The Importance of Effective Communication

No matter how brilliant and invaluable your idea, it is worthless unless you can share it with others. For this reason, effective communication is crucial at every level of an organization. However, the ability to communicate effectively does not come easily to many people, and it is a skill that requires practice.

We begin practicing our communication skills even before we learn to walk. A newborn child communicates by crying, but it slowly learns to mimic its parents' speech. Eventually, the child discovers that certain speech patterns elicit different responses; one of the joys of parenting is trying to decipher the meaning behind certain "words." Does "baaaaaw" mean that the baby wants his ball, his bottle, or his blanket? Slowly, through trial and error, the child learns to manipulate sounds to get what it wants, and as the child develops, this active oral practice leads to more nuanced and fluid conversations. In short, the child learns effective communication.

To effectively communicate a complex idea, however, requires skills beyond elementary conversation. There are two golden rules to remember and follow.

The Importance of Effective Communication

Golden Rule #1: Organize thoughts in your mind before sharing them with others.

One idea often prompts a torrent of others. In order to share your ideas, you must first shape them coherently. Organization is important, because it creates a pattern for your listener, allowing him or her to grasp the larger picture intuitively. This allows the listener to focus on the details of your message, without struggling to understand how you went from Point A to Point B.

As a thought experiment, imagine that a colleague has asked you for directions to the airport. Write them down. Your directions will probably look something like:

* Drive west half a mile on Aurora.

* Take a left on Madison.

* At the third light, turn right and follow Dexter for 2-3 miles.

* Get on the interstate, heading south.

* Etc.

Now, with a pair of scissors, cut each line of instructions into a small strip of paper. Jumble the strips up and arrange them in a completely random order, then give them to your colleague. Even with mixed-up directions, s/he should have no trouble reaching the airport, right? After all, your directions are complete and accurate. Not a single step is missing.

The problem, of course, is that your directions are also completely unorganized, rendering them useless. Your colleague will find it impossible to focus on your message itself, because he or she will struggle to follow your message's structure (or lack thereof).

Golden Rule #2: Communication is collaborative, not competitive.

Thrusting your idea on others mars the beauty and integrity of conversation. Communication is in some ways like a dance; each partner plays off the other, basing his or her steps on the other person's, while simultaneously maintaining a certain amount of individuality.

Communication is a two-way process involving an exchange of ideas. If you try to make it one-way, you prevent this exchange and will eventually frustrate the other person. You may also frustrate yourself, if you read the other person's lack of verbosity as disinterest in the conversation, rather than an inability to get a word in.

The hallmark of effective communication is the coherent verbal projection of your ideas, so that your listener receives the message that you intend to send. By observing these two rules, you will reduce miscommunication and misunderstandings.

The Importance of Effective Communication
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Barbara Stennes, CSP, is president and owner of Resources Unlimited, a consulting firm based in Des Moines, Iowa. She is widely recognized as an expert on team building, customer service, creativity, and innovation. To learn how Barbara can help your organization, please visit Resources Unlimited or de Bono Online.

Middle Management's Role in Managing Change

It is tough to be a middle manager. On the one hand, you are pulled by the centripetal force of senior management. This is the force that demands seamless and sometimes unquestioning execution of organizational strategy. It requires you to toe the company line, even when you believe the line is flawed. An outlet for those who have unsuccessfully tried to influence organizational direction is to exit the company. A more common but insidious alternative is to remain and become a mindless conveyor of decisions from the top.

On the other hand, you contend with the centrifugal pressures of frontline supervisors and employees who, in addition to typically wanting higher pay and better benefits, are opinionated about how work is performed and often resist unfamiliar systems, technologies, and processes. In the short term, pressures from this group are generally easier to manage as middle managers can assert their authority and use sanctions, or fear of sanctions, to gain compliance.

The dizzying pace of change in corporate entities further complicates the already difficult existence of the middle manager. Innovation, technology, and globalization are forcing companies to take unprecedented steps to stay afloat. As of June 2006 mergers and acquisitions were on track to top the record .4 trillion set in 2000.1 Business strategies are overhauled and thousands of jobs are reshuffled in the process. To ensure the organization that emerges remains nimble, concepts such as "flat organization" and "delayering," which essentially translate into reducing the size of middle management, are put to work.

Middle Management's Role in Managing Change

Conversely, constant change presents a unique opportunity for middle management to reinforce its value to the organization. Middle managers are extremely instrumental in creating the agility that enables an organization to swiftly respond to its environment. No matter how many times the business plan changes, they are to elicit the support, commitment, and optimal performance of operational supervisors and personnel requisite to maintain a forward momentum.

If middle management distrusts those at the helm, that organization will struggle with trust issues. If it is misaligned with corporate strategy, the lower stratum of the organization will be out of kilter. If it does not communicate effectively, employees will make assumptions and fill in blanks. An organization experiencing any or all of these challenges cannot optimize its resources. It should not expect a highly satisfied workforce or maximum ROI. These consequences are especially acute in industries where speed is critical to success.

Middle managers must recognize that change management is an integral, inescapable part of their role. There are four critical ways that they can assert their role in managing change.
Communicator: Middle managers' role as communicators increases significantly when change is under way. First, they must seek clarity from the top on the nature and dimension of change. They must break down the communication in a manner that makes sense to the individual units they represent. Next, using multiple media and venues, they communicate the change in a clear, honest, and timely manner. To demonstrate respect and maintain credibility, relevant details, no matter how unappealing, are shared with the employees who will be impacted. Feedback must be collected and relayed to senior management. This exchange of information should occur at the speed of change. For instance, weekly meetings can become daily huddles to ensure effective communication.

