Innovation Assignment Task on Lead Innovative Thinking & Practices
Question
Task:
Written Questions Assessment Task 1
Your task is to write the answers to each of the following questions. Answers should exceed 50 words but no more than 100 words for each question:
1. Briefly compare and contrast the current theories and thinking about innovation with the innovation theories and thinking from the past.
2. How can the theory and thinking on innovation and creativity contribute to applied practice?
3. What impact can leadership style have on innovation in organisations? Include in your answer how specific approaches may encourage or inhibit innovation.
4. Why is organisational and industry context relevant to innovation?
5. What types of internal and external conditions or factors may impact on organisational innovation?
6. Outline the typical strategy used for identifying, assessing and managing/overcoming risks and challenges associated with innovation.
7. List five (5) examples of innovation drivers in an organisation.
8. What are six (6) examples of innovation enablers in an organisation?
9. What mechanisms can be implemented at the system or process level to support innovative practices?
10. What are five (5) of the typical challenges and barriers to innovation within an organisation?
For this task you are to complete the following steps to lead innovative thinking and practice in an organisational context.
PART A
To prepare for this task you will need to complete the following steps to generate innovative thinking and creativity:
- Research, and document, a range of techniques and tools which suitable to use to generate new ideas and thinking, including creative thinking techniques to foster innovation
- Using the identified techniques and tools, research, review and critically analyse the trends which are shaping organisation’s current and future thinking and practice, including the key concepts, current theories and processes. Document the analysis.
- Evaluate the overall context for innovative and creative thinking at both the individual level and the collective level, including for the organisational context, and for the broader industry context. Document the evaluation,
- Research, analyse and document the specific conditions for innovation and the issues that impact on individual and collective innovative thinking and creativity
- Research, and document a review on the innovation drivers and enablers which are relevant to the organization
PART B
Lead innovative practices in the organisation through the following activities:
- Review and consider the different leadership styles, selecting and using a personal leadership style to use in the workplace to model positive innovative thinking and practice. Document the personal leadership style selected, and at least three examples of how it was used to model positive innovative thinking and practice.
- Review, challenge and refine your own style and practice in relation to modelling and supporting innovation. Document the review, including methods applied to refine your style and practice.
- Assess, determine and document the requirements to promote sustainable innovative activity for the operational context, and for the people involved.
- Devise, document and implement an appropriate means to promote knowledge transfer
- Identify, document and evaluate the risks associated with innovation within an organisation, documenting control measures suitable to manage these risks
PART C
Perform the following steps to generate and support a culture of innovation:
- Introduce and promote the creative thinking techniques, innovative practices, processes, products and/or services which are appropriate to your audience and to the organisational requirements. Document the introduction and promotions activities.
- Establish, document, and use, appropriate methods to capture, communicate and share innovative ideas and practices within the organisation
- Develop, initiate and foster communication, consultation and team development approaches that support innovation. Document the approaches developed and initiated.
- Identify, document and provide adequate resources as required for innovation to occur
- Develop, document and apply strategies to foster a workplace culture capable of encouraging innovation
- Establish mechanisms at the system and the process level that can support innovation. Document the mechanisms established.
PART D
Complete the following to sustain innovative thinking and practice in the organisation:
- Develop and document strategies which make innovation an integral part of the organisational activity • Develop and monitor processes to ensure there is ongoing awareness of the individual and collective contributions to innovative thinking and practice. Provide a copy of the develop processes and evidence of the process monitoring.
- Identify and analyse the potential barriers and risks to innovation, devising strategies to respond. Document the potential barriers and the response strategies.
- Analyse and reflect on your innovation performance. Document this analysis.
Answer
Assessment Task 1
1. Briefly compare and contrast the current theories and thinking about innovation with the innovation theories and thinking from the past.
Lean Innovation Management Theory
Startups adopt innovation technology upgrades and sustainability drives within smart business operations.
Comparison between traditional and modern approaches:
Traditionally the creative thinking was limited to human resource potential and smart thinking. The change in digital world through technological incorporation is created in modern creative times.As a modern approach the use ofBusiness Model Canvas as an effective layout of design, description and challenge attributes the business model is portrayed in a canvas reflection is carried out. Design Thinking theory - Strong methodological business community establishment is created across design thinking theory for solving complex problem issues.
