Encouraging Inovation at Work Place 2003

8/8/2019 Encouraging Inovation at Work Place 2003

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ENCOURAGING INOVATION AT WORK PLACE

DEFINITION:

Innovation comes from the Latin innovātus which means to renew. Innovation can therefore

be seen as the process that renews something that exists and not, as is commonly

assumed, the introduction of something new.

For the renewal to take place it is necessary for people to change the way they make

decisions, they must choose to do things differently, make choices outside of their norm.

Schumpeter c.s. (~1930) seems to have stated that innovation changes the values onto which

the system is based . So when people change their value (system) the old (economic) system

will tumble over to make room for the new one. When that happens innovation has occurred.

So innovation must be seen as something that does not something that is

INTRODUCTION IN TERMS OF

ORGANISATION:

In the organizational context, innovation may be linked to changes in efficiency, productivity,

quality, competitive positioning, market share, etc. can all be affected positively or negatively

by innovative forces. All organizations can innovate, including for example hospitals,

universities, and local governments. Some will flourish under its influence. Other will die.

Innovation is the level of creative input employees contribute to anorganisation. This may include making suggestions to improve workprocesses, and ways to implement such suggestions. Innovation has inthe past been associated with such issues as social support, problemsolving style, motivation, and the availability of organisational resources.

WORKPLACE INOVATION COMES IN TWO PHASES:

1.The creative or suggestion-making phase is where employees suggest newproductsor services, new processes, or other changes or improvements in the workplace. Notall jobs are “creative” jobs, as only a few people are responsible for designing newproducts or services. However, employees at all levels of an organisation canidentifyways that things can be done faster, cheaper or better. If these ideas are notsuggested, they can never be implemented.

2.The implementation phase is where suggested ideas are put into practice. The

manner in which suggestions are evaluated is a difficult one for an organisation tomanage. Not all ideas can be implemented, but if suggestions are not considered

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Productivity


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quality_(business)

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Competitive_positioning&action=edit&redlink=1


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Market_share


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quality_(business)


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Market_share



seriously, or if implementation of even the most simple ideas takes forever andrequires multiple levels of approval, then employees are likely to make fewsuggestions in the future.Research has shown that both suggestions and implementations are important for organisational performance and competition in a changing world.

HOW INOVATION AT WORK PLACE CAN BE DONE:

Ten Key Rules for Workplace Innovation:

An article in the Times of London On-Line website by Emily Ford provides ten key rules for

fostering innovation in the workplace — not just in high-tech startups. In these difficult

times, challenging workers at all levels to come up with great new ideas can boost morale and

boost revenues too.

1.Make innovation a top priority: Ford points out that “companies that generate 80%

of their revenue from new products typically double their market capitalization over a five-

year period.” In the global downturn, a common reaction is to hide in the basement and wait

for the storm to pass. A pro-active approach — for instance, asking, “what will be our new hit

products when the upturn begins and consumers resume spending?” — is far better.

2.Take risks and embrace failure: The global downturn has made everyone —

managers, investors, savers, ordinary people — far more risk averse. To innovate, it must be

recognized that failure is possible, or even likely. Celebrate failure, as a worthy attempt to

succeed, in the same way you celebrate success. Ford cites an expert: “You have to give

people the freedom to fail and to fail fast… that’s a real challenge in a risk-averse culture.”

3.Keep your people’s eyes on the future: Many organizations face a bleak future, as

revenues collapse and layoffs mount. An innovation focus can fight this doom-loop spiral.

Ford cites the following finding: “A study of internet banking in the United States looked at

chief executives’ letters to shareholders between 1991 and 1995. Those with the highest

percentage of sentences about the future introduced new technology the fastest.”

4.Foster creativity at all levels: Not all great ideas occur only to senior managers.

Often, those who work at the ‘coal face’ (directly serving, facing or selling to customers) are best aware of changing market conditions and hence know how best to react to them.

Challenge everyone in the organization to think hard about what they do and how they do it,

and how it might be done better and differently.