Solicitor. It is not enough for middle management to relay information up and down the organization. It must cultivate the habit of soliciting employee opinion on important decisions that affect employees' work and/or compensation or that significantly impact the organization. Processes should be established for accessing opinions, and input should be articulated and presented to decision makers. Managers must close the loop by relaying decisions to employees.
Intense change, especially when it occurs in quick succession, as being experienced by many organizations, can be particularly excruciating for rank-and-file employees. The employees' frustration is exacerbated when they are not given an opportunity to participate in decisions that affect them. As stakeholders and people who execute the mission of the organization, they feel disenfranchised and devalued.

Workers need to be especially on top of their game in times of change. They must be prepared to sharpen existing skills and acquire new ones. They juggle old and new ways of doing business while maintaining productivity expectations. When management forges ahead with change implementation without their input, it typically educes compliance, which is a focus by workers on meeting the minimum requirement to get by. Management should aim for commitment; that is, the sincere devotion and resolve of workers to do whatever it takes to ensure their organization is successful. Inclusion is a viable path to eliciting commitment.

This role is designated "solicitor" to underscore the fervor and sincerity that should characterize each request for input. When management appears obligated or insincere, or when it ignores input, it sends the message that employee opinion is not valued.
Builder. Business decisions are not always favorable to employee opinion. Market forces and government regulations, for instance, can force an organization to change the way it conducts business. In such circumstances, support from the workforce can be critical to successfully implementing change and attaining new heights.

To build broad support, management should first build a form of a guiding coalition.2 This is a group of employees who have differentiated themselves as top performers and respected members of their teams. Through extensive dialogue on rationale and details of impending change, the coalition is given an opportunity to clarify objectives and identify potential flaws. Once convinced, it engages in a process of educating other employees to embrace change.

Management can choose not to spend the time and effort to educate employees on the rationale behind change initiatives. It can rely on formal authority to enforce decisions. However, experts agree that managers who tap into moral authority-that is, those who earn the trust and confidence of others by building and nurturing honest relationships-achieve better results.3
Executor. Execution is performing work to achieve set goals. Vital to the survival of the organization, it is management's classic responsibility. The unrelenting storm of change has brought the discipline of execution into sharp focus. Status quo intervals (periods where strategy is on course and work flows in an established manner) have become shorter and organizations have become more flexible to cope.

In their critically acclaimed work Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done, Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan identify several actions and behaviors that enable managers to excel at execution. Two of their recommendations are particularly relevant to effectively managing change.
Deep personal involvement. Bossidy and Charan make the point that setting strategy from the mountaintop is inadequate for getting things done in the most productivity way.4 Managers who feel exempt from the details of execution are reminiscent of the piano teacher who holds a music degree from a prestigious college and eloquently communicates the historical origin and theoretical underpinning of music but does not know how to play the piano. Thorough understanding of the mechanics of execution enables managers to ask the right questions, establish efficient processes, and make intelligent decisions, thereby building credibility with staff and ultimately achieving desired results.

Alignment. People, strategy, and operation must be aligned to accomplish goals. This entails positioning people where they can maximize their strengths, establishing a clear line of sight from the strategic plan to specific tasks and educating people on the strategy, and designing operational processes to enable people to successfully operationalize strategy. Depending on the pace of change, alignment can be an ongoing process with each assignment requiring a fine-tuning of strategy, resources, and/or processes.

Clearly, middle management plays a key role in enabling the organization to benefit from change. However, an unsupportive culture or senior management can inhibit its effectiveness. In addition, a few unwholesome tendencies come with being in the middle. Invisibility or passiveness is one of them. Punting blame or hiding behind tops or bottoms is another. Feeling powerless is yet another. To the degree that middle managers want to maximize their effectiveness, they will have to overcome inertia and challenge these obstacles.

Endnotes

1. CNNmoney.com. Mergers to Keep on Coming. June 27, 2006. Retrieved July 18, 2006.
2. John P. Kotter. Leading Change. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press, 1996.
3. Stephen R. Covey. The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness. New York, NY: Free Press, 2004.
4. Larry Bossidy, et al. Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done. New York, NY: Crown Business, 2002.

Middle Management's Role in Managing Change
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Managing Organizational Change - Using Innovation For Business Growth

The life cycle that is within any business consists of a variety of changes, growth spurts and the need to keep everything stable. As a business grows and changes, is also the need to ensure that the opportunities are taken care of effectively. Managing organizational change in the correct manner is one that allows for everyone who is working within the business to have the opportunity to grow with the business and to do so without resistance or difficulties with the changes.

A business can go through several effective organizational changes, all which are designed to enhance a business and to helps it grow. However, the need for change is sometimes stopped or moves into a yield because of employees, leaders and individuals that don't completely understand the change. Along these lines, the culture may not be as accepting of the alterations that are taking place within the organization, which can lead to discomfort and individuals who are no longer satisfied with the work place. Making sure that this is taken care of first ensures that the right change moves into any business.

The main component that any organization will want to look at when moving towards organizational change is to use innovation when building what is needed within a company. This provides specific needs to take place within the business without having as much resistance as would take place otherwise. Starting by seeing where individuals are in relation to the company provides the best insight into this. For example, taking surveys or filling out a questionnaire will help to see where an organization and it's employees are at.

Managing Organizational Change - Using Innovation For Business Growth

After there is a complete analysis of the employees, leaders and individuals that are within the work area, there can then be a plan of action to begin implementing the necessary changes to help with business growth. When doing this, the leaders will need to use a step by step process that will help everyone in the business to understand what is occurring. This includes training, knowledge, research and step by step plans to get everyone moving onto the same page. This is where the innovation comes in, so that everyone in the company is comfortable with the changes that occur.

If you are in a business that wants to see how the implementation for managing organizational change occurs, than you can begin by looking at concrete examples of companies who have effectively grown into a new image and internal environment. For example, McDonalds has used concepts with organizational change to ensure that employees benefit from the changes, combined with innovation of the procedures used to build substantial growth for the entire company, from customers to individuals that are affiliated with the restaurant.

