Managing Ideas For Modern Management Practice

Types of Ideas and Innovation

Discuss about the Managing Ideas for Modern Management Practises.

The business environment has become complex and competitive; this has made organizations to find ways that can keep that sustained in the business and market. This has led to the need for organizations to develop ways that they can manage ideas within. Innovation and ideas can come from within the organization or outside. Organizations are therefore investing a lot of resources in managing new ideas to be able to manage the changing environment and market. Organizations that are able to develop and manage new ideas by revaluating their products and services are seen as the best achievers in the industry since the innovation does not only benefit the organization but other organizations in the line of business (Souchkov, Hoeboer & van Zutphen 2007, p. 21).

Entrepreneurs argue that they are always looking for problems to solve within the market. Management of ideas is the use of a set of tools that allow managers to develop and respond to opportunities that exist within the business environment. Creativity is used to mould ideas that are focussed on fulfilling the gaps that exist within the business environment. This process involves every employee within the organization to create a final product that will fill the gap and give customers what the organization has failed to give. This process is well defined by tying together the corporate strategy and product development processes. The purpose of this report is to give an overview of managing innovations and ideas by highlighting the best practices by SingTel. This report will highlight aspects of ideation and innovation, strategies and best practise the company can adopt to manage ideas.

Ideas and innovation can be differentiated based on products and processes, thus product ideas/innovation or processes innovation/ ideas. This leads to two other major categories of developing ideas, sustaining and disruptive (Deloitte 2004). Sustaining ideas are based on improving the existing business processes to make them better; this may include improving the software within the organization or developing processes for efficiency like developing the 4G framework to increase business connectivity. On the other hand disruptive ideas are based on radical ideas which aim at changing the business processes within the organization. This may include materials that can be used to improved technology in the organization. This may include doing away with the old materials and developing new ones. These ideas are different from the existing ones and thus their introduction into the system will disrupt the existing ones.

However, most ideas within an organization revolve around developing a product that can satisfy and compete in the market. Product ideas are grouped into four namely: incremental ideas, technological substitution, market innovation ideas and radical ideas/innovation (Vahs; Burmester 2005).

Figure 1: Different types of product ideas, adopted from Kroy 1995

Incremental ideas are based on using technology or developing ways that improve the existing products and services. In many cases these are already established in the market and thus the new idea is based on packaging the product to make it better. For example SingTel may increase its products by changing the tariffs that it is offering its customers. This can be based on the existing market prices that other competitors are offering to so as to gain strategic advantage.

Market/Application Development

Technological substitutions are based on adopting new technologies that can create new products that meet the needs of the existing customer. This is through analysing the needs that the market has and using technology to meet those needs. For example SingTel can develop new mobile phones or TV set top box provision technology that can provide better and fast TV signals or adopting the 4G network that can boost data usage and speed. Technological ideas can be based on improving the existing processes or developing new processes.

Market innovation combines the existing technology and packaging products in a way to customers. This is aimed at combining two products that a company is offering to make a single product that can offer both services. For example the arrival of the smart phones is a combination of both the mobile phone and the internet where an individual can access internet and at the same time telecommunication services. Thus the arrival of the smart phone with other features beyond a mobile phone is a new idea since it never existed.

Radical ideas or innovation is advancement in the technology where the product is advanced to offer more services. This ideas offer the highest risks and returns to a business since they offer an opportunity that never existed in the market before (Hull, Coombs and Peltu 2000, p. 639). For example the arrival of the smart phone came with android applications that can perform many functions. Today the android has led to the development of different applications that are utilised in the market. SingTel has also developed several applications that are being used in the market for different tasks.

The need to develop an idea within an organization is based on several tools that an organization may choose from. This is based on the kind of business environment and the ideas that are being developed. This includes brainstorming, virtual prototyping, product lifecycle management, idea management, TRIZ, project management, and portfolio management (Moehrle 2004, P. 91).

For the purpose of SingTel, TRIZ is the preferred tool that can be used for developing new ideas within the organization.  Phaal, Farrukh, & Prober (2007, P. 7) argue that TRIZ presents a systematic approach foe defining challenges within the organization through a range of tools and strategies for finding the best inventive solutions. The tool is based n the fact that a business problem is presented as an inventive solution that is developed from the need to overcome the problem. The problem within the market may be competition, decreasing sales or old business models within the organization. The tool is used to systematically apply the strategies and tools to develop a solution that enables the organization overcome its current problem.

Proponents of TRIZ argue that inventive solutions are based on contradictions between elements in an organization. For example the need to develop a 4G network will entail using a higher sophisticated technology that will enables the consumer to use 4G. The contradictions may not be limited to one contradiction but rather several contradictions. Therefore management develops creative solutions that resolve contradictions within the organization without increasing costs. Thus TRIZ is management problem solving tool that can be adopted by organizations to solve complex problems and developing cost saving strategies for organizations.

