There is no question in my mind that with appropriate management, we can improve the levels of innovation and creativity within organizations. There is no magic here. Innovative people are no more ‘born’ than Olympic gold medallists or virtuoso musicians. Yes, some of us are gifted with more initial aptitude, but as music and sports show, the ‘natural’ or the ‘child
prodigy’ frequently does not graduate to the top level. Hard, focused and appropriately- directed work trumps natural talent in virtually every case. The question is,
where to focus? Let us start by looking at the anatomy of the beast.
One key lesson that I took away from Lester Thurlow’s book, Head to Head, is the observation that, “Innovation in process trumps innovation in product.” Thurlow was contrasting the research investment strategies between the U.S. and Japan in the post-war years. His observation was that the U.S. took a materialistic approach to their investment, focusing on products, while the Japanese focused on process. His observation was that while the U.S. invented DRAM, the VCR or the LCD, it also incurred the highest up-front costs, while the Japanese reaped the primary profit due to their superior processes of manufacturing and distribution.
Today, we have a comparable example
in Apple and Dell. Apple is now below
Acer in PC market share, but they have
beautiful, design-intense systems. Dell’s
computers, on the other hand, are boring
and have virtually no technical or design
innovation. But Dell’s process has given
them a dominant market share. Some business
publications (e.g., Fast Company, Jan.
2004) have come to the dubious conclusion
that this says that innovation may not be all
that it was cracked up to be. Of course,
what...
... middle of paper ...
...tive
level position? Do you have a Chief Design
Officer reporting to the president? My
view is that if you do not, you are not
serious about design or innovation.
Furthermore, you are telegraphing this fact
to all of your employees, along with a clear
message that they need not be either. As a
result, you might as well fire all of your creative
people, since you are setting them up
to fail anyhow.
As an executive, of course you have to
have creative and innovative ideas. But at
the top of the list should be ones that reflect
(a) how important innovation is to the
future of your company, (b) the role of
design in this, (c) a recognition that innovation
cannot be ghettoized in the research or
design departments, since it is an overall
cultural issue, and (d) an awareness of the
inevitable and dire consequences of ignoring
the previous three points..
...resent diversity within the labor force and “each of them will also have networks of professional associates whose knowledge they can tap in order to solve problems and accomplish tasks. Needless-to-say, diverse people will have diverse networks and provide your company with a vast and diverse meta-network at your disposal” (p.1). In short, in supporting of creativity, innovators essentially need the backing from top leaders, and without that support, many initiatives may break down or die on the vine (Harvard). For any idea to be successful, it is vital that it is aligned with company strategy; there is more likely to occur naturally when top executives involve and take the lead with a idea or creativity initiative and this is a main reason why management commitment is a key factor in the accomplishment of any idea or innovation process (Baumgarther, 2010).
Daniel Coyle The Talent Code: Greatness Isn´t Born, It´s Grown: Here´s How. Bantam Book/May 2009, New York, New York.
Others believe that innate talent is what makes or breaks someone, and with good reason. A common example that is cited of innate talent is that of Donald Thomas. On his first attempt to conquer a high jump, Thomas cleared the bar, which was set at six feet and six inches. (Epstein par. 2). He then started a high jump career. Making it to the finals of the World Championship with little to no experience, Thomas cleared the bar set at seven feet and eight and a half inches on first attempt. His form was weak and he had put his hand behind him to brace his fall, since he was still not used to the sensation of falling. (Epstein par. 10). “We studied the biographies of 26 world-class sprinters, including 15 Olympic gold medalists and the eight fastest men in United States history, using the 100 meter distance as our gauge. The first major finding was that every expert sprinter, male or female, was recognized as exceptionally fast prior to beginning formal training. This contradicts the deliberate practice model, which assumes that initial performance and final performance in a domain are unrelated,” (Lombardo & Deaner par. 6). If someone has an incredible gift, but will never work towards it, there is no way that they will be successful. It would be a wasted
Utterback, A. M. (1996). Mastering the dynamics of innovation. United States of American: Harvard Business Press
During the late 1800’s, there was a time of great change. This was near the end of the industrial revolution in America. Some of the greatest inventions were invented during this time. We still use most of the inventions today, they are just modified to fit the needs of America today. 3 of the major inventions and innovations that came out of this time were the telephone, typewriter, and the incandescent light bulb.