Making sure that you are able to build your business through different time frames, as well as through resistance, is what will ensure business growth. Understanding the abilities needed for managing organizational change ensures that everyone within the work area will stay comfortable and will have the ability to continue to move forward with the organization. The result will be the ability for the business to reach it's full capacity within the market and to continue to grow as a company.

Managing Organizational Change - Using Innovation For Business Growth
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Read more information about successfully implementing Organizational Changes for businesses at => http://www.organizationalstructurechanges.com

What is Management?

Management is different from leadership but just as important. To understand the nature of management, we need to be clear how it differs from leadership. The first step in answering the question: "What is management?" is to understand the basic tasks of all organizations. Like any other species, an organization needs to take care of its immediate business of survival but it also has to evolve to ensure its fitness to cope with changes in the environment and the actions of competing species.

Management is the function that organizes the execution of today's business. Leadership is the evolutionary mechanism that changes organizations to prosper in tomorrow's world. Whenever a species or individual animal runs into obstacles, variations occur and new forms are selected from those variations. Leadership is a risk taking type of action that explores new frontiers and promotes new ways of behaving. It follows that, in a stable environment, good management is all that is needed to prosper; leadership in this context isn't required.

This portrayal is not the popular one where leadership means being the top dog in a group regardless of what's going on in the environment. Also, management has been cast on the rubbish heap since the late 1970's following the initial wave of Japanese commercial success in the West. We wanted a scapegoat for our failure to compete with the Japanese, and management was fingered for this role. Jack Welsh, Tom Peters and other gurus called for more leadership and an end to management, which they saw as stifling innovation. The reality was that a lack of competition created a complacent attitude AND lackluster management. It was the way management was practiced that was the problem, not anything to do with management as a function. We simply needed to upgrade management for a new reality.

What is Management?

Being hierarchical by nature and inclined to worship heroes, we tend to regard the person in charge of our group as a leader. But complexity demands specialization and executives need to perform multiple roles that depend on the unique demands of their situation. If their main function is to maintain quality, low cost and good customer service while motivating employees to perform to their potential, then they are performing the management function, not showing leadership.

Management is like investment. Managers have resources to invest - their own time and talent as well as human and financial resources. The goal or function of management is to get the best return on those resources by getting things done efficiently. This doesn't entail being mechanical. The manager's style is a contextual issue. With highly skilled and self-motivated knowledge workers, the manager can be very empowering. Where the workforce is less skilled or motivated, the manager may need to monitor output more closely. By saying that management is a function, not a type of person or role, we better account for self-managed work teams where no one is in charge. Managemenet simply makes the best use of all resources even when we manage ourselves. Hence management does not necessarily entail a dictatorial, controlling overseer. Skilled managers know how to coach and motivate diverse employees. Getting things done through people is what they do.

The aim of management is to deliver results cost effectively in line with customer expectations and profitably, in the case of commercial organizations. It is not only leaders who can be inspiring. Inspiring leaders move us to change direction while inspiring managers motivate us to work harder.

Management is a vital function thanks to the complexity of modern organizational life. The need to coordinate the input of so many diverse stakeholders, experts and customers requires enormous patience and highly developed facilitative skills. Excellent managers know how to bring the right people together and, by asking the right questions, draw the best solutions out of them. To facilitate well requires managers to work very closely with all relevant stakeholders.

By contrast, the leader can be a bit of an outsider. Like Martin Luther King, Jr. promoting desegregation on buses to the U.S. government from the sidelines, the leader can induce people to change even with no direct involvement or authority over the people who are needed to take the hoped for action.

Managers don't just keep ongoing operations ticking over. They also manage complex projects like making a modern movie or putting the first man on the moon. Leadership is only required to sell the tickets for the journey or to resell it periodically if resistance develops, but management drives the bus to the destination.

What is Management?
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See http://www.lead2xl.com for more articles like this one. Mitch McCrimmon has over 30 years experience in executive assessment and coaching. His latest book, Burn! 7 Leadership Myths in Ashes, 2006, challenges conventional thinking on leadership.

Life Expectancy For Leukemia

Leukemia is cancer of the white blood cells. The bone marrow produces uncharacteristic white blood cells that do not function properly. These white blood cells eventually crowd out normal white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets. One blood cell of a person suffering from leukemia goes awry and the body produces large numbers of this cell. In most cases the cell that goes awry is the white blood cell. There are four main types of leukemia. These vary on the type of white blood cell affected and the speed of progression. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) are the four main types. Life expectancy of a patient suffering from leukemia varies from one type to another.

The medical fraternity's understanding of and ability to treat leukemia has developed considerably in recent decades. In 1960, the 5-year survival rate for all types of leukemia was about 14%. It has now increased to about 50%. Children suffering from leukemia have a higher life expectancy rate, while people over the age of sixty have a comparatively lower life expectancy rate. The two main forms in which leukemia can be broadly termed are chronic and acute. Acute leukemia means that the disease grows rapidly and the usually life expectancy without treatment varies from a few weeks to a few months. Chronic leukemia, however, progresses gradually and with the appropriate cure, life expectancy can be up to 20 years or more after the onset of sickness.

Life expectancy of patients depends on the different factors such as health, age of the patient, severity of the disease, and treatment provided. While the life expectancy amongst ALL and AML is short due to its rapidly progressing nature, life expectancy amongst CLL and CML extend from three years to twenty years.

Life Expectancy For Leukemia

Over the years statistics have shown that life expectancy among people suffering from leukemia has grown considerably. This increase can be attributed to advanced studies and research. Innovation and invention of new and effective treatment procedures have also contributed to such an increase.

