Reflective paper 1 1200 word (+/- 10%), excludes reference list
Creativity, Innovation & Design
Week 7: Factors affecting innovation and design thinking in organizations
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In this lecture we will explore:
What is innovation and design thinking? (definitions re-visited)
Factors that affect innovation within an organization
What is meant by a culture of innovation?
Strategies to develop a culture of innovation
How to make design thinking part of the innovation process in organizations?
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What is innovation and design thinking?
Innovation is the ‘successful implementation of creative ideas within an organization’ (Amabile et al. 1996, p. 1155)
Design thinking is ‘an analytic and creative process that engages a person in opportunities to experiment, create and prototype models, gather feedback, and redesign’ (Razzouk & Shute 2012, p. 330)
Image source: https://medium.com/swlh/https-medium-com-swlh-lean-innovation-how-to-develop-successful-products-today-b6237345a5f0
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Fortune’s most innovative companies in 2015
| Rank | Company |
| 1 | Apple |
| 2 | |
| 3 | Tesla Motors |
| 4 | Microsoft Corp |
| 5 | Samsung Group |
| 6 | Toyota |
| 7 | BMW |
| 8 | Gilead Sciences |
| 9 | Amazon |
| 10 | Daimler |
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Factors affecting innovation within organizations
Structural variables
Human resource variables
Cultural variables
Innovation
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Structural variables
The structure of an organization can have a huge impact on innovation
Organic structure
Abundant resources
High inter-unit communication
Minimal time pressure
Work and non-work support
Image source: https://probonoaustralia.com.au/news/2018/09/australias-innovative-nfps-highlighted/
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Human Resource variables
The quality of the Human Resources within an organization affects its capacity to innovate
High commitment to training and development
High job security
Creative people
Image source: https://www.york.ac.uk/study/postgraduate-taught/courses/msc-human-resource-management/
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Cultural variables
An organizational culture that supports innovation is essential to fostering innovation within organizations
Acceptance of ambiguity
Tolerance of the impractical
Low external controls
Tolerance of risks
Tolerance of conflict
Focus on ends
Open-system focus
Positive feedback
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What is an organizational culture of innovation?
Organizational culture refers to the ‘shared values, principles, traditions and ways of doing that influence the way organizational members act’ (Robbins et al. 2015, p. 695)
An organizational culture of innovation refers to a company’s culture that is mainly focused towards innovation and developing innovative products and services
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Strategies to develop an organizational culture of innovation
Strategy 1: Set an innovation vision (set clear innovation aspirations)
Strategy 2: Develop and manage a superior innovation process
Strategy 3: Institutionalize innovativeness
Strategy 4: Benchmark against best competitors
Strategy 5: Drive innovation from the top
Strategy 6: Develop commercialization skills
Strategy 7: Focus on the customer
Strategy 8: Take a team approach
Strategy 9: Become obsessed
Strategy 10: Develop a passion for change
(Jagersma 2003)
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How to make design thinking part of the innovation process in organizations
Begin at the beginning
Take a human-centred approach
Try early and often
Seek outside help
Blend big and small projects
Budget to the pace of innovation
Find talent anyway you can
Design for the cycle
(Brown 2008)
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Summary
Innovation and design thinking is essential for contemporary organizations
Structural variables, human resource variables and cultural variables impact on innovation within organizations
Organizations must develop their own cultures of innovation
They need to follow certain strategies to do this
It’s important to align design thinking into the organization's innovation process
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References
Amabile, TM, Conti, R, Coon, H, Lazenby, J & Herron, M 1996, ‘Assessing the work environment for creativity’, Academy of Management Journal, vol. 39, no. 5, pp. 1154-1184.
Brown, T 2008, ‘Design Thinking’, Harvard Business Review, vol. 86, no. 6, pp. 85-92.
Jagersma, PK 2003, ‘Innovative or die’, Journal of Business Strategy, vol. 24, no.1, pp. 25-28.
Murray, A 2015, 50 most innovative companies, Fortune, viewed 10 April 2019, http://fortune.com/2015/12/02/50-most-innovative-companies/
Razzouk, R & Shute, V 2012, ‘What is design thinking and why is it important?’, Review of Educational Research, vol. 82, no. 3, pp. 330-348.
Robbins, S, Bergman, R, Stagg, I & Coulter, M 2015, Management, Pearson, Australia
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