5.Break the rules: Innovation is breaking the rules. Challenge your workers to first state

what the ‘rules of the game’ are, for your industry (nearly all of these are unwritten and

unspoken assumptions), and then, second, find ways to break them, to create value for

customers. This does not imply, of course, breaking laws or ethical principles. We have had

enough examples of that kind of behavior to last us several centuries.



6.Collaborate across boundaries: Innovation often involves cross-boundary thinking

— linking a variety of disciplines. Get your accountants, marketers, salesmen, secretaries,

everyone to talk to engineers, technicians — break company bou ndaries, in order to build

new ideas.

7.ThinkGlobal: Global geopolitics are rapidly changing in this time of crisis. Innovation

may involve rethinking the geographies of your business. Where can we do business,

profitably, that at present we do not?

8. Act fast and keep refining: “Launch things early then get feedback,” the head of

Google UK says. Or, as Guy Kawasaki has said, controversially, “ship, then test!”. You never

know if an innovation will work, until you try it on a customer. Find clients willing to suffer

a bit in order to try something really new.

9. Cannibalise your own products:Use innovation to destroy your own products. If

you don’t, your competitors will. Intel, for instance, perfected this strategy, introducing the286 and 386 microprocessors to replace previous versions well before competitors could do

so. Sony failed at this. They delayed introducing MP3 players, in order not to hurt Walkman

sales, and lost a huge market.

10. Be ambitious: Even in a massive downturn, set high goals. “When this crisis ends, our

new ideas and new thinking will enable us to emerge as market leaders.” Innovation has

always sought not to gain a point or two of market share, but to make competitors and their

business models irrelevant, as Gary Hamel taught us. Use your innovative vision to scoop up

great people laid off by companies who can see no future and therefore will not have one.

SOME MORE POINTS ON ENCOURAGING INOVATION:

Creativity and innovation in the workplace

1. Promote regular team brainstorming sessions. Brainstorming allowsemployees a chance to produce a high quantity of ideas. Once a large store of ideas is built up, teams have an opportunity to choose only the best of the bunch,leading to higher quality of ideas as well.

2. Take short breaks during brainstorming sessions. Psychological studies

prove that taking short breaks during brainstorming sessions can increaseproductivity and lead to greater creativity and innovation.

http://www.ehow.com/how_5033957_encourage-team-creativity-innovation.html

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http://www.ehow.com/how_5033957_encourage-team-creativity-innovation.html



3. Ask team members to think about the issues at hand and write downideas before attending a brainstorming session. This will lead to greater productivity during the session.

4. Create a positive and encouraging work environment. If employees feel

comfortable and encouraged, they will not be afraid to express their ideas to theteam. A positive work environment also reduces stress, which can inhibitcreativity and innovation.

5. Consider adding a new member to the team if it seems creativity andinnovation are lacking. A new member can bring a fresh perspective and moreideas to the table.

WARNINGS:

1. Don't criticize. Criticism will likely cause employees to feel inferior, therebyinhibiting creativity and innovation.

2 Encourage suggestions on how to improve current business operations. Justbecause a certain task has been done a certain way for the last 10 years, itdoesn't mean it's the most productive way. Someone may have an idea on howto improve operations, so let your employees know that you're open tosuggestions.

3 Consider a re-design of the workspace to make it more conducive tobrainstorming. Design the area in bright colors, add some artwork to the walls,or create an open floor plan to allow for frequent discussion among teammembers.

WHY INOVATION IS IMPORTANT..??

1. TO COMPETE WITH OTHER MORE INOVATIVE ORGANISATIONS:

The fast-paced technological advancement of the late 20th century and theopening of markets around the world through various trade agreements

motivated companies to launch a profusion of new products and services, in

many cases exploiting the advancing technology. As a consequence,

innovation became a crucial part of corporate strategy during this

period as companies tried to remain competitive and not lose

market shares to more innovative companies. To attain this level of

competitiveness, companies require not only the technology, but also the

management skills and corporate vision to implement the technology

successfully, according to Blackwell and Eilon.