Life Expectancy For Leukemia
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Leukemia provides detailed information on Leukemia, Leukemia Symptoms, Childhood Leukemia, Leukemia Treatments and more. Leukemia is affiliated with Social Security Disabilities.

Max Weber's Typology of Forms of Authority - Traditional, Rational-Legal, and Charismatic

In pre-modern and modern societies, there has been a hierarchy of command of which everyone must adhere to. In order for this system to operate, there must be someone in charge or otherwise known as authority. According to Weber, authority is power accepted as legitimate by those subjected to it. Weber outlines three forms of authority in modern societies: traditional, charismatic, and rational-legal. These forms of authority are ideal pure types that are rarely "pure" in real life.

Rational-legal authority is belief in the legality of patterns of standard rules and the right of those elevated to authority under such rules to issue commands. Authority is held by legally established impersonal orders and extends to people only by virtue of offices they hold. The power of government officials is determined by the offices to which they are appointed or elected because of their individual qualifications. As long as individuals hold these offices, they have a certain amount of power, but once they leave office, their rational-legal authority is lost

There are various ways that rational-legal authority could develop. Systems of laws and regulation develop in many societies and there are many different principles of legality that could occur. With the development of a rational-legal system, there is likely to be a political system which becomes rationalized in a similar way. Associated with political systems are constitutions, written documents, and established offices, regularized modes of representation, regular elections and political procedures. These are developed in opposition to earlier systems such as monarchies or other traditional forms, where there are no well developed set of rules.

Max Weber's Typology of Forms of Authority - Traditional, Rational-Legal, and Charismatic

As political systems develop in a rational manner, authority takes on a legal form. Those who govern either have or appear to have a legitimate legal right to do so. Those who are subordinate within this system accept the legality of the rulers, believing in the right of those who have legitimate rights to exercise power. Those with the power then exercise power based on this right of legitimacy.

Rational-legal authority may be challenged by those who are subordinate but this challenge is unlikely to result in changes in the nature of the system very quickly. According to Weber, such power struggles could be based on ethnicity, nationalism, not classism, and are mostly political struggles.

Weber's examination of legitimate authority led him to define an ideal-type bureaucracy. An ideal-type is a rationally and systematically constructed pure type of action, which can rarely taken place in reality and used as a measuring tool to determine the similarity between actual social institutions and defined ones. The ideal-type bureaucracy Weber developed incorporated hierarchy, impersonality, written rules of conduct, promotion based on achievement, specialized division of labor, and efficiency. Information flows up the chain of command and directives flow down, according to Weber's model. Impersonal rules explicitly define duties, responsibilities, operating procedures, and rules of conduct.

Individual offices are highly specialized, and appointments are made one the basis of qualifications rather than ascribed status. Working together, these characteristics are designed to promote the collective goals of the organization. This ideal-type bureaucracy was intended to promote economic growth and prosperity. Many of its concepts are echoed in today's capitalist and political systems.

Traditional authority is authority in which the legitimacy of the authority figure is based around custom. Legitimacy and power to control is handed down from the past and this power can be exercised in quite dictatorial ways. This is the type of authority in which the traditional rights of a powerful and dominant individual or group are accepted, or at least not challenged, by subordinate individuals. These could be religious, sacred, or spiritual forms, a well established and slowly changing culture, or tribal, family, or clan type structures.

The dominant individual could be a priest, clan leader, family head, or some other patriarchal figure, or dominant elite might govern. In many cases, traditional authority is supported by myths or connection to the sacred, social artifacts such as a cross or flag, and by structures and institutions which perpetuate this authority. Historically, traditional authority has been the most common form among governments. An example of this is the kings and queens in the English monarchy system, which must belong to certain families in order to obtain their positions.

Traditional authority often dominated pre-modern societies. It is based on the belief in the sanctity of tradition, of "the eternal yesterday." Because of the shift in human motivation, it is often difficult for modern individuals to conceive of the hold that tradition had in pre-modern societies.

According to Weber, traditional authority is a means by which inequality is created and preserved. If no one challenges the authority of the traditional leader or group, the leader is likely to remain dominant. Also, for him, traditional authority blocks the development of rational-legal forms of authority, a viewpoint he was particularly partial to.

Charismatic authority exists when the control of others is based on an individual's personal characteristics, such as extraordinary ethical, heroic, or religious virtuosity. Charismatic leaders are obeyed because people feel a strong emotional bond to them. Hitler, Gandhi, Napoleon, and Julius Caesar were all charismatic leaders. Whether such powers actually exist is irrelevant; the fact that followers believe that such powers exist is what is important.

Weber considers charisma to be a driving and creative force which surges through traditional authority and established rules. The sole basis of charismatic authority is the recognition or acceptance of the claims of the leader by the followers. Charismatic authority can be revolutionary in nature, challenging traditional authority and sometimes rational-legal. This type of authority could easily degenerate into traditional authority in which the power is exercised by those who surround the charismatic leader.

Charismatic authority is the antithesis of routine activities and represents the desire for disruption and change of the prevailing social order. It is a necessary part of the dialectic between the human need for structure and the equally human need for variation and innovation in society. Charismatic authority is different from rational or traditional authority in that it develops not from established orders or traditions, but rather from the special trust the charismatic leader induces in his followers, the peculiar powers he exhibits, and the unique qualities he possesses. According to Weber, it is difficult for charismatic leaders to maintain their authority because followers must continue to legitimize this authority. There is a need for the charismatic leader to constantly exhibit leadership performance to his followers to reinforce the legitimacy of his authority.

The basis of Weber's distinction between power and authority is that power is the ability to impose one's will on another, regardless of the other's wishes, and despite any resistance he may offer. Power is therefore relational; it requires one person to dominate, and the other to submit. This assumes that one person will acquiesce, co-operate with or consent to the domination of the other, and this cannot be true of all relationships. The act of issuing a command does not presuppose obedience. Weber argues that an individual can exercise power in three ways: through direct physical power, by reward and punishment and by the influence of opinion. The exercise of power is more likely to be indirect and coercive: a combination of rewarding and punishing through the use of argument, debate and rhetoric.

