Free Essay

Case Study of “the Quest for Innovation”

In: Business and Management

Submitted By MARILI
Words 1190
Pages 5
Abstract
Innovation is everywhere. Innovation is discussed in scientific and technical literature, in social sciences such as sociology, management and economics, and in the humanities and arts. Innovation is also a central idea in the popular imaginary, in the media and in public policy. How has innovation acquired such a central place in our society? This paper looks at innovation as category, and suggests an outline for a genealogical history.
Case Study of “The quest for innovation”
Cultures of Technology
Culture matters—this has been one of the most often-heard messages. It matters in its attempts to explain why economic opportunities have been seized in one country or region, and why economic failures have occurred in another. It matters not only for economic development, but also for political development. It promotes change—or impedes it. It matters when corporations with different organizational cultures merge or fail to do so. With organizations increasingly moving in global environment, they are well-advised to broaden their cultural range and to question the assumption that their concepts are universally valid. In the field of organizational learning, for instance, a shift has occurred toward a concept of organizational culture as the unit in which learning occurs. The culture of an organization is said to be pivotal to understanding how a particular organization adapts to ongoing changes. It shapes perceptions of past and current events. The emphasis is on shared conceptions of what needs to be learned, how it is to be learned, and why. Culture is understood here in its most encompassing sense: a shared scheme of interpretation that enables the organization to cope with change.
Culture matters—and indeed it permeates an enormously wide range of social activities. It binds together communities or sets them apart. It makes communities different from each other, shaping their interaction not only among members, but between the community and outsiders. It is linked to innovation in often unforeseeable ways in the sense that it can be predisposed to finding certain innovative solutions to a problem while eschewing others.
To approach technology from a cultural perspective it is at once self-evident and highly demanding: self-evident, because technology is one of the most consequential cultural practices to have evolved since the beginnings of humanity. The extension of human capacities which allowed humans to overcome and to extend their given biologic constraints, as well as those of the natural habitat in which they found themselves, is truly impressive. Merlin Donald has drawn attention to the rise of symbolic technologies, the invention and manipulation of external symbols that have changed the way in which we think, remember, and experience reality. This rise of symbolic technologies has triggered a powerful cognitive transition (the first was the origin of language), liberating consciousness from the limitations of the brain’s biologic memory system. Symbolic technologies have opened the gateway to allow the merging of symbolic virtuality with material reality.
Cultures of technology are about arrangements. To speak about different cultures of technology breaks down the distinction between the material tool or its built-in technological efficiency, and the social organization, including the individual user and their social interactions. Cultures of technology are about shared meanings. Culture organizes practices. The processes and the range of ways in which this is done, also matters. To focus on cultures of technology does not imply a neglect of the subtle impact that technology has on our lives, nor does it ignore the first steps in the genesis of emerging new technology. Rather, the emphasis is on what John Pickstone (in the alternative frame he has developed to take a fresh historical look across the entire spectrum of science, technology, and medicine), calls “ways of doing”.
Technology works—and we expect it to work. It works on different levels and in different ways. They work through the tight or loose coupling of the elements that make up a technological system. They work through the ways in which people organize their work and through the division of labor in manufacturing or in service industries. They work by mediating social interaction. But they also work in a very powerful way by generating symbolic and cultural meanings. Any comprehensive account of technological innovation, as John Pick-stone writes in this book, must allow for these meanings, including their supposed derivation from science. If we can see how the various elements of technology — from long-standing and usually traditional crafts, by way of systematic invention dating from about 1870 and demanding considerable social organization and education, to the present situation of high-tech, high-science complexity spreading across many sectors with the increasing use of computers at its base — fit together in history and our present, then we will have a good model for understanding technological innovation, including its cultural meaning.
Cultures of technology should therefore prepare us to understand where the quest for innovation comes from, pushing us forcefully to go far beyond any imagined “endless frontier.” Innovation is no longer a goal, since it has, by its very nature, espoused a striving for the unpredictable and the unknown. Perhaps it has become a means — however; it can only constitute a tentative attempt to cope with the idea of a future that has become full of surprises.
Situation Today
Today, the modern management of risk, notwithstanding the many unresolved problems, has become highly professionalized and, as we have seen, is thriving in one sector that has transformed it into a business of its own, the management of financial markets. But technology, often lumped together indiscriminately with the concept of a unified science or seen as merely applied science, has become associated, if not tarnished, with the negative consequences they have also had on the social fabric of modern societies. The confidence in the achievement of sustainable technological progress is a precarious one, punctuated time and again by scandals involving the political management and regulation of risks associated with technological advances. The quest for ongoing innovation promises a way out. Its very open-endedness suggests a new flexibility and may point in the direction of improved and safe technology. It may gesture toward collective learning processes, which span the public and private domains and may bring with them social innovations of a kind as yet unknown.
Conclusion
The goal of this paper is to identify cultures of technology as a way of working across the entire societal spectrum, linking the technical intricacies with the requirements of the social and economic fabric of societies, uncovering the meanings that people attribute to how technology works, including how it affects their lives. They cover a wide range of human experience in the project of promoting certain cultures of technologies or confronting their consequences. One part of this experience is gender-specific. Only the culture of war seems to be a human constant over time, although it also alters its manifestations and increases the power of its destructive force. As will become abundantly clear, speaking about cultures of technology never means speaking about technology alone. Admitting that technology can also be vulnerable reveals its entangled interdependence with the wider society — for better or for worse.

