Institutional Entrepreneur - Essay Example

The lessons and benefits that can be taken away from Sydney 2030 for Abu Dhabi 2030 are numerous. One lesson that can be taken away from Sydney 2030 is that it can be important to talk to the people about what they want to see in the future of their country. Sydney 2030 discovered by talking the citizens and visitors that there are four points that are important for the future, such as being greener with a thriving economy that is a place where culture and art is appreciated while creating a community feeling where “people feel at home, connected to the local community and the wider world” (Sydney2030.com.au). Having points in place that are created by the community that needs to embrace the concept to bring it to life will be essential to seeing it to fruition as the surrounding community will have a vested interested in seeing it become a successful plan. Another lesson that can be taken away from Sydney 2030 is that, during the urban planning process, it is possible for “…renewal areas can be connected and stitched with the surrounding neighbourhoods” (Cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au). It makes sense to be able to use the existing areas and building by upgrading what needs to be upgraded to fit with the new design to make them fit with the areas that will be built up from scratch as the greener theme exists on reducing the amount of materials used and reusing what can be repurposed. This can also be better for the bottom-line of the project as it will reduce costs in creating this new vision for the future. Jon Bannenberg had “… a remarkable career as a creator of inventive vessels, ahead of his time in setting new standards with regards to superyacht design” (Kahn). Originally a musician, he then began to work in designing homes. “When asked by a client for his opinion on some designs for his newly commissioned yacht, Bannenberg didn’t hesitate to tell him where it was going wrong...” (Superyachts.com). His eye for design allowed him to completely revolutionize the super-yacht industry as he was able to see the better design that should be used for a yacht based on his previous experience in building homes for his client. Some of his designs were seen as going against the traditions of yacht building at the time, but as the years past, these designs that he created became icons to the yacht building industry. “These acts of subversion resulted in a challenge to the very meaning and function of the superyacht, which gradually resulted in a recasting of the industry itself” (Delbridge & Edwards 301). It can certainly be said that Jon Bannenberg was an institutional entrepreneur because he did not allow the prior traditions of this industry to stagnant his own designs for yachts, but changed the yacht design industry by his innovative designs that promoted luxury over seaworthiness that has been the tradition way of looking at yacht design. He had started a revolution within this industry that became the norm. An institutional entrepreneur is someone that is able to take their innovations to create a new type of industry for their company. “They contribute by breaking with existing institutions to design and diffuse new rules and practices that might subsequently become institutions. Institutional entrepreneurs envisage radically new ways of organization that might in the future become the dominant norms in a field of activity” (Costanzo & MacKay 260). In theory, this is the type of person that can take their ideas to change the way that an organization functions for the future and make sure that it gets accomplished. It could be said that these are the types of individuals that are willing to break away from traditions because they are able to see a better path for a company to take for their strategic plan. Their ideas are what make the changes in the way that a company operates that will become an eventual tradition because it works better than the traditional way of doing things at the company or a new company created by the entrepreneur. It may be possible that the person who can be defined as an institutional entrepreneur is able to read the market better than their competitors to see where exactly the field will be moving towards. A person that is able to make these types of changes in an industry will probably be very dynamic as they are able to take an idea that may not be acceptable at the time, but make it into something that becomes the accepted norm for the industry it is involved in. “New Institutional Theory is based on the premise that organizations respond to pressures from their institutional environments and adopt structures or pressures that are socially accepted as the appropriate organizational choice” (Frangos 226). Basically, the environmental factors that an organization has will play a role in how that organization changes over time in reaction to these factors. Some factors can include other companies in the same field, changes in technology, and even employees that determine changes that may be necessary for the company’s survival in keeping up with the industry and what consumers are looking for from this type of company. Central to the new institutional theory thesis created by DiMaggio and Powell is that institutions are trying to achieve a status of homogeneity where the company itself is similar to others within the same field. Both governmental and professional regulations can play a role in this rationalization between the different organizations with in a specific industry as each company is required to accomplish certain things to stay in line with the requirements. According to DiMaggio and Powell, companies that are similar fall under three different forms of isomorphism where a company either is coerced into being similar to other companies, mimic other companies or follow the norm of the other companies. Some factors can include other companies in the same field, changes in technology, and even employees that determine changes that may be necessary for the company’s survival in keeping up with the industry. Although in some cases “… the spread of an innovation rapidly pushes to a threshold ‘beyond which adoption provides legitimacy rather than improves performance’ (DiMaggio and Powell 1983)” (Clegg 226). References Cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au (n.d.) Sustainable Sydney 2030 - City of Sydney. [online] Available at: http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/podcasts/citytalks/SustainableSydney2030.asp [Accessed: 5 Dec 2012]. Clegg, S. (1989) Frameworks of power. London: Sage Publishing. Costanzo, L. and Mackay, R. (2009) Handbook of research on strategy and foresight. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar. Delbridge, R. and Edwards, T. (1960) Challenging conventions: Roles and processes during non-isomorphic institutional change. [online] Available at: http://hum.sagepub.com/content/61/3/299 [Accessed: 6 Dec 2012]. Frangos, C. (2009) Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference: Quantitative and Qualitative Methodologies in the Economic and Administrative Sciences. Athens: Technological Educational Institute of Athens. Kaan, J. (2012) Superyacht of the Week: The classic Feadship White Cloud - SuperYacht of the Week - SuperyachtTimes.com. [online] Available at: http://www.superyachttimes.com/editorial/3/article/id/8815 [Accessed: 5 Dec 2012]. Superyachts.com (2009) Jon Bannenberg - Yacht Interior Designer, Naval Architect,.... [online] Available at: http://www.superyachts.com/directory-2807/jon-bannenberg.htm [Accessed: 5 Dec 2012]. Sydney2030.com.au (n.d.) Sydney 2030 - Green/Global/Connected. [online] Available at: http://www.sydney2030.com.au/ [Accessed: 5 Dec 2012]. Read More