2. How can the theory and thinking on innovation and creativity contribute to applied practice?
When Lean Management model for Innovation is adapted into business organizations, creativity gets embedded into their internal practices.This helps in encouraging small business attempts where cheap experimentscan yield effective outcomes with full launch mechanism. Minimal initial budget in small amounts is allocated for reduced supplies making effective budget utilization. Feedback loop enables reality check with design and development procedures. Minimum Value Products (MVP) helps tests and prototypes for real people to be engaged (Zhu et al., 2016). The business model canvas allows new business to determine challenges and ways to overcome the gaps. Design thinking enables problem focused solutions through everyday experience creating human rules for social nature innovation, ambiguity rule by knowledge and ability freedom and tangible rule for redesign attribute.
3. What impact can leadership style have on innovation in organizations?
Include in your answer how specific approaches may encourage or inhibit innovation.
Democratic leadership encourages free speech, emergence of innovative ideas and new concepts are talked about (Lu, 2019). The effective goal setting with specific new models and conceptual ideas are prepared by transformational leadership style. Performance dynamicity gets established across business field where the organizational learning is emphasized in the strongest manner. it is high cognitive performance orientation with experimental knowledge acquisition approach that involvement of knowledge utility takes place based on innovative and creative capabilities. With portfolio management as innovation approach, leaders attempt to impact organizations with effective prioritization of programs and projects in firms where risks in investments are reduced and returns are enhanced. With the innovative influence the knowledge utilization is mechanized with transformational leadership style into consideration.
4. Why is organizational and industry context relevant to innovation?
Organizational firms adopt openness in the innovation absorption where the dynamicity gets established (Batovrina, 2016). It is orienting to better learning and research environment that firms develop their performance capacity. With the help of leadership and teamwork innovation a creative tilt of gaining evolved ideas and competitive edge oriented understanding to be created. This makes the organization encourage training and creative learning than that of industrial effectiveness fostering growth oriented performance. Making the firm secure better results with new ideas are helped to create sustainable position in the market. Technological fascination bring speed, cost saving and dramatic efficiency in organizational performances. Each of the innovation models or theories is formulated in correspondence with organizational needs to integrate viability, increased customer-oriented business approaches. Marketing innovation helps organizations take a leap in product channelization and enhance sales.
5. What types of internal and external conditions or factors may impact on organizational innovation?
When the firms internal capacity comprising the customers, suppliers and economic conditions where innovation brings about regulation, legislation and better economic development (Brooks and Rock, 2018). The value of products enhanced through innovation indicate faster enhancement in the market by gearing up the internal factors participating like customer knowledge creativity and supplier technology adhering innovation. The external factors like the environmental awareness, the economic instabilities and the political legislative complexity help the innovations like technological support mechanism and the upgrading of performance services to take place. Grasping with lean management in supply chain, environment friendly approach in operations help organizations to gain better market position with critical competitive edge.
6. Outline the typical strategy used for identifying, assessing and managing/overcoming risks and challenges associated with innovation.
By obtaining intimate knowledge with the user feedbacks, the organizational performance can be elevated in innovation quotient. This leads to identification of gaps in expectation and actual outcomes where the risk of dissatisfaction is met. With quantification strategy, the survey questionnaire acts as feedback generator so that full understanding of innovation application and changes felt are understood. (Kriyantono, 2020).With the infrastructural development and technology embedded innovation, organizational performance is determined. This makes the technological application through correct business model selection to be dedicated in customer satisfaction procedure. Managerial open outlook and employee participation in decision making gets determined through the innovative precursor. The risks and challenges get strategically built up so that innovation helps overcome the gaps and threats from market demand discrepancy and product offered by the firm.
7. List five (5) examples of innovation drivers in an organisation.
Bring about cultural transformation in understanding organization dynamicity is determined as the first innovation driver. Creating competitive advantage out of innovative approach helps organization to enhance outcomes. Broadcasting is the second driver where vast audience is addressed using cost effective solution through space exploration. Brainstorming is that mechanism by which new and innovative ideas and trends are set up by seeking social media sharing and feedbacks. Expert team is that collaboration that enables innovative processes through groups of communication as NineSigma intermediary mechanism (Verma, 2019). Network based connectivity is that process through which innovation is manifested
8. What are six (6) examples of innovation enablers in an organisation?
- Brainstorming is that effective innovation model that enables organization so that credibility built as solution where creative techniques are used.