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

No Title

...business faculty have come to realize the role that understanding human behavior plays in determining a manager's effectiveness, and required courses on people skills have been added to many curricula. Diff: 1 Objective: Management and Leadership Quest. Category: Concept/Definitional LO: 1 2) Which of the following is not a reason why business schools have begun to include classes on organizational behavior? A) to increase manager effectiveness in organizations B) to help organizations attract top quality employees C) to expand organizations' consulting needs D) to improve retention of quality workers E) to help increase organizations' profits Answer: C Explanation: C) Understanding human behavior plays an important role in determining a manager's effectiveness. Developing managers' interpersonal skills helps organizations attract and keep high-performing employees. Positive social relationships are associated with lower stress at work and lower turnover. Finally, companies with reputations as good places to work have been found to generate superior financial performance. Expanding a company's consulting needs is not a positive reason to teach organizational behavior. Diff: 2 Objective: Interpersonal Skills Quest. Category: Concept/Definitional LO: 1 3) ________...

Words: 10785 - Pages: 44

Premium Essay

Film Analysis: the Corporation

... what manner of people would they be? Making use of psychiatrical main beliefs and FBI forensic technics, and through several case studies, the motion picture ascertains that this “being”, the corporation, which has an ever-increasing power over the daily existence of almost all living creatures on earth, would be a sociopath. The case studies consist of a story concerning how two reporters were sacked from Fox News for declining to downplay a story about the risks of a product of Monsanto given to dairy cattle, and another regarding Bolivian employees who confederated to guard their rights on their own water provision. The commonness of corporate control over our lives is looked into by analyzing efforts to manipulate behavior, together with that of children. The key argument of the infotainment is that, as the corporate legal “body” under current law is regarded to be a person, founded on its characteristics and personality, is a sociopath. Bakan establishes this standpoint on several things but letting the Psychologist tackle the question while the expert deals with psychosis. The major problems of a corporation discussed in the film after assessing “The Corporation” are as follows: Irresponsibility – The corporation places others at risk in the quest for its own goals. Manipulativeness - It manipulates individuals to have an opinion in the quest for its goals. Grandioseness – The corporation at all times asserts that it is the best. Recklessness - It never takes responsibility...

Words: 1032 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Selecta

...ABE INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS COLLEGE MALOLOS, BULACAN CASE STUDY SELECTA Submitted to: Ms. Yollie Sabas Submitted by: Danlex Q. Salvador Chapter I Executive Summary Selecta is a brand of ice cream and milk sold in the Philippines.with exports of local ice cream variants to Filipino communities overseas. The company's beginnings can be traced back to Selecta Ice Cream and Refreshment Parlor, owned by Ramon Arce, Sr. and family, and founded in 1948. In 1990, RFM Corporation bought Selecta from the Arce family, and formed Selecta Dairy Products, Inc.. came out with its success formula: a winning combination of a high quality product, marketing innovation, modern production and strong distribution network. Selecta went into the production of bulk ice cream and frozen novelties. Bulk ice cream , with around 3o flavors ranging from avocado to ube. The company came up with frozen novelties –more than a dozentypes of bars, pops, cones, and sundaes with flavors ranging from ice buko to extrac-rich milk chocolate. Chapter II Background of the case Selecta’s humble beginnings can be traced to the Arce family’s ice cream parlor in Manila in 1948. Its ice cream was well-known for its creaminess, authentic flavors, and unique gold can packaging—qualities that remained throughout the years.   In 1990, RFM Corporation bought Selecta from the Arce family to form Selecta Dairy Products, Inc. Known for its sharp entrepreneurship, RFM catapulted the rise of Selecta...

