Managing for Innovation and Creativity - Essay Example

Topic: Creativity and innovation are complementary values in business management. Creativity refers to an artistic outcome or result of the confluence of psychological and emotional dimension of such desire to ascertain business leverage in the market. Innovation, on the other hand, is effected only when all creative mechanism are maximized to take advantage of the rapidly changing and developing market. This essay will explore the significance of these values in business management taking into account some empirical experiences of entrepreneurs sourced from researched literatures. It will also attempt to answer questions (a) to what extent is innovation and creativity becoming part of an organizational culture? (b) how can senior managers set out to encourage innovation and creativity within this organization? and (c) suggest a product or service from an organization that would be suitable for the “Cantillon” entrepreneur with brief justifications. In this essay, researcher will delve into Google, prominently attributed as the perfect search engine, as one of the world’s 25 companies that is cultured with innovation and creativity. Innovation & Creativity defined Innovative measures and creativity relate to some strategic process to unearth opportunities in unpredictable market. Innovation permeates the interfacing of the organization and its business environment. Such process involved planning which will detail some entrepreneurial conceptual framework; implement them and evaluate results to determine outcomes (Luke, 2005 & Mintzberg, 1977). Economists explained that every entrepreneur needs to be an innovator to see opportunities in market changes and can reinvent ways to attract customers or clients that will avail offered product or services. This are illustrated in strategies about (a) how product’s quality is introduced to customers; (b) ideation of new method of production or service to satisfy customer’s needs, (c) developing access or opening doors in new potential market, (d) identification of raw materials suppliers who can offer competitive price for these utilities, and (d) business leadership and management as well as its expertise in managing performance (Mintzberg &Waters, 1982). Such therefore require fundamental knowledge on management, marketing strategies and about business roles in order for a company to contribute economic growth to a nation through creativity and innovation (Tantau, 2008). Meanwhile, creativity is essential in marketing activities: promotion, sell, branding, pricing and in strategically administering sales of products. This is an entrepreneurial skill that requires serious analysis in order for entrepreneurs to adapt to changes and developments. Creativity refers to what is trendy, new and the reinvented processes to challenge traditional and customary business practice. It is about introducing a fresh perspective at products or services for customer acceptance and satisfaction (Mihalcea, 2009). Creative ideas are outcome of deep analysis, understanding, research, or from collective brainstorming deliberately venturing into unorthodox thoughts (Mihalcea, 2009). This is often an outcome of being constantly immersed with realities and is often questioning it, analyzing it with context and drawing some self-awareness about a product or ideas’ helpfulness. Creative thinking meant an exploration of knowledge with in-depth comprehension, application, analysis, and evaluation (Bloom, 1984). Equipped with these skills, immediate advantage benefits business sectors who can make decisions with distinction, and originality. Creative thinking is essential in entrepreneurship because marketing meant promotion, packaging, competitiveness, people management, performance, psychodynamics, and product quality. All these tasks demand sustainable strategies which can only be sourced from ingenuity, attitude and creativity of business leaders (Rajagopal, 2008) to meet the challenges of a competitive and dynamic market. Google: Creativity and Innovations Figure 1. In a survey made by The Boston Consulting Group (2006), Google ranked second to Apple as the World's 25 Innovative Companies. The world business sectors identified Google as among the top 25 companies that is passionately directing business with innovations (Mackinnon, 2007). It ranked second to Apple, the latter being producer of gadgets on information technology which advance communication in this millennium as tool for more rigorous interaction of this civilization. Larry Page, co-founder, declared that Google is “the perfect search engine”, with enhanced system that allow immediate access of information worldwide (Google, 2011a). Google, as a company, offered transformative and revolutionary method of a search engine. Like an unlimited power of human brain, it provides answers to questions, details of information and has bolstered knowledge management (Google, 2011a). This distinct capacity is made possible with the development of information technology programs and due to corporate principles adopted by Google Company (Google, 2011a). These principles are as follows (Google, 2011a): (a) provision of user-sensitive online services by developing programs that upload content at a fast speed and