- Design thinking innovation management enables organization to adopt agility and flexible development shifting from restrictive traditional project management.
- Budget for entire lifetime is not asked for, rather only for initial phase is created with quick test innovation and lower cost with minimized risk possibility.
- The problem-focused approach of design thinking innovation allows ambiguity in customers to be overcome.
- Optimized resource usage allows return and risk through investment with business initiative in business solution.
- Track progress, risk of inventory handling and business-plan issues is facilitated with Programme Management Office(PMO)
9. What mechanisms can be implemented at the system or process level to support innovative practices?
There are needs for inducing technological benefits to be compatible so that innovation is supported. The leadership style function that is manifested across the organization so that problem solving is designed effectually. There is company spending to be derived in capability to channelize prototypes, graphical design and sketches effectually. It is with supply chain and inventory source management that knowledge ability and social nature with human centric focus can be established for absorbing innovation (Tang, 2017). The skill and latest innovation know-how of talents and human resource capabilities help the design modeling and experimental assurance to be well incorporated across knowledge freedom.
10. What are five (5) of the typical challenges and barriers to innovation within an organisation?
Fear of newness- Organizations become anxious and uncertain or fearful as barriers towards innovation and change may not be well suited. Readiness may not be present.
Lack of appropriate leadership- When chief executive or trustees are not confident enough and incompetent, the strategic management as business drivers enable organizational effectiveness.
Resource lack- Return on the investment is not guaranteed where innovation is not delivered effectually to link short-term goals with lack of impact.
Focus lack- When activities are not aligned through proper time spent the newer technologies are driven towards mission through lack of resources. Ambiguous process- No clear filter is created through innovation processes helps organization.
Project Assessment Task 2
PART A
Range of techniques and tools which suitable to use to generate new ideas and thinking, including creative thinking techniques to foster innovation
With the implementation of great tool as brainstorming and project creativity there are effective tips and tricks incorporated within organization.
- Insights Game
The use of relevant videos, graphics, images and post its help create instant insight with small time attention and greater understanding. The game of reward mechanism helps organization to gain complex and big picture of the firm with highlights of challenges and risks. - Brainstorming
Brainstorming is that tool and technique that drives creativity. Productivity through increased individual effort needs guidance through group effort across scientific research. Team building helps meet effectiveness across the organization. Connecting across global associations with internationalization is facilitated through technological digitization through videos, images and conferencing for enhancing the innovation (Fu, 2019). - Mood-boards
The creative mood-boards are innovations to communicate as team designing with use of insert button embedding images, videos and screenshots. - Mind-mapping
Mind-mapping enables organizations to design the visual representation through new ideas and strategies using template for cheaper and effective outcomes.
Shaping organization’s current and future thinking and practice, including the key concepts, current theories and processes
The Six Pillars Theory of future thinking enables the tools and methodological intervention to create praxis. This embodies the anticipation, mapping, and creative alternatives, timing and transforming the organizational outcomes (Andrews et al., 2018). The maps of current theories help predict the future achievements and tracking of performance across creative dimensions. The Mental Time Travel Theory helps in determining the assets, the resource capacity available and the performance dimensions required to be achieved in future. With this visionary theoretical implementations leaders and managers create goal oriented results for future thinking of profitability, progress and more productivity.
Innovative and creative thinking at both the individual level and the collective level, including for the organizational context
Individualized creativity helps attain personal knowledge, learning, training expertise and future thinking ability. The creative inclination enables the organization to gain effectiveness in innovation and make space for sufficient scope of encouragement, motivation, proper tools and innovation. With the creative working environment, the self contribution in labor, innovative ideas and tactical skills help enhance productivity and team outlook. Contradictorily, the group intervention leads towards the two of more people collectively operating to achieve a creative outcome. When the bisociation gets established the collective creativity gets ascertained through power manifestation and the culturally relevant good collaborative attributes in gathering teamwork performance outcome.