Authority, by comparison, is a quality that enhances power, rather than being itself a form of power. The word "authority" comes from the verb "to authorize"; therefore an individual's power must be authorized by the group in order for it to be legitimate. An individual is considered an authority because of his technical expertise, combined with his ability to communicate effectively with the group. The individual in authority is the one who is primary in the group, controlling certain aspects of what the other group members do and say, and perhaps even what and how they think.

Max Weber's Typology of Forms of Authority - Traditional, Rational-Legal, and Charismatic
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iPhone Marketing Strategy

As with all Apple marketing, the iPhone marketing strategy is very clear, simple and clever. With the plain and simple apple icon, Apple focuses on the pure innovative style of their products without all the "fluff". The iPhone was released by Apple in June, 2007. The ground-breaking style of the iPhone was touted for months before the initial release and has remained the best of the best when it comes to cell phones over the past several years. Before the iPhone's official release, Apple ran four television commercials promoting the new cell phone.

The first of the commercials portrays the new iPhone as the next step up from the popular iPod. The iPod was all the rage up until this point, and the iPhone was supposed to be the next-generation iPod, oh, and it's also a phone! The advertisement displays all of the enhanced features available in the iPod, and more, the point being "There's never been an iPod that can do this."

"So, say you're watching Pirates of the Caribbean"
Finger clicks on video and displays wide screen movie.
"Mmm, did somebody say Calamari?"
Finger clicks back to menu, selects Maps application to search 'Seafood'.
"The closest would be..."
Map displays all seafood locations and highlights location nearest to you.
"Ah!"

iPhone Marketing Strategy

Finger clicks seafood location, and restaurant phone number displayed. iPhone dial's.

The first four iPhone commercials flaunted the convenience, innovation, and usefulness of a single product with the functionality of not only a phone, or a music device, but a product that can, among other things, listen to music, watch videos, view photos, make conference calls, check e-mail, browse the web, and view maps.

Not only does Apple utilize television for their marketing strategy, but they make use of their website by posting videos, they also published a handful of press releases that could have been released in one single document. Apple often uses this tactic to build up hype and leave the consumer wanting more.

With Apple's brief press releases, giving the audience little to go off, "Apple leveraged a law of social physics - news, like nature, abhors a vacuum. In the absence of real information, those who care about a product will grasp at any rumor that comes their way. Apple may publicly disavow the rumor Web sites that scramble for scraps about the companies plans, but secretly their marketing department must be delighted. It would cost a lot to buy that kind of Web advertising." (Silverman, 2007)

The official iPhone website does more than just provide information about the product. The website provides top tips and tricks for the use of an iPhone, as well as a huge focus on apps. Almost the entire iPhone page displays images of apps, provides the "App of the Week," the website also contains sections titled "Apps for Everything," and the "Top Apps." Apple's website is a great marketing tool for current iPhone users and consumers that have an interest in purchasing the iPhone. The promotion of the apps will create a stronger source of revenue for Apple. As customers see top rated applications, they are more likely to download the app, rather than searching through 25,000+ apps to find one that may be of any value to the consumer.

Successful younger men were the target audience that Apple had originally focused on. Apple had hoped that with this target audience, and the fact that 48% of this audience did not already own an Apple iPod, would allow them to reach their forecast of 10 million sales by the end of 2008.

One month prior to the release of the iPhone, Solutions Research Group profiled a cross-section of those aware of the phone. The forecast of potential buyers for the day of the release ranked a majority of T-Mobile customers, AT&T's only GSM-based product competitor, at 15%. The second largest group expected to purchase the new iPhone was AT&T's existing customer base, at 12%. The Solutions Research Group also found that 72% of males, versus 28% of women were most likely to investigate the phone at its minimum price of 9. (Malley, 2007)

The obvious current target audiences for the Apple iPhone include young people between the ages of 20 and 35, affluent teenagers, "jet-setters", and "mobile" employees who work outside of the office.

Apple is known for their simplistic, but catchy commercials. In recent television commercials for the Apple iPhone, "There's an App for that" is the new catch phrase that places a strong focus on the apps available from the App Store. Apps, or applications, are in "every category, from games to business, education to entertainment, finance to health and fitness, productivity to social networking. These applications have been designed to take advantage of iPhone features such as Multi-Touch, the accelerometer, wireless, and GPS" (Apple, 2009). Apple currently claims to have 25,000+ apps available, and counting.

The focus on the variation of apps offered opens up the target audience greatly. There is essentially an app for everyone. As a few of the iPhone commercials advertise, you can find the snow conditions on the mountain, track calories in your lunch, find exactly where you parked your car. You can find a cab in a strange city, find your share of the bill for a table of 5, or learn to fix a wobbly bookshelf. You can read a restaurant review, read an MRI, or just read a regular old book. These are just a few of the features that Apple has promoted through television commercials. iPhone apps provide every functionality that one can imagine.

When the iPhone was initially released, it was priced at a hefty 9. Still, hundreds of thousands of people rushed out to get the new phone, forking over a third as much as they would have had they waited an extra 3 months. 3 months after the initial release, Apple reduced the price of the iPhone to 9. This enraged Apple's loyal customers and consumers who purchased the new phone just months earlier. One year later, Apple again reduced the price of the iPhone to 9, 66% less than the original price.