Words: 414 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Succession Plan Risks

...Risks HRM 420 Mr. Cardillo January 25, 2016 Quest Diagnostics Succession planning is "a strategy for passing each key leadership role within a company to someone else in such a way that the company continues to operate after the incumbent leader is no longer in control" (Investopedia, 2016). Quest Diagnostics is "passionate about developing innovative, ground-breaking tests, products and tools to enhance patient care, provide value to our clients, and transform information into knowledge and insights" (Quest Diagnostics, 2000-2015). Due to the commitment to its customers and company a succession plan must be in place to avoid any interruptions during transition periods. Like all plans, a succession plan also runs risks; however, the following succession plan for Quest diagnostics will consider vacancy, readiness, and transition risks for the next President and Chief Executive Officer. It will also consider internal candidates and external candidates for the positions that need filling. Vacancy Quest Diagnostics needs to have a succession plan set in place in case the current the current President and CEO of the company retires or resigns. The current President and Chief Executive Officer is Steve Rusckowski. He is currently making "$9,266,835 in total compensation." (Salary.com) Steve is only 57 years old which means that in eight years, he will be at retiring age. Quest Diagnostics needs to plan ahead in case he makes an early retirement.  There are multiple executives...

Words: 1410 - Pages: 6

Free Essay

Theory of Knowledge

...How do beliefs about the world and beliefs about what is valuable, influence the pursuit of knowledge A pursuit, by definition, requires a goal or answer to a question that the pursuer is attempting to reach. This end, towards which effort is directed, is based upon previous knowledge that says that it will be fruitful in some way. Any knowledge that is pursued is, logically, pursued for a reason. This reason must be that the knowledge could prove valuable in some way to the acquirer of the knowledge. What is believed to be valuable would thus greatly influence what knowledge is pursued. Since the beliefs about the world help define what is valuable, they too determine the type of knowledge that is searched for and acquired. This type of knowledge, that people think will be the most valuable to them, is the type of knowledge that is searched for and of course attained before the type of knowledge that is unexpected or thought unnecessary. To logically determine the extent to which the values and beliefs of humanity affect its pursuit of knowledge, all types of knowledge must be considered. Empirical knowledge significantly affects the further pursuit of knowledge; as the type of knowledge that is acquired through experiences, future pursuits of knowledge are frequently based on it. Rational knowledge is applicable because knowledge that is found through experimentation is looked for with a preconceived objective in mind. Metaphysical knowledge must be considered because beliefs...

Words: 1789 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

An Approach to Incremental Innovation Theories and Its Methods in Industrial Product Development

...ICED’07 28 - 31 AUGUST 2007, CITÉ DES SCIENCES ET DE L'INDUSTRIE, PARIS, FRANCE AN APPROACH TO INCREMENTAL INNOVATION THEORIES AND ITS METHODS IN INDUSTRIAL PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT Hannu Oja Tampere University of Technology ABSTRACT A quest for powerful tools to support creation of innovative solutions exists in industry. Majority of development efforts aims for incremental development of products, either by means of improved performance in use or during manufacturing process. New concepts or solutions on product’s functionality and behaviour (behaviour meaning how the functionality is delivered, response) are needed to bring benefits. Generic product development theories, models and methods are applicable for new product development, as their approach is linear and founded on functional requirements and means to execute them. However, in industry the product development activities preferably start from existing product or concept with pre-determined goals rather than from scratch. Creativity techniques and multidisciplinary workgroups have been referred in literature as means for creating innovations. However, these methods lack context of technical system and are general in nature and could be used for any problem with assistance of experienced moderator and a group of individuals. These techniques and methods are not included in this study. An approach from retrospective case study is presented. It was found that the mental process of an innovator follows more problem solving theory...

Words: 4589 - Pages: 19

Premium Essay

Innovation

...The Innovation Pandemic: Society quest for real time solutions Parish M. Kaleiwahea Wayland Baptist University Abstract The Innovation Pandemic: Society quest for real time solutions When one thinks of a business with information technology (IT) flair, Wal-Mart is probably not on the top of anyone’s list of companies leading the way of innovation transformation. However, for 45 years this retail giant has reinvented IT retail model for an evolving digital economy. Today in order to survive a global economy companies must embrace and invest in latest information systems infrastructure in order to maintain a competitive advantage. Wal-Mart’s commitment to enhance their technology by integrating traditional and e-commerce retail innovation by using the most advanced technology to enhance the retail empire. As profits continued to reap into Wal-Mart, its commitment to improve data communication systems for their company remained a priority. While other companies contemplate spending money on new innovative technology, Wal-Mart continues to dedicate itself to implement many computerized solutions such as instituting a uniform product code (UPC) system as its electronic scanning barcode tool (Wang, 2006). Innovation is a tough concept for people to wholeheartedly to embrace because it comes with all types of unknowns. Companies like Wal-Mart took a huge financial risk, but eventually stuck to their strategic vision to embrace and forge ahead in the technology era. However...

