Mumford eZine

Dr. Mumford has written more than 250 articles on creativity, innovation, planning, leadership, and ethics. This review provides a small sampling of this effort. This investigation concludes with a look at the most frequently cited article that Dr. Mumford has authored, Mumford and Gustafson (1988). While using Dr. Mumford’s four areas of research concentration was a useful organizing device for this review, it must be noted that multiple areas can be addressed in a single article.

Table 1 also highlights that Mumford and Gustafson (1988) has relevance to three of the four areas of research focus. It identified five basic kinds of variables that contribute to creative outcomes: (a) the processes contributing to the individual's capacity for generating novel problem solutions, (b) the characteristics of the individual facilitating process operation, (c) the characteristics of the individual facilitating the translation of these solutions into action, (d) the attributes of the situation influencing the individual's willingness to engage in creative behavior, and (e) the attributes of the situation influencing evaluation of productive efforts.

Additionally, using the 4-P’s (Rhodes, 1961) as a framework, we see that person, process, and press are accounted for in Mumford and Gustafson (1988).

Table 1
Creative outcomes variables and Mumford research focus

“…it behooves Americans to systematically develop creative potential wherever it may be found.”

(Mumford & Gustafson, 1988, p. 39)

Five basic kinds of variables that contribute to creative outcomes		Mumford research focus
(a)	the processes contributing to the individual's capacity for generating novel problem solutions	identification and measurement of creative thinking skills
(b)	the characteristics of the individual facilitating process operation,	skills that leaders must possess to perform well in dynamic organizational settings
(c)	the characteristics of the individual facilitating the translation of these solutions into action	skills that leaders must possess to perform well in dynamic organizational settings
(d)	the attributes of the situation influencing the individual's willingness to engage in creative behavior,	skills that leaders must possess to perform well in dynamic organizational settings work place structure as it relates to skill growth and development
(e)	the attributes of the situation influencing evaluation of productive efforts.	skills that leaders must possess to perform well in dynamic organizational settings work place structure as it relates to skill growth and development

Looking at the far reaching scope of a single article, Mumford and Gustafson (1988), combined with the overall look at Dr. Mumford’s work presented in this examination, highlights that Dr. Michael D. Mumford has produced a truly impressive body of significant scholarly work.

“Creativity is a complex phenomenon” (Baughman & Mumford, 1995, p. 37). Dr. Mumford’s work has made a considerable contribution in furthing our understanding of this complex and vitally important phenomenon.