In July, 2007, the Apple iPhone was all the hype. I believe that Apple's decision to release the phone at 9 was slightly based on greed. However, their product was the most innovative out in the market place, giving Apple the freedom to price the iPhone at whatever they wanted. Many believed that Apple had cut the price after discovering lower than expected iPhone sales. Apple, however, states that the price cut was made "to spur holiday sales and predicted that Apple would meet its stated goal of selling its 1 millionth iPhone by the end of September." (Dalrymple, 2007)

As with the product life cycle of any cell phone or Apple product, including Apple's iPod, prices are often reduced drastically months after the initially release. Tech products are always competing against "the latest and greatest" while maintaining a relevant price in the market place. Had Apple not reduced the price of the iPhone, the customer base would have dwindled quickly as many consumers are unwilling to spend 9 on a cell phone, no matter how many useful features the phone may carry.

As the iPhone remains to be the number one smart phone around, the product continues to grow, increasing size capabilities, increasing the number of applications available, and providing new features that are released through new iterations of the phone, continue to provide a greater value to the iPhone while the pricing remains relevant.

At this time in the product life cycle, Apple continues to release enhanced iterations of the iPhone. With most iPhone users un-willing to purchase a newer version of the iPhone because of price, the target audience for the newer generation phones is new iPhone customers. With Apple's installed base continuing to grow, they have found a way bring in reoccurring revenue from their existing customers through the sales of their application downloads. As more and more people purchase the iPhone, Apple's audience for new customers continues to dwindle. Fortunately for Apple, they have built in another source for revenue that continues throughout the life of the product.

References

(2009). Apple: iPhone. Retrieved April 26, 2009, from Apple

Dalrymple, J (2007, Sep, 11). Lessons learned from the iPhone price cuts. PCWorld, Retrieved Apr 26, 2009, from http://www.pcworld.com/article/137046/lessons_learned_from_the_iphone_price_cuts.html

Silverman, D (2007, Jul, 10). Apple's silence helped the iPhone hype. Chron.com:Computing, Retrieved Apr 26, 2009, from http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/4954824.html

Malley, A (2007, Jun, 6). Apple, AT&T neophytes to define iPhone audience - report. AppleInsider, Retrieved Apr 26, 2009, from AppleInsider Website

Mukherjee, A (2007, Feb, 28). iPhone under attack. Business Today, Retrieved Apr 26, 2009, from the business today website

iPhone Marketing Strategy
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Jesus has smoked most of his life. Now he writes inspiring articles for people trying to quit smoking. You can check out his recent site at [http://benefitsofstoppingsmoking.net] where he writes about the Benefits of Stopping Smoking [http://benefitsofstoppingsmoking.net].

Japanese Developing Sex Robots

What propels human innovation? Well, we know where the funding comes from. We know that funding comes when a Return on Investment is available. What do people spend money on? Well, think of Maslow's hierarchy of needs. People want to maintain self preservation, so you will find the greatest technological money flows in those things, which protect the sanctity of life; things such as Health Care and Medical advances, security and military. People also wish respect from their fellow man. They want to look good; thus you will find consumer items such as make-up, clothing, sports cars, etc. Humans also want companionship and entertainment and so we see advances in movie special effects, computer games and now the Japanese are developing human female robots. Today they advertise them as maids, receptionists and servers. But in the true spirit of Kama Sutra, you can bet that those Japanese robotic engineers will soon be designing Blonde Hair Blue Eyed sex robots to serve their will.

These Japanese scientists have unveiled the most human-looking robot to date, well at least in the public domain. Secret research is being done now which looks towards the future to build robots so real they will fool humans, in other words they maybe sitting next to you and you would never even know it. The Japanese scientists call their new robot android Repliee Q1 Expo. She flutters her eyelids in normal human increments, looks like she is breathing and moves her hands just like a human would. This robot has over 42 actuators. But indeed, this is merely the first step in human type robotics.

We all know that the Internet is used most in recreational use for surfing websites, such as pornography, chat, online dating and personal communications of the sort. It should be obvious that the near future of robotic androids will be used for sexual pleasure. Isaac Asimov and others have cited this as the most probable use. Not only have science fiction authors put these futuristic predicts forth but Hollywood has as well in several movies such as "A.I. Artificial Intelligence."

Japanese Developing Sex Robots

Using tactile sensors and the latest Haptics research the Japanese scientists are well on their way to the development of their next marketable technology. The Repliee Q1 Expo has 42 actuators, but some of the MIT robots, will mimic the human nerves in the hand already have 250 sensors. New skin technologies will allow the robots to have real human skin grown in petri dishes and these might also be incorporated in the sexual revolution of robots. Want to learn more about Repliee Q1 Expo;

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4714135.stm

Japanese Developing Sex Robots
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"Lance Winslow" - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/. Lance is an online writer in retirement.

Ford Motor Company - Case Study

Background (General Facts)

Ford Motors is one of three leading automotive manufacturing companies in the United States. Based in Michigan in 1903 by Henry ford and grew to reach revenue of 0 billion and more than 370,000 employees by 1996 [1]. In the 1970's, the automobile market for the major auto makers - General Motors (GM), Ford, and Chrysler- was crunched by competition from foreign manufactures such as Toyota and Honda. In 1999, Ford acquired the Swedish Volvo model in an attempt to compete in the foreign market and expand to other regions. Furthermore, Ford launched a full organization re-engineering business process plan called "Ford 2000" aiming at reestablishing the company's infrastructure. The process meant reduction in their Vehicle Centers (VCs) to only five covering the operations that spanned 200 countries. It also meant cutting redundancies and requiring Information Technology (IT) to be the driving force and the link between Ford centers worldwide.