2. FOR GETTING NEW IDEAS AND SUGGESTIONS:

http://www.ehow.com/business/

http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/encyclopedia/Str-The/Strategy.html

http://www.ehow.com/business/




Getting new ideas and suggestions from the employees of an organisation

gives a better option to management to take any decesion.It is not necessary

that only management can make good decisions or can view things better. So

involving own employees in that wili enhance the good outcome of any

decision or new work.

3. FOR INCREASING THE INPUT BY EMPLOYEES:

By involvong inovation in a company or organisation, the employees will find

their task more interesting and they will feel happy to do their work.A regular

same routine sometimes lowers the stamina of an employee.And also if he will

get opportunity to express his own views and suggestion,he will feel confident

and this in turn bust his will to put his 100% in the organisation work.

CHARACTERISTICS OF GROUPS THAT PROMOTE

INNOVATION :

Businesses and groups of workers exhibit certain characteristics that reflect a

propensity to innovate. For instance, companies in which employees are

given a lot of responsibility for initiating new projects tend to be more

innovative, as do companies that offer their workers a high degree of job

security (i.e., the freedom to make mistakes without fear of disciplinary

action or dismissal). Minimal interference from superiors also enhances

creativity. The most innovative companies, however, successfully match

the skills and interests of their workers to job tasks.

In general, companies in the United States that are more likely to be considered

innovative are those that score highly in comparison to other firms in the following

trait categories, in rough order of importance: freedom, risk taking, idea support,

time to generate ideas, freedom to debate and challenge, and trust. More specifically,

ten stimuli to creativity have been identified in the Handbook for Creative and

Innovative Managers.

The five most commonly occurring stimuli of INOVATION AND

CREATIVITY are:

(1) freedom and control to get a job done with minimal supervision;



(2) good project management, including the supervisor's ability to match individuals

to tasks and protect the group from destructive outside intervention;

(3) sufficient resources to realize ideas;

(4) encouragement, or the support of upper management and peers to take risks; and

(5) a corporate climate that is generally amenable to making suggestions and trying

new things. Other important organizational attributes include recognition and

feedback, sufficient time to execute ideas, and a challenging environment.

In addition to these attributes of innovative company environments,

various worker personality types also promote and advance innovation.

Three particular personality types—risk takers, caretakers, and

undertakers—are found in most groups, all of which can contribute

positively to the organizational creative process. Most people lean

toward one personality type but occasionally exhibit traits of all three

categories.

Risk takers are the innovators in an organization. They possess the

creative traits described earlier. Caretakers, in contrast, try to maintain

the status quo. They tend to see changes as threats, rather than

opportunities, and typically respond to outside influences only when

forced to do so. Finally, undertakers are those people who are extremely

resistant to change and are even willing to bury projects or sabotage

ideas to maintain the status quo. They are often a detriment to the

innovation process but may assume certain organizational roles that

facilitate the innovation process.

WORKER ROLES IN THE INNOVATIONPROCESS

Business innovation benefits from a diversity of personality types that

fill different roles. After all, if every person in a company is extremely innovative,

free-spirited, and nonconformist, the company might lack balance and grounding.Thus, a multiplicity of personality types and traits can be accommodated



by the innovation process, which requires at least five general

personality types.

1. The first role of the innovation process is idea generator, someone

who seeks to satisfy market needs by thinking of new ideas,

developing solutions to problems, and identifying opportunities.

Idea generators are often experts in one or two fields and are therefore able to

recognize niche opportunities. They often enjoy working alone and are able to

think abstractly and conceptually.

2.Champions, the second role in the innovation process, sell the ideas to

others in the organization and secure resources to execute ideas.Individuals who play this role sometimes are referred to as intrapreneurs. In contrast

to idea generators, champions are more apt to possess a wide range of interests, have

general knowledge about several areas of a company or industry, and like to work

with and influence other people. They are also more likely to be very energetic and to

take risks.

