Innovation and Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Innovation and Leadership - Essay Example They are faced with the issue of understanding the dynamics of innovation and exactly the drivers of the whole aspect. The question is not whether to innovate or not. Rather, they ask how they can successfully innovate. The most general definition of innovation is introduction of something new into any one given field (Zaccaro 2001, p.1-5). However, this is only a general definition of the aspect. Many people, depending on the field of operation understand innovation differently. The difference comes in when one is considering the change that will be introduced and the expected results. In the production field, innovation means introduction of a new product in the market. In the same line, it could also mean technological innovation to venture into a new the market. To another field, faster means of operation would dominate the definition of innovation. Despite varied means of defining innovation, there are three key terms that are never wanting in these definitions (Birnbaum 2004, p .345-370). These include the word new, movement from one state to another, and finally the translation of the idea in the organization. Innovation is about shifting from the old and ushering in something new. The success of the whole process is when the idea is translated into a good or service. Stacey (1992, p. 67-74) argue that all that an organization needs is leadership to achieve innovation (Stacey 1992, p.67-74). Theories have been developed to justify this fact. However, in this paper, I critically evaluate whether this is necessarily true. The paper goes ahead to evaluate the truth behind this theory, while at the same time going beyond its confines. Innovation in The Past Innovation can be traced from the days of state owned organizations (Arthur 1988, p.15-22; Senior & Fleming 2006, p.1-12). The state, in many countries managed the organizations, which brought about much inefficiency. The main aim for this era was to minimize the costs of production. Mass production of goo ds coupled with manipulation of demand and supply by the state owned organizations was a specialty in those days (Howells 2005, p.1-7). Their aim was not easy to achieve because of overproduction. Much as the business environment was stable, the consumer’s preference was highly ignored (Tarde 1903, p.5-7). The economists supporting this kind of an approach failed to see the gap created between the corporate and the consumer. Then change happened, and innovation was ushered into the manufacturing (Howells 2005, p.1-7. Industrialization and invention that came with it set the pace for the innovative corporate we experience today. The new means of production focused on several aspects, which were more efficient (Iordanis 2003, p.3-11; Joseph 1950, p. 17-56)). For one, the products were fewer but more specialize to fit the consumer’s preference. Secondly, the aspect of incorporating knowledge in the production would defeat the competition that constantly becoming stiff. Th irdly, the technological innovation would reduce the costs while at the same time allowing the chance for flexibility (Senior & Fleming 2006, p.1-12; Howells 2005, p.1-7). Further, there was the incorporation of services after offering the goods to the consumer. The feminism was also considered in the manufacturing. The whole aspect of invention and innovation was a major breakthrough for the consumer (Birnbaum 2004, p.345-370). The products defined the needs of the consumer and were able to tap into the market that was once ignored. The success of many organizations from then on became dependent on the ability to innovate. There are still many government owned