Understanding innovation and change in an Organisation - Coursework Example

Understanding Innovation and Change in an Organization Understanding Innovation and Change Within an organization The 21st century business environment is modelled by dynamic change in the market characteristics and emergence of new challenges in business. Consequently, the concept of change and innovation has become more popular in business management referring to new approaches of conducting business. Innovation refers to the development of new strategies that satisfy new market requirements and to ensure that the organization satisfies both its short-term and long-term goals.

While the management is actively involved in designing the strategies and approaches to implement change, these changes directly affect all stakeholders or the organization. On this note, it is crucial that all organizational stakeholders are aligned to the organizational strategy to ensure that the process runs smoothly. The ability of the management team to design change, engage all stakeholders and overcome challenges that come along with implementation of change and innovation defines the success of the organization.

The benefits of Change and Innovation Change and innovation are key tools that propel business through its strategic goals, both short-term and long-term. Innovation helps an organization to meet new customer trends and to satisfy them1. The priority of any business is to satisfy its customers to ensure that they remain loyal to the organization in the long run. Since the customer tastes vary depending on the economic conditions, change in lifestyles and different market conditions, it is crucial to find new approaches to reach out for these customers through innovation.

Secondly, change and innovation is important in injecting efficiency in organizations, which is crucial in the new competitive era. The contemporary business environment requires that organizations institute competitive strategies to ensure that they can compete with their business rivals. In addition, innovation is linked to the productivity of an organization as managers are always looking for new approaches to optimize their output. Lastly, innovation is crucial in employee satisfaction, which in turn results into motivation and optimal performance2.

On this ground, innovation and change are inevitable for any organization that wishes to satisfy the demand of a dynamic business space and remain profitable in the long-term. Barriers to Change and Innovation However, it is clear that there are many challenges to the implementation of change within an organization. To begin with, innovation may demand important knowledge that may be missing within an organization3. For instance, the development of the information infrastructure has pushed organization to find new ways to introduce this technology within their organizations.

The information technology requires technical understanding and key skills in handling the systems. For instance, computer skills are crucial for an organization that intends to introduce information management system within its organization. Therefore, it becomes a big challenge to induce change within the work environment if these skills are missing. While information technology is crucial in injecting service efficiency in information-led business marketing, it is a big challenge introducing this new business approach to the employees.

Next, another challenge in implementing change and innovation arises due to lack of employee cooperation. While change has a number of benefits within an organization, it has its negative aspects that may affect employee cooperation. For instance, when a manager introduces an efficient machine, it implies that a number of employees may end up losing their job. At times, the employees may differ from the management strategies and hence reject such changes. When employees are fail to align to the management strategies, it becomes hard for the managers to implement change within the organization.

Often, the employee may issue a go slow or even strike during such changes, which will halt the entire process. Therefore, employee cooperation plays key roles in implementing change and innovation, hence frustrating the management decisions4. Therefore, challenges are inevitable while implementing change within an organization. Overcoming Barriers to Change and Innovation Consequently, the ability of managers to inspire innovativeness and introduce change within an organization depends on their ability to overcome the challenges that are likely to emerge in this process.

To curb the problem associated with shortage of the skills and knowledge demanded while implementing change and innovation, it is crucial to consider employee appraisal. Employee training is one of the most effective ways to help the employees to catch with new technologies demanded within the work environment. For instance, if an organization wishes to introduce corporate mails within its organization, it is crucial for the management to organize training to ensure that the employees can use the new systems effectively.

Training the employees ensures that they understand the changes well and quickly for the rapid deployment of the program. Rapid deployment of changes within an environment ensures that the organization enjoys the fruits of this change as soon as possible. In a nut shell, organizations must provide the employees with the right skills to absorb new changes in workplace. Winning employees’ cooperation is fundamental if the management strategies have to go through. One way of winning the employees loyalty is by making them part of the organization change.

5 This accomplished by engaging them in the development of the new strategies so that their ideas are integrated within the program. This will serve to motivate the employees to work hand in hand with the management during the implementation stage. Another crucial way of winning the employees cooperation is providing crucial information about the change to the employees. This allows the employees to understand the change better, and hence understand how to implement it6. For instance, it is important that employees understand how this change will affect their jobs, as job security is part of their concern.

If employees learn that the change will increase organizational profits and that they will also gain as the organization grows, they are likely to align with the management’s strategic decisions. In conclusion, change and innovation is a critical requirement for an organization that intends to remain profitable by satisfying the constantly changing market needs. Innovation gives an organization a platform to develop new approaches to satisfy the customer needs and accumulate profits from loyal customers.

However, the process of implementing change and innovation within an organization is faced by a wide range of obstacles. Employee reluctance and shortage of the right skills and experiences are just a few examples. To overcome these challenges, it is crucial that Ftooorganizations train their employees on technical issues that come along with these changes, and to involve their employees in the design of these changes. Ensuring that the employees have the capacity and are motivated to implement change is crucial for the success of the management.

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E-business Innovation and Change Management. Hershey, Pa. [u.a.: Idea Group Publ, 2004.