Creativity And Innovation In Business Management And Technology Business Essay

INTRODUCTION

Creativity and Innovation are two different terms and they technically have different meanings. Creativity means originality, imagination and inventiveness that are brought out through resourcefulness. Innovation, on the other hand refers to modernization and improvement over an existing idea.

In this way, it is true that creativity and innovation are two different terms and cannot be used interchangeably. Yet, they have been used interchangeably in several areas or walks of life, including business and management as well as technology. In this way the main distinction between creativity and innovation, being the originality has been ignored and as the line between creativity and innovation is thin, it becomes even more difficult to distinguish between these terminologies (Hofstede, 1980).

Another important thing required is that there is a managerial transition as well as a cognitive transition. This helps the firm develop and also be open to new ideas. As there is more and more learning in the organization, automatically there would be a chance for a break through innovation (Davila, T., Epstein, M. J., and Shelton, 2006).

This increased probability of new product development leads to higher success rates of the company and at the same time leads to development of competencies, provides a higher competitive advantage and also helps handle competition in a better way. Implementing all of these in my organization would definitely bring in better revenues and help my organization propel ahead of competitors.

DIFFERENCES

Innovation is an important aspect of growth and development of individuals, organizations, cultures and societies. Innovation and creativity refer to bringing in new ideas to life. Innovation can be achieved strategically through a process of creativity. This helps bring in a lot many new ideas in the firm and also develop a platform for breakthrough innovations.

It helps a firm be open to new ideas and develops the learning process in an organization. It can help a firm build upon its competencies as well as grow and earn favorable environment for progressing. It also can help a firm take advantage of the information it has and opt for a lot many new product developments (Amabile, 1996).

Yet, there are several differences between innovation and creativity. Creativity involves the usage of originality whereas innovation is more about using already existing innovations for the purpose of improving upon it and using it for either a better usage or for commercialization purposes.

SIMILARITIES

The author in his paper, “Strategies of effective New Product Team leaders” talks about a research that they conducted on development of new products with the objective of understanding the new product development (NPD) process of high technology firms. The article explains that new product development cannot happen without active participation from team members and also requires cross functional teams (Rogers, E.M, 2003).

The author states that it is extremely important that firms become dynamic and also access their resources, including the human resources to be able to successfully develop a new product.

The author says that the process of developing a new product should be a cognitive or learning process. This can be termed as innovation as it is based on development. Yet as it is a completely new product, it is also an important element in case of creativity as resourcefulness may be essential in case of innovation as well as creativity (Rogers, E.M, 2003).

EXAMPLES OF COMBINING CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION

Today, Google is recognized as one of the world’s most innovative companies. There are several conscious efforts made by Google cofounders Larry Page and Sergey Brin to increase innovation and creativity at the company. There have been several conscious efforts by them. They consciously focus on encouraging employees to keep an open mind, have a questioning attitude, and generate new ideas in order to maintain this level of innovativeness in the organization. They use the genuine form of leadership and transformational form of leadership.

There have been several model examples of innovation in the past. The recent most example of the i-pad as well as several other automobiles with environment friendly features of companies like Toyota and Ford can be considered as model examples of radical innovation.

Innovation and creativity refer to bringing in new ideas to life. Innovation can be achieved strategically through a process of creativity. This helps bring in a lot many new ideas in the firm and also develop a platform for breakthrough innovations. It helps a firm be open to new ideas and develops the learning process in an organization. It can help a firm build upon its competencies as well as grow and earn favorable environment for progressing (Johnson, 2005).

Technological innovation was extremely important for America as it helped in supporting the industrial revolution. Technological innovations led to mechanization and then this was followed by the process of large scale production which helped in achieving economies of scale. In this way it became possible for better development of businesses.

The Toyota Production system, assembly line production and several other revolutionizing and dynamic changes and systems came into formation. These were greatly responsible for bringing in standardization, large scale production and concepts of continuous improvement which eventually led to the development of change management as a separate discipline.