provide data storage with tools and applications that allows distinction of web designs (Google, 2011a); (b) Does information engineering with expertise and perfection whilst hastening world networking and interactions thru Gmail and Google maps (Google, 2011a); (c) Efficiency and effectiveness in providing answers to questions raised by users; (d) Democraticizing the web works (Google, 2011a); (e) Devising the search engine to suit the needs of mobile people (Google, 2011a); (f) As a business, Google earn revenue without doing evil by ensuring that users adhere to policies and rules under its advertising program and privacy policies (Google, 2011a);. (g) Unlimited information access which cross borders throughout the world and have maintained more than 180 domains and with interfaces in 130 languages; (Google, 2011a). Google, as an engine, is also a storage of data, photo and documents.. It has an interactive capacity with Gmail's multi-applications. It has translations tools, dictionary, buzz, blogging sites. As a corporation, it believes that creativity can be actualized with its corporate culture which appreciates "seriousity without a suite" and by advocating that "great just isn't good enough." Its experts’ dissatisfaction is their motivation to provide more answers to the needs of users (Google, 2011a). Google possessed expert transformative and innovative minds that maintain distinct quality of services and difference. In the last five years, the Company was able to develop +1 Button, Advertising, Advisor, Apps, Blogger, Buzz, Checkout, Chrome, Chrome Frame, Desktop, Gears, Google+, Google Notebook, Google TV, Google Wel Toolkit, Groups, Health, Knol, Location Service in Firefox, Mobile, Moderator, Music Beta, O3D, Orkut, Picasa, Postinit, PowerMeter, SafeBrowsing, Sites, Store, Toolbar, Traders, Translator Toolkit, Voice, Web Accelerator, Web History and Youtube (Google, 2011b) . Google was established in 1996 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, both of whom are graduates of Standford University (Google, 2011b). They made the search engine they initially dubbed as "BackRub" and now prominently known as Google. It’s focused to simplify the system for users and for satisfying customers needs with such proficiency (The Boston Consulting Group, 2006). Google's distinction in innovation is also achieved by its ability to mash-up Google maps with online games. The Boston Consulting Group (2006) opined that it’s uncommon to note that for every user of Google's application or for those who morphed into technology, it’s the employee who bears the risk and responsibilities for each of the users (Google, 2011b). Encouraging Innovation & Creativity Changes are constant figures in market. The entrepreneur should be responsive to demands and should be adaptive to new demands, structures, and consumer trends. Business organization must therefore be updated through continuous study and research to accumulate new economic knowledge including those that are sourced from experiences and interactions. This is so true for Google’s executives who maintained direct control in managing the operation while appreciating brilliance of its workers. Google officials have also extolled fundamental business drivers: (a) ideas are everywhere, (b) share unlimitedly, (c) brilliant persons are hired, (d) provision of license to actuate dreams, (e) data is apolitical and make use of them for decision-makings, (f) exhaustion of creativity in resolving constraints, (g) prioritize users, money is secondary and (h) don’t kill projects, keep it (Mackinnon, 2007). This is consistent to its mission to “organize world’s information and to make it universally useful and accessible (Google, 2011) Gauging on these needs, an entrepreneur must be systematic in its management too. Business leaders must manage his organization using vision, mission and goals. All activities must be centralized in crafted plans and in specific objectives to ascertain coordinative performances of employees. The organization must also be conducting the monitoring and evaluation of workers performance to note which skill needs to be enhanced and which weaknesses to be addressed fairly. Entrepreneurs must also be periodically assessing the company’s performance by evaluating the key result areas against mission and goals. Such can be done by using the evaluative tools of analyses such as quality performance index; strength, weaknesses, opportunities, and threat (SWOT) analysis; political, economic, social, technology, environment and legal (PESTEL) analysis; and of quality control (QC) management analysis. The SWOT analysis will provide insight to the company the threats and weakness to resolve with utmost concern to targets and at the same time identify the strength and opportunities that can be exploited by the company. The PESTEL analysis on the other hand will permeate entrepreneurs to understand the comprehensive situation, context and imperatives in sustaining the business. Others rely on feasibilities to ascertain decisiveness of performance. The environmental and social scanning is essential to determine identification of customers, clients, employees, suppliers and investors who could be retained as key stakeholders and players of the company that can help achieve