Learning objective

This module presents the relationship between organisational culture and innovation and the ways for creating and developing an organisational culture able to sustain continuous innovation. By the end of this module you will be:

  • aware of organisational culture’s importance in fostering innovation;
  • able to analyse the company’s organisational culture;
  • able to elaborate a plan for shaping the organisational culture in order to support creativity and innovation in the company.

Estimated time: 2 hours

Introduction

The main characteristic of the environment a company moves in is that nothing is constant, except change. Globalisation, emerging markets, changing needs on existing markets, development of production technology, information and communication technology are all characteristics of the environment we are very familiar with. But can we really cope with them? They demand continuous change, not only in adaptation, which on a long-term basis cannot maintain the competitive advantage, but also a proactive approach: new ideas, creativity and innovation. This means creating changes, not simply adapting to them.
Innovation should manifest itself in all activities of the company: development of technologies, new products and services, marketing campaigns, selling techniques, new methods of organisation, new techniques of management, etc.
Having a specialised team for innovation in the company is not enough. Innovation should be part of the daily activity and remit of all employees, regardless of their position. Management has to create, maintain and develop the spirit of innovation and include innovation in the daily activities at all levels and fields through the company culture.

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learning objective at the beginning

 

hint/tip/advise

background information

 

problem/question

definition

 

task/To-do

important to know

 

download of documents/attachments

memorize/to keep in mind

 

summary at the end

 Icons to be used outside the module

link to the WWW

related articles

download of additional documents and articles