Words: 5598 - Pages: 23

Premium Essay

Creation of Sony

...| Organizational Behaviour and Development (UDE 1123) Semester III, 2012/2013ASSIGNMENT 2Creation Of Sony | | For Review by Prof. Khurram Khan | Prepared by Dr. A. Prakashrao (MBA – HC MR 121210) | 7/27/2013 | ASSIGNMENT 2 CASE STUDY 2 - THE CREATION OF SONY 1. What leadership competencies do you recognize in Ibuka and Morita? Justify your answers. 2. How are Ibuka and Morita charismatic leaders? Justify your answers. 3. Can you recognize the elements of transformational leadership? Justify your answers. 1. Comprehension a. Summary of the facts The case study 2 is regarding the creation of Sony and mainly on its 2 founder that is Engineer Masaru Ibuka and physicist Akio Morita who invested the equivalent of Yen 190,000 to start a company with just 20 employees in May 1946 post World War II and how it has evolved into a leading global brand. This case study tells how these 2 talented and skilled visionaries wanted to bring Japan from its post war defeat to leading triumphing nation. Ibuka and Morita were both passionate about electronics, but Morita felt another burning desire to help change the image of Japan in the eyes of the world. He saw a defeated Japan and believed that thru their company, they could help restore Japan to a triumphant nation once again. This vision for their country Japan started being implanted into the vision of their new company which initially known as Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo K.K. which...

Words: 3221 - Pages: 13

Premium Essay

Ldr 531 Final Exam Prep

...Which of the following is not one of the four primary management functions? A) controlling  B) planning  C) staffing  D) organizing  E) leading 5) Determining how tasks are to be grouped is part of which management function? A. Leading B. Planning C. Controlling D. Organizing E. Contemplating 6) Which of the following is least likely to be considered a manager? A. A lieutenant leading an infantry platoon B. An administrator in charge of fund-raising activities in a nonprofit organization C. A doctor who acts as head of the physiotherapy department at a public hospital D. The mayor of a large city E. An IT technician who enables communication between all of a company’s Employees 7) Which of the following is a reason that the study of organizational behavior is useful? A. Human...

Words: 96939 - Pages: 388

Premium Essay

Analysis

...Jameelah Ross Case 5 Module 5 Factor analysis of survey data confirmed three factors: comfort with research and statistics; the relationship of research and statistics to work; and interest in research and statistics. Pre- and post-survey and achievement data has to be gathered, as well as demographic data. In the quest to improve post-secondary learning environments, team teaching as an androgogical tool has enjoyed sporadic attention, both historically and institution-ally. Instructors and students who have participated in collaboratively taught classes enthusiastically outline its benefits as compared to solo-taught courses. Some recommend team teaching as a fairly low-cost, yet innovative, method of enhancing instruction. “Team teaching most often refers to two or more faculty members who jointly produce a course (Davis,1995). The arrangements vary considerably among teams, and there seems to be little agreement on what constitutes the team part of team teaching or even what to call the arrangement—team teaching, co-teaching, co-enrollment, collaborative teaching, or cooperative teaching. However, empirical analysis of this practice remains scant, particularly over the last two decades. Thus, this study seeks to contribute to a fuller understanding of the efficacy of team teaching as a tool for the improvement of teaching and learning. In so doing, it asks and answers: Is there a statistically significant difference in student...

Words: 502 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Business Management

...Dimensions in Manufacturing Enterprises (SAMPLE 2) ANQ Congress 2012 Hong Kong on Striving for Excellence through Product and Service Quality; 31 July – 3 August, 2012, pp.9-15 9 INVESTIGATING LEARNING ORGANISATION DIMENSIONS IN MANUFACTURING ENTERPRISES IN TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO Marcia Nathai-Balkissoon1 and Kit Fai Pun2 1 The National Training Agency of Trinidad and Tobago, Chaguanas, Trinidad, West Indies E-mail: mnbalkissoon@gmail.com 2Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies E-mail: KitFai.Pun@sta.uwi.edu Abstract: Structuring learning and maximising the use of knowledge in manufacturing organisations can further Trinidad and Tobago’s quest to diversify its energy-based economy, promote sustainable development, and enhance the creativity and competence of its population. Empirical investigation of Learning Organisations (LOs) is lacking, worldwide, and there is especially a shortage of quantitative research in the developing nation context. For this reason, and also because of the existence of several widely varying LO models in the literature, it is not possible to directly apply any one LO model within Trinidad and Tobago. This paper outlines a research approach for investigating LO dimensions within Trinidad and Tobago’s manufacturing sector. The conceptual foundations of LO are briefly presented, along with several popular LO factors available in the literature. It...

