Custom essays on Innovation

1. Discuss three types of innovation from the text and give examples of these types from your review of articles, websites and Wall Street Journal readings.
Innovations contribute to the consistent progress of the society and technologies but they are particularly helpful for business. The contemporary business environment relies heavily on innovations, which are introduced en masse. In actuality, innovations have become an integral part of strategic development of modern business because the ability of modern organizations to introduce innovations defines their competitive potential and position in the market. In such a situation, the effective introduction of innovations is of the utmost importance for the business development. At the same time, modern companies should take into consideration different types of innovations that can affect the organizational performance and introduction of innovations consistently. In this respect, it is possible to refer to three key types of innovations. First, radical innovations introduce changes which revolutionize an industry or market. For instance, the invention of computers and the development of Internet were radical innovations. Second, semi-radical innovations change an industry consistently but they cannot make a breakthrough in the development of the industry. For instance, the appearance of Athlon as an alternative to Intel was based in the introduction of innovations by Athlon but they did not change the development of the industry dramatically. In addition, the introduction of new methods and mechanisms of printing improved printing but did not revolutionize the industry. Third, incremental innovations are focused on the improvement of certain products which does not change the basic characteristics of these products consistently. For instance, mobile phones keep progressing fast but they do not change radically or, else, car manufacturers renew models each 1 or 3 years introducing certain innovations but they do not change cars completely.
2. Discuss strategies for outsourcing innovation through business or educational alliances. Please give examples based upon your research and readings.
Today, outsourcing innovations is an effective way to improve consistently organizational performance and marketing position of companies. In this respect, the use of business and educational alliances is particularly effective because companies through sharing knowledge and formation of training programs engaging personnel operating in different companies that formed the alliance. In actuality, sharing information and knowledge implies the effective cooperation between partner companies and allows them to minimize costs of innovations through spreading knowledge between partner companies. Business alliances are also effective in terms of the development of innovations, especially in the field of high technologies. For instance, manufacturers of cell phones closely cooperate with developers of software, such as Microsoft, as well as other IT companies, including Google and others. For instance, Microsoft develops its Androne system for mobile phones, whereas Google attempts to cooperate with leading mobile phone manufacturers.
3. Design an “incubator” concept to bridge the gaps between technology, business operations and funding sources for service firms.
Closing the gaps between technology, business operations and funding sources for service firms is extremely important. As the matter of fact, many companies face substantial problems while introducing innovation because of the aforementioned gaps. In this respect, the development of the effective concept of bridging the gap is very important because it helps to accomplish the introduction of innovations. For this purpose, it is possible to develop innovative centers within organizations that can generate new ideas and technologies that can lead to the introduction of innovations. At the same time, all the ideas generated by innovative centers should be processed by managers of the company in terms of the application of the innovations for business purposes. Finally, on defining the innovative idea or project and business application of the idea or project, it is necessary to find financial resources that can be done through the work of managers on financial funds created specifically to fund innovations. For example, such companies as Google combine effectively business and provision of advanced services to its users contributing to the development of virtual groups and networks.

 
References:
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Davila, T. Epstein, M., Shelton, R. (2006). Making innovation work; how to manage it, measure it, and profit from it. Wharton School Publishing, New Jersey.
Grinols, E. L. (2003). Modern Telecommunication Technologies. New York: Routledge.
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Schneiderman, R. Technology Lost: Hype and Reality in the Digital Age. New York: Touchstone, 2002.
Tenner, Edward. Why Things Bite Back. New York: Random House, 2005.