Organizational Creative Capabilities

8The Creative Performance of Organizations

The performance of organizations is a major concept in strategic management. Indeed, an organization is defined as the whole of a community structured around resources and competencies, which it allocates and which in the long-term commit it to achieving its objectives. Then, organizations must regularly assess the extent to which they are accomplishing their goals, plans and objectives. This is done in the specific context of competition, which the term “strategy” recalls precisely if we refer to the etymology of the word stratos or “army”. It implies, on the one hand, a strategist or a general of an army, and, on the other hand, an enemy to be crushed, eliminated or, on a less war-like level, to be surpassed by the implementation of our plans. Performance is therefore consubstantial with strategic management, knowing that it can be apprehended according to different types. It may be a question of complementary levels of analysis (individual, group, department, organization, project), of varied specialties (financial, commercial, social and societal performance) and of a different temporality (short, medium and long-term). Moreover, whatever the type of performance, it is necessary to question its measurement and control in order to improve it. It can be qualitative via an appreciation, a perception, but it is more often quantitative and mobilizes measurement indicators. For example, financial performance can be measured by sales, ...