Analyze 3M’s experience for a process-based approach toward innovation.
How does 3M manage innovation?
The approach that 3 M has taken in managing their innovation is long-term, and there is the development of a new product that has effectively fostered the culture of innovation. Some aspects are incorporated and encouraged in the process, such as risk-taking, tolerance to mistakes, and rewarding the accomplishments made.
What is the innovation strategy and leadership style within 3M?
Another design that 3 M has employed is that of resource capitalization. There is a combination of technologies in some known and unexpected frameworks (Damanpour, Magelssen, and Walker, 2020). Therefore, the leadership strategy being used is a bottom-up approach.
How does 3M enable the innovation process?
3M has been able to encourage innovation by creating a culture that focuses on innovation means that the senior management team in the organization promotes the employees at the grass-roots level to allocate more time towards production and research. Therefore, there is the realization of the gaps in the innovation and creation of strategic solutions that can either be effective or act as a contingency plan in the future.
Identify significant features or processes that promote innovation.
How does the management team recognize and reward employees?
The recognition and rewarding of the employees in 3M is done based on their level of performance. There is compensation offered to employees with substantive outcomes in accomplishing the set goals and objectives. The approach that is being used aims at encouraging all the employees to work towards meeting the overall agenda through the implementation of the innovation.
What is the importance of permission to play?
Permission to play is essential since it reflects the minimum and social standards needed among the employees. In most instances, they tend not to vary among organizations, especially those in the same region or industry. The creation of permission to play will enable an organization to place meaning in their values which are crucial in guiding their operations. The end goal is to ensure the delivery of quality services and meet the organizational needs.
How do the 3M attributes of patience and acceptance of mistakes enhance an innovative culture?
There are two main attributes of 3M innovation assisting with culture development. They include patients and acceptance. The former makes it easy and possible to follow an implementation procedure that is acceptable among all the employees. In the process, it becomes easy to make the employees accustom themselves to the operations taking place within the organizational setup (Palazzeschi, Bucci, and Fabio, 2018). The latter assists in the delegation of duties and responsibilities. Each individual in the organization will take charge of the situation and focus on creating a standard course of action.
Compare the organization from the course scenario with 3M. You will need to reference the Organization Overview document when comparing the two companies.
What are the differences between the two organizational structures?
The main variation between the two organizational structures is information flow. While one is horizontally placed, the other one is vertical. In 3M, the organizational structure is horizontal, ensuring that employees’ opinion at the bottom level is incorporated in the decision-making process (Palazzeschi, Bucci, and Fabio, 2018). The situation is different in the latter, where decision-making is left to be the executive team’s responsibility while the implementation occurs among the employees in the bottom-level management.
What is the difference in formal and informal innovation management?
Formal innovation management takes a more disciplined approach where the informal design is flexible. In the former, the decision about the innovation and implementation is final, and no adjustments can be made and mainly incorporate individuals from the executive team. There is flexibility in the latter where the innovation outcome and decisions can be changed to meet the needs and demands at hand (Palazzeschi, Bucci, and Fabio, 2018). A key focus is on accomplishing the end goals with a lot of inclusivity, and there is less concern over who is making the implementation decisions. Therefore, there is more risk-taking in informal innovation management than in casual.
How does the organizational structure in each company affect communication? Why is this important to innovation?
In the first organization, their structure affects communication by through ensuring there is timely delivery of data. Innovation is positively affected since implementation has been made easy. In the second organization the structure makes it hard to have a flow of information. Delivery of innovation becomes a challenge.
Identify the process gaps of the organization. You will need to reference the Organization Overview document when identifying process gaps.
One of the significant process gaps identified among the two organizations is resource allocation. There is centralization of the resources, which might be posing a challenge to the accessibility. The gap is being projected in the innovation implementation process, where there is an issue of exclusion. Bridging the gap will require creating and executing a decentralized resource system. The end goal will be to ensure the ease of access and an increase in accountability in the outcomes of the process.
What needs to be done to make the organizational structure support innovation?
The main action that has to be taken to ensure that the organizational structure supports innovation is to foster inclusivity within the company’s culture. The opinions and decisions of each corporate member need to be a part of the decision-making process (Eric, Doratiotto, and Geraldo, 2019). A key outcome is reduced resistance towards innovation while there is an increase in the adoption rate. The employee turnover ratio is likely to decline since the invention has a high acceptance level.
What rewards could your organization utilize to motivate innovative behavior?
Compensation is an essential reward that the organization can motivate innovative behavior, and each contribution by the employees towards innovation will have to be appreciated. The design is to have a plan where effective changes contributing to the invention are recognized and benefits are offered, such as a slight increase in the basic salaries and wages.
How should your organization examine its timeline to identify ways for longer-term projects to be more successful?
The company can consider examining the timeline by having a plan that fits the needs for the innovation to occur. In the process, it will be easy to create milestones that have scheduled timeframes for accomplishment (Eric, Doratiotto, and Geraldo, 2019). A step in realizing any of the milestones will result in the attainment of the overall set plan, defining the purpose and need for the innovation to take place together with the strategies that have been used.
References
Damanpour, F., Magelssen, C. & Walker, R. (2020). Outsourcing and insourcing of organizational activities: The role of outsourcing process mechanism. Public management Review, 22(6), 767-790.
Eric, L., Doratiotto, K. & Geraldo, J. (2019). Outsourcing or insourcing logistics activities: A Brazilian case study. International Journal of Supply Management, 12(3), 167.
Palazzeschi, L., Bucci, O. & Fabio, A. (2018). Re-thinking innovation in organization in the industry 4.0 scenario: New challenges in a primary prevention perspective. Frontiers in Psychology, 9(30), 1-6.
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