Analyze and document the specific conditions for innovation and the issues that impact on individual and collective innovative thinking and creativity
Brainstorming
Brainstorming is that phase of exploration helps the ideas of new designs to enable business to absorb the new latest trends in progress. On an individual level brainstorming helps get new innovative ideas and creative thought processes. In collective manner the parts of brainstorming are joined together to make a concrete whole. Creating product promotion with apt slogan and projecting strong social media presence is possible when brainstorming results in innovative ideas.
Crowd-sourcing
Organizational utilize the innovation in well documented manner where the crowd-sourcing, innovation and idea management is effectually established. Review on the innovation drivers and enablers who are relevant to the organization helps in creating creativity and enhanced productivity. This helps mechanize the idea of competitive advantage through the help of efficiency.
Competitive edge
On an individual level, the competitive edge is established with creative ideas, open learning and risk taking behavioral approach to make difference from others. In a collective manner open free discussion, putting forth creative out of the box concepts and working on an integrated plan determines the competitive edge in performance through teamwork across the origination. Innovation is problem driven where organizations like Apple embed excellence in technological updates to create strong competitive edge. When process time is a major dissatisfaction concern among other technological device competitors, Apple derives high standard designing with specially manufactured bionic chip embedded as rapid and robust performer so that service delivery is carried out in uncompromising manner.
PART B
Lead innovative practices in the organization through the following activities
Review and consider the different leadership styles, selecting and using a personal leadership style to use in the workplace to model positive innovative thinking and practice. Document the personal leadership style selected, and at least three examples of how it was used to model positive innovative thinking and practice
Laissez-faire style
- With a compatible leadership style the positive impacts through innovation model creates thinking and operational enhancement. Using innovation with Constraint drive innovation model leaders of laissez-faire style is capable of manifesting virtual store experience across the retail industry of South Korea.
Sophisticated model
- In terms of overcoming hyperinflation as a major constraint across retail stores like Tesco, the use of sophisticated model of cheque processing system that helped gain strength with faster enforced processing to result in financial transactions (Steinerowska-Streb and G?ód, 2020).
Technological innovation
- For an organization as Tesco regular refinement check through challenges are created so that QR scanning replacing physical cash transaction embeds technological innovation in retail sector. Review, challenge and refine your own style and practice in relation to modeling and supporting innovation. Document the review, including methods applied to refine your style and practice Lean Management
Making Lean Management Innovation Model must across all latest organization bring discipline into progress.
Electronic signatures
Use of electronic signatures removing paper use has helped innovate retail or organizational programs with ultimate sustainability motives. Problem management model used for large scale database assessment enables knowledge management problem to be well addressed.
Assess, determine and document the requirements to promote sustainable innovative activity for the operational context, and for the people involved.
- Minimal waste production
- Risk analysis report
- Utility bills under check
- Reduced energy consumption and electricity
- Use of paper and plastic banned
- Waste management report
- Carbon emission quality control check
People driven demand innovation model needs to be adopted so that fear and uncertainty is avoided by organization. Ken Burnett proposed that learning, progress and development shall enable the firms from failing in innovation approach acceptance.
Creating proper strategic innovation where budget preparation and capability assessment dimension across organization are assessed to meet short term thinking risks.
Devise, document and implement an appropriate means to promote knowledge transfer
- Identification of receptor of knowledge
- Addressing the expert in knowledge skill
- Execution of application of training and session details
- Evaluation and measuring of knowledge transfer
- Test result report for quality check examination
With the smart utilization of Lean Management, EA framework and Six Sigma as progressive analytical approaches the knowledge and technological progress is embedded within organizations. The return on investments are highly challenge prone subject matters in firms, where deployment in commitment approach through strategized innovation can build up effective consistency (Daly et al., 2018).
Identify, document and evaluate the risks associated with innovation within an organization, documenting control measures suitable to manage these risks
- Failure report of meeting the quality outcome
- Dissatisfaction feedback folder of customers
- Managerial disapproval records in performance inadequacy
- Failure of customer attraction document
- Financial risk cost report with more losses than success
- Investment inadequacies
For deriving unfortunate outcomes related to suitable management of organization the following are risks that need to be managed:
The developed budget mechanism with research efficient approach applies no income mechanism to be overcoming the same. The lack of capability or resource efficiency helps the innovation to be managed against risks to overcome and yield economic feasibility in the firm.
