In Innovation as Usual: How to Help Your People Bring Great Ideas to Life (2013)

Question

In Innovation as Usual: How to Help Your People Bring Great Ideas to Life (2013), Miller and Wedell-Wedellsborg discuss the importance of establishing systems within organizations that promote not only the creativity that results in innovation, but also make it possible for employees to bring innovative ideas to fruition. Miller and Wedell-Wedellsborg argue that a leader’s primary job “is not to innovate; it is to become an innovation architect, creating a work environment that helps . . . people engage in the key innovation behaviors as part of their daily work” (p. 4). Such a work environment must be reinforced by innovation architecture—the structures within an organization that support an innovation, from the brainstorming phase to final realization. The more well developed the architecture and the simpler the processes involved, the more likely employees are to be innovators. For this assignment, you will research the innovation architecture of at least three companies that are well-known for successfully supporting a culture of innovation. Write a 1,500-word paper that addresses the following: What particular elements of each organization’s culture, processes, and management systems and styles work well to support innovation? Why do you think these organizations have been able to capitalize on innovation and intrapreneurship while others have not? Based on what you have learned, what processes and systems might actually stifle innovation and intrapreneurship? Imagine yourself as an innovation architect. What structures or processes would you put in place to foster a culture of innovation within your own organization?Please include refrences and 1500 words

Explanation / Answer

As per Miller and Wedell-Wedellsborg, it is very crucial for the organizations to establish adequate systems that promote creativity and innovation at the workplace. Furthermore, they also need to ensure that the innovative ideas presented by the employees are brought to execution. They also suggest that the primary task of a leader is to become an innovation architect. A leader needs to make sure that he creates a work environment where employees adopt innovation behaviors.

Due to increasing globalization, competition and technological advancements across the globe the companies are facing huge problems to survive in the market. They need to bring innovative products and services in the market to achieve a sustainable growth and development. Consider the example of market leaders like Google, Amazon, and Facebook. All of these companies are well-known for successfully supporting a culture of innovation.

Particular elements of each organization’s culture, processes, and management systems and styles are explained below:

Facebook adopts a flat organization culture. Flat organizations lack traditional hierarchy of managers and supervisions. Flat organizations don’t need managers and employees remain motivated and controlled with well-defined goals and performance metrics. The best logical approach is to experiment with non-manager, project based structure is to recruit highly self-driven professional with zeal to perform. These professionals work and deliver performance without having a manager. This will ensure that the company survives even in absence of hierarchy.

Flat organizations support creativity and innovation through providing an unrestraint environment. High reliance on workplace collaboration is appropriate in the development of products for the contemporary education industry because education industry asks for intelligence and genius of people and this could only be availed when people will be given umpteen freedoms for working as per their own time and availability.

Similarly, for Google Inc. which is the largest search engine provider across the world. Google provides extensive wok and growth opportunities to its employees. It allows creative deviance in their organization that helps to increase the employees’ creativity as well as their productivity. Besides this, the company provides healthy organizational environment to the employees.

Amazon was founded in the year 1995 by Jeff Bezos. This company was launched as the “world’s largest bookstore”. This company in many years created a niche for itself has occupied a place where big executives read its history and success story. But today Amazon sells almost everything and all that is just a click away and the product is delivered at the customer’s doorstep.

Amazon has pioneered in selling books concept and sold books in a way that no one can ever match. The recent launch of Amazon is Kindle – an electronic book that carries hundreds of books, blogs, magazines, and newspapers. This electronic book is as thin as magazine and weighs only like a paperback. This product is one of the most successful products of Amazon.

The next big innovation for Amazon could be the seller of innovative of smart bands that could be inbuilt in the human wrist and that will provide an ease in storing and knowing the daily chores that an individual has in his list for that day. This smart band can be easily installed in human body and can be updated technologically to make things quiet easier for people.

These organizations have been able to capitalize on innovation and intrapreneurship while others have not, the main reason behind this includes effective innovation architecture of the leaders. Leaders of these companies have created proper mission, vision and objective statements for the employees. They use various techniques, methods and initiatives to promote the innovation concept in their organizations. Employees are encouraged to share their ideas with the managers and whi

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