In building Ford's IT infrastructure, the company focused on implementing a setup that supported the TCP/IP communication protocol based on the U.S. department of Defense requirements. At those days, Ford internal network was meant to serve files transfer unlike most companies that used the network mainly for email communications. Throughout the 1990's, Ford developed a cost effective Global Enterprise Network Integration (GENI) process to link all its locations compromising on the type of the connection and the cabling in favor of full coverage. During the same time, Ford started building its Web Farm, which was basically a set of hardware and software managed by a team for building Ford's public website. The work started by publishing documents for technical references and moved to more advanced images from a live auto show. As a result, the website received 1 million visits a day in less than 2 years after its official launch. Throughout the end of the 90's, Ford established its web services by increasing the amount of information published, building more intelligent and standard web application in 12 weeks period, purchasing more Netscape browsers for setup on its users' machines, and creating a B2B server to allow the suppliers secured access to Ford's Intranet.

Ford Motor Company - Case Study

In the path towards service cost reduction and bringing more business through the web, Ford worked closely with its competitors in the U.S. market GM and Chrysler to establish what came to be known as "Automotive Network Exchange" (ANX) certificate. The protocols aimed at providing a unified communications standard through the Internet to enable suppliers to provide common technology for all manufacturers. Moreover, Ford focused on making information on its web site more accessible and useful by deploying a team to manage the process of adding and updating information based on an analysis of how humans deal with information. One final aspect of Fords endeavor was to try to build a model through its infrastructure that benefited from the model implemented by Dell computers to improve their supply chain and delivery process. The direct model would not work well for automotives as it would with computers, as a result Ford worked on its retailing network remodeling and identifying what would eventually give it the extra edge in delivery time.

Enterprise Architecture Issues

Ford's regional expansion to address the competition for market shares demanded cost management for the infrastructure upgrades IT infrastructure places limitations on the type of application development based on the platforms Easy access to information and prompt delivery of vital data to key individuals requires proper knowledge managementOrganizations reengineering and process remodeling is necessary when adapting new technologies to maintain the cost and increase efficiency Supply chain errors and delays can severely affect the progress of the business and the market value of the corporation
Analysis

Infrastructure Upgrade

Since the inception of the Internet in the 1960's, much effort has been made in standardizing how computers connect to it. In 1982, the International Organization for Standards (ISO) realized that during that period many ad hoc networking systems were already using the TCP/IP protocol for communications and thus adapted it as a standard in its model for the Internet network [2]. The main driver for IP convergence, at that period, was the growth in data traffic through wide area networks (WANs) established by local companies. Furthermore, in 1991, the Internet was open for commercial use, and that demanded a reduction in the total cost of operating the network to cope with 1 million Internet hosts that materialized in only 1-year time. Telecommunications companies like AT&T understood the potential and worked on standardizing the network offering voice services over IP networks that managed the separation between voice and data transmission [3].

At the same time, Ford had launched its plan to update its infrastructure, and seized the opportunity brought by the global movement of integrating the voice, fax transmission network with data transmission and expanded its WAN to include its offices in Europe and elsewhere. The financial benefits also came from the fact that Ford adapted the TCP/IP protocol from the beginning and made sure that all its technical infrastructure upgrades adhere to the standards. This made the transition of its system to the Internet as cost effective as it could be.

Web Technologies

Intranets employ the hypertext and multimedia technology used on the Internet. Prior to 1989, when Tim burners-Lee invented the Web [4], most applications used standard development languages such as C and C++ to create desktop applications that were proprietary and dependent on the platform. For example, applications running on a command-based operating system such as UNIX would not run under Windows, and those working for PCs might not work on Apple computers and vice versa [5]. The invention of HTML (Hyper-Text Markup Language) introduced a new model for applications that conform to the standards provided by a single program, the "Web Browser". Unlike standard applications, the browser brought a unified interface that had a very fast learning curve. Users seem to require no additional training to work with web browsers. Furthermore, system administrators did not have to spend time installing upgrades on users' machines, since the Intranet client/server architecture facilitated all the updates through the connection with the web server [6].

Since Ford established its Intranet, it was aiming at building web applications through the initial analysis of "Mosaic", the early form of web browsers. The technical department at Ford used web languages to create the first web site in 1995. In 1996, the team started building applications making use of the unified "Netscape" browser that was deployed on all machines at the company, and working on a standard template to cut on the development life cycle. There was a substantial cut in training cost due to the user-friendly interface of web applications. Furthermore, the speed of development made vital applications available to different individuals across the company. For example, the B2B site allowed suppliers remote and secured access to various sections of Ford's Intranet. In addition, the development team created an application as a virtual teardown on Ford's website where Ford's engineers could examine parts of competitors' cars and evaluate any new technologies. The alternative would have been an actual trip to a physical location where Ford tears down cars to examine the parts.

Knowledge Management

While there are many definitions for knowledge, each company might adapt its own based on how it analysis data and information to acquire knowledge. The University of Kentucky, for example, defines knowledge as "a vital organization resource. It is the raw material, work-in process, and finished good of decision-making. Distinct types of knowledge used by decision makers include information, procedures, and heuristics, among others... " [7].

Organizations go through different activities to manage the amount of information they collect to form the knowledge base of the company. Activities include creating databases of best practices and market intelligence analysis, gathering filtering and classifying data, incorporating knowledge into business applications used by employees, and developing focal points for facilitating knowledge flow and building skills [8].

Ford was excited about the traffic it was receiving on the Web site and everyone was publishing all the material they have on desk on the Intranet. Nevertheless, there was a growing concern about the usability and usefulness of the material people were adding. As a result, Ford created a "Knowledge Domain Team" to build complete information in nine areas that were identified as vital to the business. The process Ford took was based on surveys and specialists input in how people perceive information, and what is considered vital and what is distracting in the structure of Ford's website. The aim behind the initiative was to reduce the time individuals spent in searching for information through proper indexing of the website content, and making sure that what was important could be accessed in due time, and what is trivial did not overwhelm the researcher with thousands of results.

