Abstract
Through business economics, it is possible to analyze the volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous situations surrounding an organization to propose managerial solutions that combat risks and uncertainty. Without a doubt, the answers are already there for decision-making in this type of environment, whereby this chapter adds a proposal for managers to consider facing those situations by reviewing recommendations derived from a creative state of mind. By observing learnings from the artistic world, there´s an option to enrich methodologies for enlisting probabilities, solving a problem, and detecting possible benefits within a misty path. Implementing arts interventions as part of a strategic core program process are enriched with utopians that solve issues with unexpected results.
TopIntroduction
Business or Managerial Economics, uses Economic Science´s theory and methodology to contribute to organizational strategies by helping business directors choose daily options to maximize efficiency and profitability. Those decisions could be either under risk or under uncertainty; the difference is that in a risky condition a manager can enlist probabilities to each variable, while in an uncertain scenario, there are random benefits to confront a misty situation (Thomas & Maurice, 2016; Perloff & Brander, 2020). So, with no clarity in a misty prism: How to enlist probabilities to solve a problem and how to detect possible benefits to address a misty path?
This type of path is similar to a V.U.C.A environment. This acronym of Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity, can be adapted for organizational strategies to outline the vertiginous elements around the Change Management theories (Barber, 1992; Bennett & Lemoine, 2014) and, Business Economics´ authors are outlining that nowadays enhancing imagination, creativity, social value and innovation are key drivers to face a V.U.C.A reality in order to sustain a progressive and healthy company (Pulido, 2017; Sala-Fumas, 2007).
Today, Managers and their collaborators need to think of imagination as a tool that brings the reasoned analysis to a higher synthesis, and depending on the quality of the inventiveness, the problems either will get the same results or a new outstanding different solution. Hence, now, creativity is no longer a fascinating marginal phenomenon; it´s an engine for society transformation (Sardar, Z., cited in Mortuori & Donelly, 2019).
To explore how companies could behave in this scenario and understand how a creative and social way of thinking might influence solving these situations, this chapter analyzes the type of world who is full of imagination: the creative and artistic organizations. These initiatives belong to the Cultural sector which has the particularity that they have dealt with uncertainty and risk management for ever. The Cultural Industries’ companies or projects, face sustainable problems constantly as they tackle with turbulent, empiric and complex markets almost impossible to forecast (Greffe, 2006) and have been always wondering how to be sustainable and contribute to a brand new Creative Economy (Howkins, (2007 [2002]; Throsby, 2016). If these industries have survived and growth based on the human talent and not that much from the market, we can wonder about why does not observe how they face the VUCA environment.
So the following chapter´s aim is to learn from the experiences of the cultural organizations when solving their VUCA problems and the specific objective is to open a wide range of possibilities within the arts & business relationship in order to fulfill new ways to approach the daily managerial needs.
The chapter´s structure develops a background of the VUCA elements, followed by two chapter´s units regarding what is Cultural Industries and their VUCA´s perspectives and how Arts can be included inside management business days.
For now, let's start this journey to discover a proposal for managers to consider adding new elements to their traditional methodologies that might help when solving change management strategies.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Cultural and Creative Industries: It is the structure that supports the chain value of those sectors who research, train, produce, reproduce, circularize, commercialize, promote, exhibit, and distribute goods, services and activities derived by contents from the heritage origins and the artistic and creative expressions. Diametrically opposed, brings together art and aesthetics with commerce and entertainment, while promoting cultural development, social inclusion and protecting the diverse creative expressions in a territory.
Cultural Heritage: It refers to the tangible, intangible and natural worldwide property that humans had inherited from the past generations as a signal of historical identity. Along with artistic expressions, there are international cultural policies developed for preservation, restoration, conservation, and promotion of it.
VUCA Environment: Is the acronym of a volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous environment that surrounds today’s business world. It describes the situation of a recent managerial term that summarizes the situation in which businesses surfing today and that sets an alert to be in an awareness and solving behavior.
Cultural Manager: Is a professional that articulates arts, heritage and culture with society, the government, and the private sector with the aim of promoting and protecting the cultural diversity. Is responsible for policies, programs and projects that deliver cultural expressions to communities and spectators and also if it´s the case, they can conduct a creative organization or business.
Liquid Society: Is a is a denomination to the phenomenon caused by the globalization from a philosophical and sociological angle which shapes an amorphous mass in which transitory situations are considered rather than the permanent ones, the immediate upon the long-term states and the possibility to permeate into every scenario to circumscribe new realities.
Managerial Economics: Is a branch of Economics Science that apply micro and macro-economic principles to the managerial decision-making process, dealing with the organizational internal problems and proposing solutions for the wealth of business and their communities.
Artistic Intervention: In a broad sense, it refers to a methodology that apply arts and artistical procedures to design a specific activity to interact with a space, the spectators, other artists, other artworks and to obtain a response from the public, even though this audiences belong to a corporate organizational environment.
Creative Economy: Still an evolving concept which describe the economical behavior of a range of activities that have their origin in individual creative talent and who are the interface between culture, arts, design, sciences, technology, and innovation. Supported by the intellectual property exploitation, it has the potential to generate employment, contribute incomes to the GDP and raise international trade.
Cultural Diversity: It refers about the multiple ways a culture or a society express themselves, creating the plurality of the common heritage of humanity.