Cultural Considerations for Optimization of Innovation Essay Example for Free

Cultural Considerations for Optimization of Innovation Essay Innovations that drive organizations are influenced by cultural elements. Change is a constant in the business world today and those company’s that are able to manage the cultural considerations that are needed for the optimization of innovation will have a better chance at success. Innovation is driven by the need to keep pace with change. The culture that an organization sets forth will help drive the type of innovations that develop within the company. Innovation can be used for two purposes in business: 1. â€Å". . . some organizations recognize they are not growing fast enough and look to innovation to revive growth. . . (Collins 2007)† and 2. â€Å". . . other organizations want innovation to bring them valuable market differentiation (Collins 2007). † A company culture that encourages innovation maintains optimization of innovation. Thomas Gutteridge, Dean of the College of Business Administration at the University of Toledo, posits that â€Å". . all parties must understand and accept each others’ unique culture and develop a mutual set of expectations (Gutteridge 2007). † Those organizations that make innovation a strategic priority foster a culture of acceptance of new ideas and change. Companies, such as 3M, that are successes at optimizing innovation consider four keys for effective innovation (Leavy 2005): 1. placing people and ideas at the heart of management philosophy, 2. iving people room to grow and learn from mistakes, 3. build a strong sense of openness and trust across organization, 4. facilitating the internal mobility of talent. Effective innovation requires a balance between play and discipline; practice and process; and creativity and efficiency (Leavy 2005). In all, company culture must be accepting of new ideas and provide platforms for employees to feel comfortable bringing new ideas to help the organization keep up with change.