications and brainstorming to enlarge the market discussions with creative management. Through the construction of creative working environment, utilizing the external resources innovatively to create the niche for market performance and culture value, and to secure the humanism spirits of the publishing industry and every possibility in the consumer market. 3. Organizational Identity and Brand Making How to make your own brand distinctive in a customized publishing market and raise the consumers’ brand loyalty are the keys for the operation of the publishing company. The clearer the practitioner’s objectives, the more distinctive the brand and the more accurate the market segmentation would be, so do the employees’ organizational identity will be stronger. The publication list not only reflects the taste and preference of the practitioner, but also creates the brand that separates itself from one another. As the readers’ tastes get to be more diverse, the head of the publishing company must lead his or her team in encouraging and innovative approaches to become the pioneer of the market, and to create all kinds of possibility in terms of issues, cross-media collaboration, and types of publishing, meanwhile enhancing the employees’ identity and cohesiveness toward the company to create a learning culture of the organization that is beneficial to the creative production. 4. The War of Books The competition of the publishing industry is about books. Every book has its unique characteristic, which makes the book worth reading. What readers purchase are the ideas and contents, a type of abstract product recognition. Every book is selling a new concept, and each consumer intends to buy is a creative idea, which allow the reader to find inspiration and initiation. As the reader grasps the fun of creativity, he or she will continue to buy the next book; and the reading behaviors will continue. Any imitation or reproduction of the same idea will have no space to survive in the market. If the competition in the publishing industry sector were to be simplified as “war of books”, each publishing company is their own competitor. Only by encouraging the employees to challenge themselves and shaping a learning organization culture, did the reading behaviors of consumers continue. Publishers should work together to develop the market based on common interests. If every new book brings in a new reader, it means that the consumer market of the industry has been expended. Once the reading hobby of consumers is cultivated, the book market will be revived and full of possibility. 5. Maintain the Diversity and Freedom of a Competitive Market The interviewed senior publishers based on their experiences have all reach a consensus that under the principle of free market competitions, the government should not make the publishing policy in the name of industry guidance. On the one hand, the policy perhaps fails to meet the needs of the publishing industry due to the lack of understanding. On the other hand, the intervention of the free market will do harm to the development of the industry. As the government disengaged from intervening the market mechanism, the publishing industry has indeed benefited from the liberation. However, the government can still adopt the following measures to provide the publishing industry with a better and wider free market nurturing a publishing environment of friendly interactions. i. Formulate a long-term plan to raise creative talents to ensure the sustainable innovative outputs. ii. Construct a public platform to nurture a reading society to expend the consumer market of the publication. iii. Build up an environment where information is accessible to the publishing industry sector, so to avoid inaccurate judgment about the market. iv. Initiate a long-term industry development project to provide the publishing industry with necessary financial support.
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