Words: 4001 - Pages: 17

Free Essay

Management and Strategy

...Fierce competition between existing competitors. Threat of New Entrant Weak factors: • High capital requirements. • Experienced based cost advantages. • Strong product differentiation and brand loyalty. Threat of new entrant is which due to the factors mentioned above. Factors Driving Industry Change • Healthier food choices and more knowledgeable customers: this changes the growth rate of the company. • Increasing globalization: this may lift trade tariffs and other products such as sugars that are used to manufacture snack foods. Also it can increase opportunities from foreign developments. • Changing societal concerns, attitudes, and lifestyles: health concerns and developing studies on disease alters the buyers view on non- nutritious foods. • Product and marketing innovations: capturing an audience’s attention by packaging, product...

Words: 319 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Scope of Political Science

...metaphysical (Hegel), the juridical (Austin), the sociological (Maclver), the descriptive (Garner) and many others with their own distinctive labels. In fact, there are as many definitions as there are writers on the subject and all these definitions give to the entity — the State — different meanings and conflicting roles. This tendency continues even now though in a slightly different form. “The recent definitions of politics (as a study),” writes Frank Thakurdas, “are not so much cast in the discipline of the thinker (easily detectable) but in the conceptual framework that he has worked out in advance (as it were) the basic presupposition of his personal manner of interpreting the complete phenomenon of politics. But also including the ‘purpose’ that the studies involve in terms of the practical ends they sub serve.” Some writers restrict the scope of Political Science to the study of the State alone, for example, Bluntschli. All such writers exclude the study of government from the scope of Political Science, for the State for them obviously includes the study of government. There are others who hold that Political Science deals only with government. Karl W. Deutsch says, “Because Politics, the making of decisions by public means, it is primarily concerned with government, that is, with the direction and self-direction of large communities of the people.” According to Robson, “The purpose of political science is to throw light on political...

Words: 2288 - Pages: 10

Premium Essay

Competitive Strategies

...Energizer vs. Duracell 1 Competitive Strategies: Energizer vs. Duracell By LaShonda Griffin BUS 508- Contemporary Business Dr. Laura Jones November 5, 2012 Abstract ​The U.S. offers a free market where businesses are able to have free enterprise to open and operate an ideal to provide a product or service to the public. There are many businesses that offer similar products and create competition. Consumers are able to have the options in the marketplace. Energizer and Duracell are two companies that offer similar products to consumers. Energizer has been around since 1986 and has grown into a mutli- billion dollar company within the last decade. Duracell first got started in the 1920’s from two scientists, and finally become a brand in 1964. This paper will discuss the two companies’ background, the competition between the two, and how they will thrive to compete in the market place in future. Energizer ​Energizer is formerly known as Eveready Battery Company and changes its name in the late 1980’s. By the 1990, Energizer has established their brand and had over 30 percent of the domestic market. They were trailing Duracell by 10 percent, who at that time had 40 percent of the domestic market. Energizer is the manufacturer of dry cell batteries and flashlights, with a full line production of in three major categories: alkaline, carbon...

Words: 965 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Finance

...Course Number Course Title Course Description Credits UNV-504 Introduction to Graduate Studies in the Ken Blanchard College of Business This course is designed to prepare students for the graduate learning experience at Grand Canyon University. Students have opportunities to develop and strengthen the skills necessary to succeed as graduate students in the Ken Blanchard College of Business. Emphasis is placed on utilizing the tools for graduate success. 2 MGT-605 Leadership and Organizations The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the Ken Blanchard College of Business, key concepts of leadership, and an overview of how the science of organizational behavior contributes to effective leaders and managers. 4 ACC-502 Accounting Practices This course is designed for individuals who are preparing for more advanced coursework in accounting and for students who have not had accounting in undergraduate work. Topics covered include the principles and practices of financial accounting and the fundamentals of managerial accounting, such as cost behavior and budgeting. The course covers accounting theories using computational examples, and homework is problem solving. 4 FIN-504 Finance Principles This course is designed for individuals who are preparing for more advanced coursework in accounting and is designed for students who have not had finance in undergraduate work. Topics covered include financial analysis, financial planning, asset evaluation, capital...

Words: 914 - Pages: 4