Management Essays – Innovation Creativity

Innovation Creativity

Introduction

In a networked economy, innovation, creativity and design endow the organizations with competitive advantage. Creativity involves identification of problem area and generation of new ideas at the same time. Innovation is the selection, development, and commercialization of ideas. Innovation states not only about implementing new ideas, but also about coming up with new ideas.

The design also proves to be the key differentiator. The companies must be equipped to get the design from the inside out, so that the creative and innovative culture can be promoted in the organizational strategy and consequently harvest these benefits in the whole business. All of the three thus provide the organization with an upper hand on its competitors and enable them stand ahead of them (Prasad, 2007).

Promotion of innovations in the organization

Incentives, training, and education of the employees play the key role in promoting innovations in the organization. Incentives induce in employees the zeal to do something different so that they can earn more and also gain recognition in the company as well in the society. These incentive plans encourage the employees to become innovative and evolve efficient ways of doing work. Not only this, competition among employees for earning more incentives than the other also leads to adoption and promotion of innovative ideas in the organization (Gupta, 2006).

Training and education have two different things. Training is related to increasing the aptitudes, skills and abilities of employees to perform specific job while education is the process of increasing the general knowledge and understanding of the employees. Training and education enhance the self confidence and adaptability of the employees, which ultimately increase their productivity in terms of quality and quantity. At the same time, the employees are encouraged to apply the knowledge and skills attained from training and education programs in generating innovative ideas (Prasad, 2007).

Role of leadership in creating, managing, and sustaining innovation

Leadership is that outstanding aspect of management, which manifests ability, creativeness, inventions and innovations, and which gains the confidence, co-operation and willingness of the people at work by organizing and building employees morale. By shaping the ability, attitude and behavior of employees, leaders promote innovations in the organization. Leaders also develop such understandable instructions on submitting ideas, which develop innovations (Prasad, 2007).

Through leadership, the employees are explained the reasons behind the acceptance and rejection of the ideas. The leaders also make the employees realize the continuous importance of the innovative processes. They encourage the employees to think differently and produce the results in alienation with the organizational objectives. The motivation of superior plays the major role in creating, managing and sustaining innovations in the organization. Various reward systems and profit sharing plans induced by the leadership for giving successful ideas also generate innovative ideas in an organization (Daniel, 2008).

Ethical implications of an individual reward system

To be successful, practicing ethics in all areas is a must for an organization. The reward system of the company is also untouched by the ethical practices. The individual reward system must be unbiased. It should evaluate the employees by keeping them on a similar platform. The standards set for such reward system should be of average difficulty; neither too low nor too high. The rules and procedures regarding the reward system should be clear and transparent. These must be easily understandable by each person who is being influenced. The reward system should also provide equal opportunity to all workers to earn incentive pay and other rewards (Mangoria & Gankar, 2002).

Innovations in Shell

Shell is an innovative company engaged in meeting the demand of oil, gas and petrochemical products all round the world. The company, in order to meet the demands of its customers, applies new and innovative technological solutions in producing, exploring and supplying its products. Many Shell- oriented technologies have been evolved so as to ensure the delivery of large scale refining and chemical production throughout the world. The company’s active involvement in the development of alternative sources of energy for more than a decade also proves it to be such an organization, which emphasizes on innovations (Shell Technology & Innovation).

References

Danial, D. (2008). Five Steps to Managing Innovation. Retrieved April 24, 2008, from http://www.cio.com/article/125700/Five_Steps_to_Managing_Innovation
Gupta, C.B. (2007). Human Resource Management (8^th Revised Edition). New Delhi: Sultan Chand & Sons Educational Publishers.
Mamoria, C.B. & Gankar, S.V. (2002). Personnel Management (22^nd Edition). Mumbai: Himalaya Publishing House.
Prasad, L.M. (2006). Organizational Behavior (4^th Revised Edition). New Delhi: Sultan Chand & Sons Educational Publishers.

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