its goals. Some corporate experts call this corporate strategy which delved into the relationship of stakeholders and with business goals or expectations in accordance to the context and situation of the market and of national economy. Entrepreneurs should therefore know the drivers of the trade and how helpful they are in improving business performance. This is evident in Google whose employees enjoy the culture of multi-tasking and working toward perfection with reliance in workers’ brilliance and ability (Google, 2011c). Suiting product or service for Cantillion entrepreneur Google is composed of professional team and investors, entrepreneurs and experts who believed that information technology will change the world. (Google, 2011d). It has served publishers, advertisers, content providers, educators, students, leaders, and all professionals from all nations and governments. They made them all successful on a similar context as when Google earnmark $ 9.03 B in June 2011. Such is an increase of 32% compared last year (Google, 2011e) This proved that Google is successful in its venture by unleashing business leadership, responsible utilization of information technology, responsive knowledge management, exploitation of creativity and innovation, as well as motivating its global workforce to be customer-centered in its services. Indeed, Google has become a business leader in revolutionizing communication by providing access to database for research, development of applications aiding knowledge management and interaction. It changed the world and motivated business managers to bring the market’s product and services in all homes through the internet. This experience is also reflective of Cantillion-inspired entrepreneurs who thought that the market has two producers (Duserick ,2005). These are (a) hired people with fixed salaries or fixed land rents and (b) those with uncertain return of investments (Scarlett ,2011). Cantillion-inspired businesspersons viewed the market with uncertain factors which all the more require entrepreneur to play with the risk of uncertainties of competition (Scarlett ,2011). Cantillon entrepreneurship-- a theory of rapidly changing market, poised a for entrepreneurs to nurture culture of entrepreneurial adaptability to unceasing market changes and of the economy (Scarlett ,2011). They must be skillful and competent in advancing their respective innovative ventures as well as in taking risks while targeting opportunities. Nowadays, there are many innovative entrepreneurs taking strategies to optimize the utilization of resources, decisive investments, controlling finances, determination of genuine needs, identifying mechanisms to leverage in the market. Economists pointed that those engaged in micro-entrepreneurial endeavors, the business leaders ought to do the following (Tantau, 2008): a. Advocate specific goals and targets and optimize the use of capital; b. Business managers are also directly involved in the daily business deals and operational activities to have direct knowledge of market’s developments and the business t rend of the day; c. Keep capital savings and strong restraint or control in the use of finances and resources; d. Entrepreneurs have direct interaction with the market, its customers or clientele and with other business stakeholders; e. Business leaders have direct interaction with the customers to understand their needs and to ascertain that there needs are satisfied. f. Ascertain the current venture has directly contributed to the business activities of the market and to the development of the economy by ensuring practice of cooperative strategies. g. They are also able to diversity products, including the strategies in generating attraction of the customers through social media to promote their products and services (Tantau, 2008); Thus, a Cantillon entrepreneur must be imbued with skills and capacities of strategic entrepreneurship that is responsive to possibilities and affect them proficiently and effectively for gains or profits (Tantau, 2008). He needs to be a decision maker, a marketer, a customer-care person, and an analyzer of the trends and developments. He is as multi-tasked as his employees to ascertain success in his business venture (Hitt, Ireland, Camp, & Sexton, 2001). Conclusion Business management requires innovation and creativity. Google exemplifies this. This is because entrepreneurial endeavors are driven by internal and external factors (Ireland, Hitt & Sirmon, 2003; Heidemann, 2007 & Hit & Ireland, 2000; Dess, Lumpkin & Eisner, 2006 & Drucker,1986). Innovation and creativity explore the room for growth and flexible responses to changes. It also challenges entrepreneurs to continually improve their competences while meeting risks. In so doing, success in venture management is possible with creative tools and innovative knowledge to leverage in business marketing. References Adrian Dumitru Tantau, 2008. Common Dimensions For Entrepreneurship And Strategy: The Need For Strategic Entrepreneurship, Management & Marketing, Economic Publishing House, Vol. 3(1), Spring. Bloom, Benjamin S. Bloom, 1984. Taxonomy of educational objectives. Allyn and Bacon, Pearson Education, Boston, MA. Dai Z., Duserick F. ,2005. 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