PART C
Perform the following steps to generate and support a culture of innovation:
Introduce and promote the creative thinking techniques, innovative practices, processes, products and/or services which are appropriate to your audience and to the organizational requirements. Document the introduction and promotions activities.
- Six thinking hats -helps in creative futuristic thinking with organizational development
- Lateral thinking – helps uniform opinions to contribute in overall development of firm
- Picture association – graphic map to highlight the main process leading to benefits
- Perspective change – helps derive change with new creative ideas and concrete concepts of innovative thinking process from different unique dimensions
- Mind mapping - It is that innovative technique that is proposed by Tony Buzan where the organizations gain through enhanced sales and extended promotions. It is through the brainstorming session that firms derive main idea through collaborative attempts among team members.
Establish, document, and use, appropriate methods to capture, communicate and share innovative ideas and practices within the organization
With limited resource utilization and manufactured, the maximized outputs is mechanized. This helps the sustainable entry and processing of inventory so that waste management generates optimized sustainability message (Wisetsat and Nuangchalerm, 2019). Using Video contents to project new ideas helps effectually. Applying present on power point through images, graphs and statistical data helps create vivid idea of innovative creative concepts. Using prior success theories as mind mapto create routes of innovative kinds in tending future progress helps to bring change in firms. Digital notice boards, employee led contents and company blodshep communicate new ideas informally.
Develop, initiate and foster communication, consultation and team development approaches that support innovation. Document the approaches developed and initiated.
Use of bill boards, notice panel, creative insight handle into company website and project meetings o encourage open discussion and implement new concepts would help the innovation to establish inside the operative paradigm. Mails, power point presentations, statistical report and videos help create innovation in companies.
Identify, document and provide adequate resources as required for innovation to occur
There are ways through which leadership is possible to be manifested in an organized manner to create solution in a structural mechanism. Idea management and open innovation are such agents which create individual as well as collective thinking through innovative entries. Companies require feedbacks for such collaborative practices to enhance individual performance outcomes an efficient collaborative leader mission and vision applied with democratic leadership style helps embed budget resource minimization and greater profit where product promotion is enhanced.
Develop, document and apply strategies to foster a workplace culture capable of encouraging innovation
The application of key phrases and words the product search possibility is heightened among customer. With images and videos the popularity of product visibility across market is upgraded (Shamim et al., 2017). With Brain Shifter the sales purpose gets fulfilled where superhero characters are used to associate with product promotions as an innovative attraction agent. Integrated culture is derived when the international working possibilities are mechanized. Establish mechanisms at the system and the process level that can support innovation. Document the mechanisms established.
Setting up analytical challenge mechanism to locate issues with creativity quotient is managed when open innovation approach is absorbed. Innovation thinking along with creativity helps mechanize external functions in an accurate manner. Resource need, utilization are laid down in accurate manner throughout the innovation approach of BMC.
PART D Complete the following to sustain innovative thinking and practice in the organization:
Develop and document strategies which make innovation an integral part of the organizational activity
- Innovative solutions
Using the creative solutions, competitive ideas, high value low cost mechanism are appreciated with real time and more productive outputs. Against the exceptionally high cost limited exposure to quality service mechanism is offered by other rivals in electronic gadget industry. It is herein that Apple successfully manages to create a position with competitive edge from others using problem driven innovation to enhance capacity of transactional process. IT excellence in software mechanism allows problem driven to be successfully enhanced with macro level operations with adequate budget cuts. - Problem solving
Through technological innovation it is mechanized in an effectual progress manner. There are prototypes established for solving the biomedical issues. The business model canvas is that upgraded trend across current times that hurdles are possible to be overpowered in effectual manner identifying the market gap.
Develop and monitor processes to ensure there is ongoing awareness of the individual and collective contributions to innovative thinking and practice. Provide a copy of the develop processes and evidence of the process monitoring.
