The Domains

Much of human knowledge is symbolic in nature, we understand the world through shared references, metaphors, cliches and other approximations. This symbolic knowledge is bundled into units called domains. There are millions of small and large domains, from Gregorian chanting to Accountancy, each with their own rules, notations, and intricacies. Shared domains add up to create culture, and as domains change so to does the culture.

We use domains as our primary means of making money, I will be an accountant, or a nurse, a social worker or an artist. For better or worse we structure our organisations around the domains, we have functional specialties in Accounting, Human Resources, Operations etc.

Domains are made of three dimensions

• Clarity of structure
  
• Centrality within the culture
• Accessibility to information / knowledge / symbols of the domain

Csikszentmihalyi gives an illustrative example of how domains can be used to predict the creativity of an organisation. Suppose we have two drug companies, each structured in similar ways and spending the same amount on research and development how might we predict which one will come up with a new drug first?

To answer the question we need to know three facts, Which has the most detailed data about pharmacology, effects etc? Which has the best way of disseminating information? Where is it easier to test hypotheses?

The organisation where knowledge is better structured, more central and more accessible will usually be he more creative and more likely to develop new drugs. The same is true for any domain within an organisation

A systems approach to creativity

So if individual creativity is only half the picture, what does the whole picture look like?

Csikszentmihalyi believes creativity can be seen in the relationship three interrelated parts, the domain, the field and the individual.

The domain is a set of symbolic rules and procedures, these can exist at more and more granular levels, for example biology is a domain, with genetics, molecular biology etc as domains within the broader domain. In business functional departments can be seen as domains, HR, Finance, projects etc.

The field are the gatekeepers of the domain, these are the "experts" who allow new information, ideas and products into the domain. In modern organisations the field/s could be senior managers, experts in a particular discipline, or even cohesive teams.

Individuals can be consideredcreative when he uses the symbols, rules and procedures of the domain to invent some new idea or product which is accepted by in it's field and becomes part of the domain. As new ideas become part of the domain new individuals use these innovations to make new creative discoveries and so the system moves on continually improving itself.

A systems definition of creativity then would be:

An act, idea or product which changes an existing domain into a new on. A creative individual is: someone whose thoughts or actions change a domain or establish a new domain.