3.Project leaders perform the third role in the process. They coordinate

activities such as leading teams, planning and organizing projects, and balancing project goals with available resources and organizational

needs. Effective project leaders are good at working with other people and fostering

group cooperation. They are also adept at company politics and have a broad

knowledge of company functions, such as finance, production, and marketing.

4. Gatekeepers, the fourth role in the innovation process, take charge of

tracking influences outside of the organization through conferences,

journals, friends at other companies, and similar sources. Gate-keepers

pass the information on to others and serve as an information source,

and sometimes critic, to idea generators, champions, and leaders. They

facilitate group communication and project coordination. Good gatekeepers typically

enjoy working with other people, are personable, and have a relatively high degree of

technical competence. The gatekeeper role is one in which a non-innovative

personality may still function to the benefit of the group.



5.Finally, the coaching role of the organizational innovation process

involves encouraging and assisting team members, protecting the team

from destructive outside forces (e.g., undertakers in other departments

or groups), and securing the support of top-level management.Employees who fill the coaching role in the innovative process are

usually good listeners. In addition, they tend to be less opinionated than their

coworkers, a characteristic not ascribed to the stereotypic creative personality.

Effective coaches are also proficient at politicking and have proven experience

sponsoring new ideas.

SOURCES OF INNOVATION:

Innovation is occasionally the result of a stroke of genius. More often, though,

it occurs in response to a problem or opportunity that arises either inside

or outside of an organization. Management guru Peter Drucker (1909-)

has identified four internal and three external impetuses for innovation.

Internal prompts include unexpected occurrences, incongruities, process

needs, and industry or market changes.

INTERNAL IMPETUSES:

Unexpected occurrences include mishaps, such as a failed product

introduction. It is often through such unexpected failures (or successes)

that new ideas are born from new information brought to light. For

instance, Ford's failed Edsel gave the company new information about

marketing that allowed it to achieve stellar gains with succeeding

products. Unexpected occurrences can also take the form of accidents.

For example, the hugely successful Nutra-Sweet artificial sweetener wascreated by an accident during a project completely unrelated to

sweeteners.

Incongruities result from a difference in a company's or industry's perception and

reality. For example, although the demand for steel continued to grow between 1950

and 1970, profits in the steel industry fell. This incongruity caused some innovators

to develop the steel minimill, a less expensive method of making steel that was also

more conducive to changing market demands.



Innovations inspired by process needs are those created to support some other

product or process. For example, advertising was introduced to make mass-produced

newspapers possible. Newspaper publishers devised ads to cover the expense of

printing the newspapers on the new equipment that made such printing possible.

Industry and market changes, the fourth internal impetus to innovate, often result in

the rise (and decline) of successful innovators. For example, innovation and business

savvy allowed International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) to effectively dominate

the computer industry during the 1970s and early 1980s. It failed, however, to

respond to a market switch during the 1980s from mainframes to smaller computer

systems, particularly workstations and personal computer networks. As a result,

IBM's share of the computer market plummeted and profits plunged as more

innovative newcomers emerged.

EXTERNAL IMPETUSES:

External impetuses to innovate include demographic changes, shifts in

perception, and new knowledge. Demographic changes affect all aspects

of business. For instance, an influx of Asian and Mexican immigrants

into the United States has created new market niches for companies.Likewise, an increase in the level of education of Americans has resulted

in a dearth of qualified workers for some low-paying jobs, causing many

companies to develop new automation techniques.

Changes in perception also open the door to innovation. For example, despite the

fact that health care in the United States has continually gotten better and more

accessible, people have become increasingly concerned about their health and the

need for better and more accessible care. This change in perception has generated a

huge market for health magazines, vitamin supplements, and exercise equipment.

Finally, one of the strongest external impetuses for innovation is new knowledge, or

technology. When a new technology emerges, innovative companies can profit by

exploiting it in new applications and markets. For example, the invention of Kevlar, a

synthetic material, has spawned thousands of new product innovations, ranging from

improved canoes and bulletproof vests to better tires and luggage.



