This question contains two parts; be sure to answer both. First, describe the seven steps in creating an effective innovation system. Next, explain how you would implement each of the seven steps at the company you manage, AppsRUs, which specializes in creating easy-to-use smartphone apps that help businesspeople manage their daily schedule, contacts, and sales leads.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The seven steps in creating an effective innovation system are as follows:

1. Create an innovation strategy by which a company integrates its innovation activities into its business strategies. This effort will encourage top managers to invest resources in innovation and employees to commit to it.

2. Get commitment from top managers.Without this support, strategic goals are unlikely to be achieved.

3. Foster an innovative culture and climate. Innovation requires a corporate culture and climate that permit experimentation, risk taking, and tolerance for failure. Some experts even say that failure should be celebrated; doing so sends a signal that innovation and creativity are encouraged and rewarded.

4. Establish the required structure and processes. Organizational structure and internal processes can promote innovation if they foster collaboration, cross-functional communication, and agility. Organic structures are often better suited than mechanistic structures for innovation.

5. Obtain the necessary human capital. Some employee characteristics that help organizations innovate are creativity, creative-thinking skills, intrinsic motivation, international work experience, and the quality of the relationship between managers and employees.

6. Institute necessary human resource policies, practices, and procedures. Companies that are able to make human resource policies, practices, and procedures consistent with, and reinforcing of, the first five components (just described) are more likely to be innovative and to have higher financial performance.

7. Obtain the appropriate resources. If top managers want innovation, they must dedicate resources to its development, whether people, dollars, time, energy, knowledge, focus, or all of these.