An example of technological innovation is computerization and usage of information systems. The advent of computers and information technology, though in its initial stages, led to a revolutionized opening up of opportunities in several domains including education. Innovation and creativity refer to bringing in new ideas to life. One of the most recent examples of innovation is the i-pad. Apple Inc’s famous boss Steve Jobs recently uncovered yet another series of i – devices namely i-Pad. I-Pad is a kind of a electronic note pad that seeks to revolutionizes how media content is browsed. The world has been waiting for a technology product that can be used as a mobile phone as well as a computer. Finally Apple came up with the i-pad and surprised many in the world with the launch of a tablet computer-the i-Pad that represents a new style of media use in the present age. The i-pad is a breakthrough and shall form a new definition for digital devices. It shall start a new category of digital products. It has given the customers more than what they had expected and beyond their imagination (Koen et al, 2005).

Innovation can be achieved strategically through a process of creativity. There are 4 steps that help generate ideas and concepts. This includes:

getting the info

thinking about it

realization, eureka factor

evaluation/ implementation (link to innovation)

The very first step includes gathering of information. It includes data collection and information management. Information in today’s world of business creates opportunities and provides competitive edge. Timeliness and accuracy of information are very essential to a business. The present business scenario is well developed and well equipped with sophisticated technology to handle bulks of information. But the most important task is the filtering of useful and critical information. This makes information management a very important function and a criterion to achieve operational efficiency. Then it helps in being able to pick the best of the ideas and implement them (Luecke, R. And Katz, R, 2003).

Information management refers to the process of collection and management of information from one or several sources of data and processing it to suit the needs of the users. It also involves dissemination and distribution of information. It aims at making processes and operations more efficient by enabling access to accurate and timely information. Information management largely involves conversion of media of storage of information from paper records to the electronic medium. Information and knowledge sharing are of great use for creativity and innovation.

There are different levels of creativity w/ different personalities. Some people are born with entrepreneurial qualities and are able to commercialize creative thoughts immediately and effectively. Some people are extremely talented and have an aptitude for creativity. But only a few of them have risk taking abilities and can convert ideas into businesses. This is the difference between creativity and innovation. It is the implementation aspect which is extremely important.

Innovation comes in w/ each stage. It begins with invention and outsourcing or extension, where in the idea is sold to someone who can commercialize it effectively and efficiently. Then the duplication process might take place. It is extremely important to protect an invention and not let piracy take place. Patents and copyrights are a great way to protect inventions, thus making innovations worth the efforts.

It is important to create continuous learning and encourage innovation in an organization, especially a technology oriented organization. This would lead to dynamism in an organization and avoid stagnation of any sort. This would help bring in new product development in an organization and prove to be of great importance. This is so because in order to stay competitive in the market and to develop new customer bases as well as a loyal and satisfied customer base,

I would want to ensure that there are new and interesting as well as extremely useful products. They can help achieve cognitive transitions (Rogers, 2003).

They would ensure is that there is a managerial transition as well as a cognitive transition. This helps the firm develop and also be open to new ideas. As there is more and more learning in the organization, automatically there would be a chance for a break through innovation. This increased probability of new product development leads to higher success rates of the company and at the same time leads to development of competencies, provides a higher competitive advantage and also helps handle competition in a better way. Implementing all of these in an organization would definitely bring in better revenues and help an organization propel ahead of competitors. Innovative products, when patented also help create entry barriers in the industry and reduce the threat of new entrants. All of this helps the organization create and acquire favorable conditions in the industry as well as the environment. The advantage that these concepts of developing a strong new product development process are extremely helpful to organizations as they can help transform organizations and obtain a better format of planned and intervened new product development.