INNOVATION STRATEGIES :

Two types of strategies for innovation in business are internal and market-based

approaches. Internal strategies include programs and initiatives

implemented by companies to foster a creative and innovative

environment, whereas market-based strategies—such as the leader,

quick follow, and slow follow strategies—refer to different approaches to

delivering innovations to the market.

INTERNAL INNOVATION STRATEGIES:

Internal strategies usually seek to develop and nurture the attributes of innovative

corporations, such as prioritizing and encouraging innovation. Specific approaches to

encouraging innovation differ by company and industry. For example, an

integral aspect of Dow Corning Inc.'s strategy is to form "research

partnerships" with its customers that solicit creative input from

consumers and help the company benefit from new market

opportunities. Other companies that employ customer-partnering

programs include Black & Decker Corp. and General Electric.

Rubbermaid, Inc. encourages innovation by requiring that 30 percent of its sales

come from products developed during the past five years. An important element of

its program is searching for new ideas in other industries, such as the automotive

business. Similarly, researchers at Hewlett-Packard Company (HP) are encouraged

to spend at least 10 percent of their time toying with pet projects. HP also keeps its

labs open 24 hours each day and utilizes small divisions and decentralized decisionmaking to promote innovation. Likewise, pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co., Inc.

gives its researchers time and money to pursue high-risk, high reward projects—a

strategy that has profited the company handsomely.

One of the most innovative firms in the United States, 3M Company, sustains its

creative environment by following a set of simple rules. By keeping its divisions

small, division managers know the first names of all their subordinates, and,

moreover, the company splits up divisions before their sales surpass $250 million to$300 million. It tolerates failure by promoting risk taking and experimentation. In



fact, divisions must derive at least 25 percent of their profits from products

developed during the past five years. 3M also ties salaries and bonuses to the success

of new ideas and allows people who generate viable ideas to recruit an action team to

develop them. In addition, 3M seeks customer input, shares technology throughoutits different divisions, and never "kills" a project in which an employee has faith.

One of the best illustrations of the benefits of 3M's innovation program is Post-it

notepads. 3M researcher Spencer Silver (1941-) developed an adhesive that the

company was unable to find an application for, for five years. Company support

slipped and Silver's project was eventually abandoned. 3M allowed Silver, however,

to continue to spend 15 percent of his time looking for a way to use his creation.

Finally, the adhesive was used to create one of 3M's most successful consumer

innovations, Post-it pads.

One of the most renowned strategies to generate innovation in organizations is the

"Office of Innovation" model developed by Eastman Kodak Company in the late

1970s. It has since been implemented by several leading organizations, including

Amoco Corp., Union Carbide, the U.S. Air Force, and Bell Canada. The Office of

Innovation provides a mechanism for drawing people together to brainstorm on

ideas that may not even be related to their departments or expertise. In fact, its chief

benefit is that it promotes cross-fertilization and free-flow of ideas within a company.

Although implementation varies, the model prescribes the use of a decentralized

network of individual offices located in different functional areas, such as marketing,

finance, and production. Staff members are encouraged to seek employees in other

sectors who will come to the office and provide feedback on new ideas. The process is

founded on the importance of giving credence to workers' ideas. It involves a five-

step process that mimics the five-stage innovation process detailed earlier: idea

generation, initial screening, group review, seeking sponsorship, and sponsorship.

Kodak estimated that in just one year its Office of Innovation program harvested

ideas eventually worth more than $300 million.

MARKET-BASED STRATEGIES:

Even companies with the most innovative organizational environments

will languish if they fail to effectively market their innovations. For



example, just because a firm improves its product doesn't mean that it

should necessarily take the improvement to the market. From a strategic

standpoint, the company could lose money if it has invested a lot of resources in

marketing the original product because the improved version might cannibalizesales. On the other hand, if the company waits too long to introduce the improved

version, a competitor may produce such an innovation earlier and capture market

share. Consider the inventors of items such as the air conditioner or electric lamp.

The innovators of those concepts died before their creations were widely accepted by

the marketplace.

