Organizational Change and Innovation Research Paper

Organizational Change and Innovation - Research Paper Example It is an undisputed fact that organizations must innovate in order to benefit from new technologies and resources to stay ahead of their competitors. Innovation, therefore, is viewed as both an ends and a means of securing competitive advantage. Organizational innovation has, therefore, been defined as the process whereby organizations engage in new product development or new uses of products and services that already exist. Before attempting to analyze the challenges of innovation as a change management process, it is necessary to understand the various types of change. Radical innovation defines the introduction of a completely new product or technology that takes the place of an existing one (Griffin, 2013). Incremental innovation, on the other hand, is modifying an existing product/technology with a newer one (Griffin, 2013). Technical innovation deals with changes in the performance, appearance or other aspects of the product or of the processes through which it is passed (Griff in, 2013). Management innovation refers to changes in organizational structure or managerial processes (Griffin, 2013). Finally, product innovation deals with changes in the product as opposed to process innovation that deals with alterations in the distribution, manufacturing or creation of processes (Griffin, 2013). ... However, various companies have failed to innovate owing to various reasons. Like any other change, innovation too can be met with resistance from within the organization. Furthermore, the lack of a supporting culture and the lack of â€Å"fit† with the external environment often render innovation useless. It is worth noting the cases of companies that failed to innovate successfully because they were unable to adapt themselves to the external environment. Sony is one such company which failed with its â€Å"e-books† reader which lost its battle against Amazon (Viardot, 2011) . It was unable to find solutions to the challenges imposed by the economic and legal environment with respect to the publishers and authors. The company failed to offer a solution to managing and protecting digital rights and was unable to design an effective online store. This is contrary to the success that Amazon had in the succeeding years with its e-book service â€Å"Kindle† which par adoxically was bulkier, larger and had a smaller screen compared to Sony’s Reader. Furthermore, Kindle had limited capabilities in that it was able to source content only from Amazon. Despite these shortcomings, Kindle prospered because Amazon based its value proposition on alignment with the ecosystem. The company, instead of forcing publishers to succumb to the platform, gave them incentives to make them ‘want to’ become a part of a revolutionary milestone (Sadowski, 2013). Compared to Sony, Amazon focused on the bigger picture and even sacrificed its profits to generate volumes. Furthermore, the success of innovations by companies such as Apple have highlighted just how important it is to achieve flexibility with respect to the external environment. The company’s innovation iPod succeeded

Letter from Hagar Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Letter from Hagar - Essay Example â€Å"Pride was my wilderness, and the demon that led me there was fear. I was alone, never anything else, and never free, for I carries my chains within me, and they spread out from me and shackled all I touched†(page 292). My dear child, you are young and the fountain of youth flows upon you. Waste it not your youth on matters that will chain your heart and soul. You must know that I loved your grandfather dearly though I never really found the right way to show him how much. I could not at that time for I believed that I must maintain restraint and never allow my feelings flow as freely as a cascading waterfall. I exhort you not commit the same mistakes I did. I could have shown your grandfather the ecstasies I felt when making love. â€Å"It was not long after we wed, when first I felt my blood and vitals rise to meet his. He never knew. I never spoke aloud, and I made certain the trembling was all inner†¦ I prided myself on keeping my pride intact, like some mainden hood† (page 81). Alas, I was wrong. I could have soared to the skies and explode that a super nova in the skies and then come down from heaven to dance with the daffodils but I was too proud to do such things. I made myself believe that pride is more important than showing warmth and accepting the same like an all consuming fire that runs through your veins searing you blood until you scream not in agony but in ecstasy. Now, as I look back into the empty years where I held my feeling locked and sealed inside me, tears come welling up and spilling down my weathered cheeks unbidden. I strived to hide them but could not. I could have given more but did not. I could not bring myself to show much love and say the right word a t the right time. Like a stone angel made of hard marble, I am doubly blind. But then again, would they have reacted differently had I said and done things differently? Would they? I think not. So it is perfectly all right. Child, I want you