Cross the Chasm is that innovation theoretical model adapted in modern times where mainstreaming mechanism across market creates intuitive solutions for future opportunities to resolve and overcome risks using real-life motivation (Wisetsat and Nuangchalerm, 2019). It is through the review and survey questions applied, the monitoring of assessment is carried out. On the basis of feedback generation the reviews and ratings are incorporated in regard to innovation change mechanism across the organization so that monitoring and analysis is carried out effectually. The technological assessment needs to be carried out through innovation thinking and created. There are IT experts incorporated through which software mechanism like lean management, design thinking and clod based storage is undertaken. The financial management is also assessed by expert accountants to check if cost efficiency is maintained or not.
Identify and analyze the potential barriers and risks to innovation, devising strategies to respond. Document the potential barriers and the response strategies. Risk to Innovation in following ways:
- Lack of collaboration in organization creates internal budgetary issues. The targets of income is not shared which results in lack of adequate innovation outcome.
- Skill deficiency to pace up with contemporary market needs makes organizations lay back against its rivals through insufficient talent, knowledge and skill proficiency.
- Lacking objective mission makes the firm diverge from their focus. The absolute competition aimed to be created with innovation is possible to be yielded through greater strategic plan which is likely to cause incapability to maintain at par with others.
- With no urgency created across the organization the effective innovation is lacking. Thinking would get difficult and strategic formulation would be strongly removed (Franco and DeLuca, 2019).
Response strategies in regard to overcome risks or barriers:
Ensuring the skilled intervention across the organization with effective recruitment criteria and selection specification helps the organizational progression and productivity. It is through the talent hunt strategy with expertise skill set and potential that the knowledge gap barrier creating the risk of unprofessional conduct is possibly manifested. With the help of accurate placement in innovation handling technology the smooth functioning for organization overcoming the performance and skill gap can be manifested.
The leadership style needs to compatible with the innovation strategic need to be manifested with. In coherence with the need for embedding the lean and agile management, the risk of lack of objective or mission is possible to be overcome with the strategy of incorporating democratic leadership along with Laissez Faire style is used for greater benefits. Creating a definite mission and goal helps the organizational function to be manifested through overcoming incapability and removing the difficulties.
Analyze and reflect on your innovation performance. Document this analysis. In order to enable the organization through the journey of innovation, performance across workplace has to embed leadership viability for open innovation model to be applied. With the lean management model under strategic effect, the sustainability motives are met effectually. Going paperless with digitized services, adopting lean management to reduce waste and enhance timely cost effective delivery ensures innovation at its best.
References
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Batovrina, E., 2016. Searching and retaining innovative staff: assessment of the factors promoting employee innovative thinking within an organisational development context. Innovation, 2.
Brooks, P. and Rock, T.C., 2018. Using Social Studies to Lead Project-Based Learning: An Innovative Teacher's Story. Social Studies and the Young Learner, 31(2), pp.4-10.
Daly, S.R., McKilligan, S., Studer, J.A., Murray, J.K. and Seifert, C.M., 2018.Innovative solutions through innovated problems. International Journal of Engineering Education, 34(2 (B)), p.695.
Franco, P.F. and DeLuca, D.A., 2019. Learning through action: Creating and implementing a strategy game to foster innovative thinking in higher education. Simulation & Gaming, 50(1), pp.23-43.
Fu, Y., 2019. Training on Innovative Thinking Ability in College English Teaching under Information Technology Environment.In 2019 3rd International Conference on Economics, Management Engineering and Education Technology (pp. 2293-2297).
Kriyantono, R., 2020. Innovative Thought of Critical Ethnography in the Dominance of Excellent Theory in the Research and Practice of Public Relations. Tuturlogi: Journal of Southeast Asian Communication, 1(1), pp.1-11.
Lu, Q., 2019. Countermeasures Research on Cultivating Students' Innovative Ability in Fine Arts Teaching in Universities.
Shamim, S., Cang, S., Yu, H. and Li, Y., 2017.Examining the feasibilities of Industry 4.0 for the hospitality sector with the lens of management practice. Energies, 10(4), p.499.
Wisetsat, C. and Nuangchalerm, P., 2019. Enhancing innovative thinking of Thai pre-service teachers through multi-educational innovations. Journal for the Education of Gifted Young Scientists, 7(3), pp.409-419.
Zhu, W., Liu, H., Jin, T., Huang, L., Liu, J. and Sun, X., 2016, July. Research on training mode of improving college students' innovative and practice ability. In 2016 2nd International Conference on Social Science and Higher Education.Atlantis Press.