Although there are a number of product- and industry-specific strategies that

companies may employ to promote their innovations, three of the most common

market-based innovation strategies include the leader, quick follow, and slow follow

(or no follow) strategies, according to William E. Rothschild, author of Strategic

Alternatives. A company that adopts a leadership strategy for its invention becomes

the first to introduce the innovation to the market. The obvious risk of such a move is

that the product or service will be rejected by the marketplace at a potentially

enormous cost to the company.

The leadership strategy, however, also may provide a variety of different benefits. For

instance, companies often introduce an innovation to an existing product or service,

calling it "new" or "improved," to breathe new life into it. Or they may bring out an

improved product to discourage the competition from trying to steal market share, or

to "leapfrog" their competitors. In the case of completely new products or ideas, a

company may introduce the innovation in an effort to establish market dominance

and attain leadership status.

The quick-follow strategy is often used by established competitors that already lead

an industry or market niche. Rather than assume the risk inherent to the leadership

strategy, the company will simply wait for one of its competitors to introduce an

innovation. Shortly thereafter, the company will follow the leader with a substitute or

improvement of the innovation. Quick followers are usually relatively sure of their

ability to crush the competition with their established reputation and marketing and

distribution channels.



The risk of the quick-follow tactic is that the follower will be unseated by a hugely

successful introduction, or that it will lose its reputation as an innovator over time.

Quick followers often include smaller competitors that are simply trying to keep up

with the competition. They may try to target select market niches. For example, acompany may follow with a cheaper version of a new innovation in an effort to lure

buyers who can't afford the leader's product or service.

A company that adopts a slow- or no-follow strategy may do so for a number of

reasons. It may feel that existing competitive pressures or lackluster market growth

make an investment in following an innovation unappealing. Or, the company may

realize that it simply lacks the resources or technology necessary to compete with the

new innovation. Some companies refuse to introduce or adopt an innovation because

they fear that they will lose customers. For instance, a manufacturer of industrial air

conditioners may delay introducing a substantially different technology because it

knows that its existing customers have made large capital investments in its existing

product line and will be hesitant to buy new equipment. Finally, some companies are

so strong in marketing or manufacturing that product innovation is simply not a

chief concern—they would prefer to wait until the new innovation is accepted by the

market before they follow.

BENEFITS OF INOVATION TO ANORGANISATION :

The Innovation program will allow organisation to:

1.Create new opportunities to grow the business and increase profit margins

2.Create significant differential and market space between you and your

competitorsLead your company; to think to the future, to motivate, to inspire and to

drive innovation within the organisation

3.Utilize company multidiscipline ‘attack’ teams to bring innovation to all aspects of

the business

4.Use platform solutions to reduce costs

5.Open up new markets through customer demand

6.Utilise partnerships, acquisitions, licensing options and Intellectual property assets



7.As a micro, small or medium company, operate in and dominate markets way

beyond your size and financial weight.

CONCLUSION:

The fast-paced technological advancement of the late 20th century and the opening

of markets around the world through various trade agreements motivated companies

to launch a profusion of new products and services, in many cases exploiting the

advancing technology. As a consequence, innovation became a crucial part

of corporate strategy during this period as companies tried to remain

competitive and not lose market shares to more innovative companies.

To attain this level of competitiveness, companies require not only the technology,

but also the management skills and corporate vision to implement the technology

successfully, according to Blackwell and Eilon. For example, Andrall E. Pearson

(1925-), business analyst and former CEO of PepsiCo, argued in the

Harvard Business Review that consistent innovation and constant

changes to meet customers' needs distinguish the most successful

companies from the rest.

Therefore from all above informations and points we conclude that

invation at workplace in a company plays important role in increasing

productivity by employees,also improves employess confidence and their

relationship with the management system.Inovation helps an

oraganisation in sustaining in competetive environment with its

competetors.As a whole is is a positive process that improves an

organisation level but care should be taken while implementing it in

organisation as wrong implementation can give reverse result and

employees will not accept it.





Documents

Encouraging Inovation at Work Place 2003