SOURCES OF CREATIVITY

The main objective of this research was to identify and understand the process of development of a new product. This has been done by conducting a two-phased research. They first interviewed a set of managers to understand the critical elements of new product development. After that they opted for a few high technology companies as products become obsolete in these industries very

So, all of this lead to the second phase, where in they interviewed a number of research and development mangers and tried to understand their new product development process. With this they were able to collect sufficient data on how the new product development is done purposefully in a technologically advanced company. All of this led to the data analysis stage and after interpretations conclusions were drawn.

The conclusion drawn was that the team leaders must change their behavior and formulate new strategies in order to succeed in new product development. Behavioral changes should also lead to cognitive change and continuous learning as well as dynamism should be brought in the firm in order to encourage new product development. All of this led to the successful research on new product development strategies and discovery of possible strategies for new product development in high technology firms. This does form the source of creativity.

SOURCES OF INNOVATION

Innovation is an important aspect of growth and development of individuals, organizations, cultures and societies. Innovation and creativity refer to bringing in new ideas to life. Innovation can be achieved strategically through a process of creativity. Innovation, productivity as well as performance can be enhanced using a good theory. A bad strategy or wrong choice of strategy can cause a number of problems including poor understanding of the organization from a holistic point of view. It leads to weak understanding of customer needs and lack of co-ordination among the various departments in the organization.

Innovation has a great impact on cultures. It has helped merge the western and eastern cultures. This helps bring in a lot many new ideas in the firm and also develop a platform for breakthrough innovations. It helps a firm be open to new ideas and develops the learning process in an organization. It can help a firm build upon its competencies as well as grow and earn favorable environment for progressing. It also can help a firm take advantage of the information it has and opt for a lot many new product developments.

Information and information systems are a relevant part of every organization, where in operations can be implemented with ease due o the information availability. Organizations are becoming more and more competitive as they are technology enabled. So, information plays a crucial role in business development as well as market development (Khazanchi, Lewis & Boyer, 2007).

It is extremely essential for organizations to be well equipped with information systems. These changes have made the youth in developing countries extremely tech savvy. There are several

Indian engineers working in American companies. In this way it causes a cultural influence and though innovation is fast, these days, cultural changes are also rapid.

The very first step in case of innovation includes gathering of information. It includes data collection and information management. Information in today’s world of business creates opportunities and provides competitive edge. Timeliness and accuracy of information are very essential to a business.

The present business scenario is well developed and well equipped with sophisticated technology to handle bulks of information. But the most important task is the filtering of useful and critical information. This makes information management a very important function and a criterion to achieve operational efficiency. Then it helps in being able to pick the best of the ideas and implement them.

Innovations like technological developments have caused a great influence on the culture and life styles in developing countries like India and China. Moreover, the employment and organizational cultures have greatly revolutionized. Cross-cultural influences are also an occurrence due to innovation.

Innovative products, when patented also help create entry barriers in the industry and reduce the threat of new entrants. All of this helps the organization create and acquire favorable conditions in the industry as well as the environment. The advantage that these concepts of developing a strong new product development process are extremely helpful to organizations as they can help transform organizations and obtain a better format of planned and intervened new product development. This is strategically directed and so is highly aligned with the objectives as well as the strategy of the company (1000ventures.com, 2010).

Moreover it is essential that the new product developed is extremely useful to the organization and can be easily commercialized. All of this requires planned new product development which suits the needs of the customers, thus helping the firm earn better revenues, sales and profits through innovation. All of this would be of great use in my organization. It would be of great practical use and can be easily implemented.

CONCLUSION

Innovation, creativity as well as analytical skills is highly essential in managing and succeeding in a business. Most of the successful companies like Apple, Hewlett Packard and many more have always been the result of a successful partnership between a creative and an analytical leader.

This helps create commercially viable innovation which is the key to success. Analysis of a concept is highly essential in any business and this is greatly impacted by cultural influences. Moreover, innovations like in the field of technology and entertainment re greatly influencing cultures and masses. It is also essential that innovation is a part of every organization that has to or needs to be dynamic.