Innovation and Change

Modern businesses operate in a challenging environment with rapid economic, political, and technological changes. Organizations must be able to manage innovation to thrive and also adapt quickly to unexpected shifts in markets. Respond to the following questions by drawing on all you have learned in your reading and research this week.

What are the hallmarks of strategic innovation? How important are organizational features in encouraging or stifling innovation? You should present evidence for your views drawn from research and practical experience.

How useful is linkage analysis in helping managers to visualize change processes and overcome barriers to organizational improvement? How would you apply this kind of analysis to problems in a traditionally organized company wishing to promote innovation and become customer-focused?

Course Text

Handbook of Global Supply Chain Management

Chapter 28, “Supply Chain Innovation”

This chapter deals with supply chain innovation as an organizational strategy, as well as how to create and foster innovation within supply chains. The impact of organizational culture on innovation is examined.

Chapter 30, “Diagnosing the Supply Chain”

This chapter provides a variety of tools for organizations to diagnose problems within their supply chains. Different approaches, such as quantitative and qualitative tools are described.

Chapter 31, “Change Management”

This chapter covers the need for organizations to effectively meet and respond to change. A change management plan for communicating change within the organization is provided. Issues such as resistance and complacency are addressed.

Articles

Phillips, W., Noke, H., Bessant, J., & Lamming, R. (2006). Beyond the steady state: Managing discontinuous product and process innovation. International Journal of Innovation Management, 10(2). Retrieved from Business Source Premier database.

This article argues that in a world of rapid change and technological revolution companies must deal proactively with the challenge of discontinuity.

Kontoghiorghes, C., Awbre, S. M., & Feurig, P. L. (2005). Examining the relationship between learning organization characteristics and change adaptation, innovation, and organizational performance. Human Resource Development Quarterly, 16(2). Retrieved from ABI/INFORM Global database.

This article suggests that the structural, cultural, and information systems of a learning organization determines its success with adaptation to change, quick product or service introduction, and bottom-line organizational performance.

Organizational change that produces results: The linkage approach. Academy of Management Executive, 18(3) by Goodman, P. S., & Rousseau, D. M. Copyright 2004 by ACADEMY OF MANAGEMENT (NY). Reprinted by permission of THE ACADEMY via the Copyright Clearance Center.

Goodman and Rousseau show how linkage analysis can help managers visualize the complex process of change and how this affects the organization’s performance.

*THIS PAPER NEEDS NO RUNNING HEAD*