The post World War II era provided new opportunities for the people of United States to explore and develop new technologies which changed the United States dramatically; for example, a treatment for polio, space exploration, introduction to computer, advancement in weapons industry, auto industry, and color television, etc. With all the technological advancements, how did technology change United States? The paper will discuss the technological changes that happened in each era since 1945 to 2000. The paper will give each decade’s most important technological inventions and changes; additionally, changes in people’s lives and what were positive or negatives impact in society, politics, and economy. The relentless parade of new technologies unfolded since 1945. The technological changes that happened altered the business or social landscape but it also disrupted the way people used to live and work before the 1950s. The availability of resources, land, labor, prestige of entrepreneurship, and free market all contributed to America’s rapid changes in technology.
People today have been over powered with 21st Century technology. Now-a-days people don’t have enough energy just because of the new technology. Let’s go back in time and think about eye-catching inventions in the old times and how it changed the world and everyday life. The telephone! Imagine, a world without smartphones but only speed-dial phones. Yes, those are the kinds of phones that are very popular long ago but the question is “How does the new invention change our daily lives?” For one thing, it would take you about 3-5 minutes just to make a phone call an plus, it is not at all portable. Mainly, telephones back then are way different from telephones today.
We didn't immediately pick the right kind of prodigy. At first my mother thought I could be a Chinese Shirley Temple. We'd watch Shirley's old movies on TV as though they were training films. My mother would poke my arm and say, "Ni kan.You watch." And I would see Shirley tapping her feet, or singing a sailor song, or pursing her lips into a very round O while saying "Oh, my goodness."
This modern society we live in today doesn’t simply survive, but thrives with the system of industrialism and capitalism we have developed for centuries. However, progression in not just America, but the world, did not spike until a certain point in history. In this point in time, boundaries were crossed and new prospects were available due to the expansion of machinery and automation. This point in time would be a major event in history that would catapult the wealth of several different countries. This point in time was the Industrial Revolution, a major event which accelerated the growth of the United States and several other countries and empires in Europe.
...&D capability was not supported by their ability to efficiently produce and market the innovation. Since the R&D is separated from production and sales, it was not market-oriented enough. The limitation of sharing local market knowledge also leads Philips to its inability sell the excellent innovation that R&D has developed. Seeing this as opportunity, Japanese companies able to combine Philips invention with their mass-market production ability and successfully became the leader in the market.
Innovations are basically when an specific idea is transformed into a better idea(Quinn p.287). According to Quinn, the best innovations come from teamwork. This means that when a managers is able to develop creative thinking among his employees, the value of the organization increases. Nonetheless, there are several barriers to creative thinking. Some of the barriers could be either cultural or personal. Cultural barriers are those barriers that keep society in their usual lifestyle. For instance, same sex marriage could be a cultural barrier since it is not accepted in most religions. “If we are able to diminish our cultural barriers to creative thinking, we enhance our abilities to think differently and develop skills for creativity (Quinn p.290).” Many ideas may not be accepted by society at the beginning, but at the end, that 's what makes someone unique and trendy. Similar to cultural barriers, personal barriers are those that make people fear failure and those barriers that are against an individual beliefs. Examples of personal barrier are Resistance to change, fear of making a mistake, fear or failure or looking foolish, inability to tolerate ambiguity or to relax, tendency to judge rather than to generate ideas, self- criticism, conformity, stereotyping, lack of information (Quinn
Kelley,T. (2005, Oct.). The 10 faces of innovation. Fast Company, 74-77. Retrieved 6th March’ 2014 from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=9&sid=1d6a17b7-c5f7-4f00-bea4 db1d84cbef55%40sessionmgr10&hid=28&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#db=bth&AN=18386009
As one of the greatest times of production and change in the quality of life for all classes and members of society, the Industrial Revolution marked a turning point for humankind. Together, the industrial revolutions in both America and Britain not only altered the lifestyles of many, but also offered solutions to many questions that had plagued society for numerous years. Changes that occurred in the fields of medicine and chemistry still play a role in our everyday lives. These advancements not only affected 19th century industry, but also began paving the way for modern technology.
Innovation has become a critical element for a business to be successful. More emphasis is placed on creativity as it is the core that drives innovation within a company. Businesses must provide a conducive work environment to produce and grow a creativity amongst its employees. We will discuss the five critical component to a creative work environment which include challenging work, organization encouragement, supervisor encouragement, work group encouragement, lack of organization impediments and freedom.
1997). By reviewing the literature on learning and innovation, we try to answer the following