Tools Used in Developing Ideas

Julian & Michael (2008, p. 832) suggest that creativity is the highest asset that an organization can use to generate new ideas; however researchers have shown that majority of the great ideas that have been developed in organizations show that they come out of informal discussions or individuals only. This means that the organization should not limit ideas to employees only but rather. However organizations that are great leaders in ideas give every employee an opportunity to show case what they have for the organizations and how the organization can be improved. However old ideas that have been developed and research have been the best sources of ideas that have propelled organizations to greater levels. This is because old ideas represent opportunities that may not have been well exploited. The introduction of patent rights has led to the protection of ideas that people have and this ideas can be sold to any organization that is willing to adopt the idea (Hipp & Grupp 2005, p. 528).

The internet is also a source of ideas for organization; this is through making viewing of patents available online. With this an organization can go through the available ideas that can best suit their business need. People develop new ideas and post them over the internet for organizations to view and develop them further. When organizations develop these ideas they do not take them as individual ideas but rather organizational ideas through only protecting the rights of the owner (Mamman 2002, p. 381).

According to Davenport & Prusak (2003, p. 21) academic institutions have also been the best sources of ideas that have been developed by organizations. Many organizations have close links with academic institutions where they allow students to show case their talents by developing great ideas that can be utilised by companies. Through internships and business expos, the students have an opportunity t develop ideas that can solve problems within the organization. Students are doing a lot of research while pursuing their education, through their research and participating in different projects within the organization.

On the other hand Hope Hailey (2001, 1129),suggests that harvesting of employee ideas can also be a source of innovation within the organization using relevant tool that can help generate or realise creativity. Through using the four phases of creativity: preparation, incubation, illumination and verification, ideas can be analysed to determine how they can solve problems. Informational analysis of the concept through critical evaluation helps in balancing analysis and imagination.

Despite that it should be noted that the nature of the innovation depends on the complexity of the idea that is being developed. Adoption of the idea entails transferring knowledge across the organizations functions and boundaries. The nature of the innovation and the absorptive nature of the organization are key issues in determining how the organization can be utilised within the business environment. This can be through utilising suggestion boxes or having places where individuals can drop ideas that can help improve the organization. For example web based management system are utilised by SingTel through allowing employees to provide ideas that they have. Through such systems the organization provides relevant information on ideas that the organization needs to be improved (Hargado. 2003, p. 21; Adams & Phelps, Bessant 2006, p. 32). Employees or any other person submits expert opinions on how they think the problem can be solved. The ideas are analysed by use of a clear scoring method using an assigned criteria by analysing how to integrate the idea into the system and logically develop the idea to the next phase.

Sources of Ideas for Organizations

Step one: strategic thinking

The source of any idea within the organization is the linkage between the strategy and the idea that is to be developed. Strategic thinking is aimed at creating opportunities that increase strategic advantage of the organization. Through this the strategic thinking helps the organization to determine the value that needs to be added. Dodgson and Hinze (2000, p. 109) suggests that organizations analyse the business areas that they need to improve and focus their resources to these areas. For example speed could be one of the ideas that a telecommunication company may want to improve. This means that connectivity speed will create strategic advantage that will allow internet users browse at greater speed than others.

Step two: portfolio management and metrics

This entails defining the idea that needs to be developed and how the idea can be integrated into the organization. Depending on the nature of the idea, system adjustments may be required to enable the idea function well. If the idea is disruptive then the organization has to make changes that will destabilise the whole system. Portfolio management thus focuses on balancing the risks that the new idea poses to the organization and the rewards that are attached to it. For example financial resources may be required to integrate the idea into the system. Portfolio management is adopted by the organization to balance the market structure and the pursuit for the new idea (Frenkel,  Maital and Grupp, 2000, p. 431).

Step three: Research

Cormican and O’Sullivan (2004, p. 821), argues that adopting the right mixture between the four types of ideas enable the organization to meet the right strategic objective. Therefore a lot of research has to be done on the processes and key output results that are expected from the new idea. This will enable describing of the ideal future products and services that the organization intends to deliver. This is through a comparison of customer knowledge and needs with the current ideas that the organization has. This will help in determining the gaps that need to be filled by the idea. Research will help in refining the idea and developing a blue print that will propel the organization to the next level. Several knowledge domains are utilised in this step including explicit knowledge and tacit knowledge.

Conclusion

Project management deals with transforming inputs into outputs that can be utilised by the consumer. Innovation is a complex process that involves several activities that can be adopted by the organization. Therefore organizations need to develop processes that will ensure they are able to develop sustainable processes that can ensure they propel the organization to the next level. Researchers have shown that the market keeps changing (Kim, and Wilemon 2002, p. 31; Stock, Greis and Fischer 2001, p. 82). SingTel has therefore to develop a strategy that will ensure it is able to manage competition within the market. Managing new ideas and giving room for the organization to tap and nurture new ideas. The organization has to establish a platform that will give room for new ideas that can help to propel the organization to the new level. TRIZ is the best tool that can be adopted by SingTel to be able to develop and nurture new ideas that can propel the organization.

References

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