Business Re-engineering

In the area of organization's re-engineering process innovation is the set of activities that achieve substantial business improvements. Companies seeking to benefit from process innovation go through the regime of identifying the processes, the factors for change, developing the vision, understanding the current process, and building a prototype for the new organization. History shows that organizations who define their processes properly will not have problems managing the issues and developing the change factors [9]. When introducing technology, business redesign is necessary. The industrial fields have been using Information Technology to remodel processes, control production, and manage material for generations. However, it is only recently that companies recognized that the fusion of IT and business would go beyond automation to fundamentally reshaping how business processes are undertaken [10].

When foreign companies were allowed to compete in the U.S. market, Ford understood that to succeed in business in a competitive arena it needed to implement strategies that competitors find difficult to imitate [11]. As a result, Ford bought Sweden Volvo to enter the European market, and partially owned Mazda to have a competitive edge with Japanese cars1 [12]. To achieve that it re-engineered its production development activities and global corporate organization and processes for dramatic cost reduction. Furthermore, it understood that expansion requires collaboration and alignment, and thus planned to establish the IT infrastructure through a WAN that connected all the offices. In the process of innovation and re-engineering, Ford has set policies to manage the cost of establishing the network, built models for continuous implementation, and organized global meetings to align all parties with the process. Adding to that, when it came to managing the website, Ford facilitated an awareness campaign for all the branches to understand that Ford is using the web to collaborate and research and adapting information technology as a way to maximize its business value. The goal for Ford was to maintain its leadership in the market and to do that in the most efficient and cost effective method that is there.

Supply chain management

Supply chain management (SCM) is about coordinating between suppliers, manufactures, distributors, retailers, and customers [13]. The basic idea that SCM applications revolve around is providing information to all those who are involved in making decisions about the product or goods to manage delivery from the supplier to the consumer [14]. Studies show that reducing errors in supply chain distribution, increases revenue, enhances productivity, and reduces the order-to-fulfillment period [15].

Ford often compared its supply chain process to that of Dell's, in an attempt to close the gaps in its own process and reach the level of success Dell has reached. The difference in the distribution model between Dell and Ford lies in the middle link of using retail shops. Since Ford cannot skip retail as a focal distribution point, it worked on establishing a network of retail shops that it owned. Ford made sure shops are not affecting each other in terms of sales, and gave them all a standard look and feel to establish itself in the consumer's market as a prestigious cars sales retail company. Furthermore, extensive re-engineering initiatives were undertaken to enhance Ford external network by eliminating the correlation with smaller suppliers. In that way, Ford made sure that key suppliers have access to forecasting data from customers' purchasing trends and production information to enable a faster order-to-delivery cycle. Ford vision was to create a model that allowed flexibility, predicable processes and delivered the product at the right time to the right consumer.

Conclusions

Ford is an example of how traditional organizations can mature to adapt what is current and maximizes the business value. The process that Ford went through necessitated the continuous support from management. In addition, it depended on alignment between those involved as a key for success. The correlation was not restricted to internal staff; it extended to cover competitors to reach mutual benefits, to work with suppliers to maintain similar grounds and adequate infrastructure, and to create training programs to educate all on the vision and organization's objectives.

Ford technical progress came at a time where the Internet was yet to reach its full potential. The introduction of Fiber-optic cables in the late 90's and the substantial increase in bandwidth would have helped Ford and cut on the cost in endured connecting its own offices. Furthermore, the ISP services that provided hosting servers were limited to only few players, which explained why Ford preferred to manage its own web server and maintain the overhead of the 24 hours uptime and backup.

From this case study, I understood the level of commitment large firms have to maintaining their position in the market. These companies know the revolving nature of business in the sense of how easy it is to fall back if they did not keep up with the change. The Ford process also shows the need for quick and resourceful thinking when faced with situations that might seem to be unfavorable. The way Ford ventured into the foreign market by acquiring local manufacturers was a strategic decision that did not only enabled Ford to merge with different technologies, but it also saved it the additional cost of establishing production centers in Japan and Europe.

Recommendations

Maintaining leadership in the market requires innovative organizations willing to reengineer to succeed. IT fusion with the business means restructuring and remodeling to understand the role IT would play to meet the business objectives Planning and modeling is vital when coordinating work with large teams. Constructing websites is not about content; it is about understanding what adds value and how humans interact with information. Knowledge management is a plan that companies need to develop as part of their initial business process modeling It is not wrong for large firms to try to adapt to successful processes implemented by other firms.
References

Robert D. Austin and Mark Cotteleer,"Ford Motor Co.: Maximizing the Business Value of Web Technologies." Harvard Business Publishing. July 10, 1997. harvardbusinessonline.hbsp.harvard.edu/b02/en/common/item_detail.jhtml;jsessionid=WDARNHINBSYKSAKRGWCB5VQBKE0YOISW?id=198006 (accessed July 30, 2008). Computer History Museum, Internet History 80's. 2006. computerhistory.org/internet_history/internet_history_80s.shtml (accessed July 30, 2008). Darren Wilksch and Peter Shoubridge, "IP Convergence in Global Telecommunications." Defense Science & Technology Organization. March 2001. http://www.dsto.defence.gov.au/publications/2400/DSTO-TR-1046.pdf (accessed July 30, 2008). Computer History Museum, Internet History 80's. H. Joseph Wen, "From client/server to intranet." Information Management & Computer Security (MCB UP Ltd) 6, no. 1 (1998): 15-20. R. Boutaba, K. El Guemioui, and P. Dini, "An outlook on intranet management." Communications Magazine (IEEE), October 1997: 92-99. Joseph M. Firestone, Enterprise Information Portals and Knowledge Management (OXFORD: Butterworth-Heinemann, 2002), 169. David J. Skyrme, "Knowledge management solutions - the IT contribution." ACM SIGGROUP Bulletin (ACM) 19, no. 1 (April 1998): 34 - 39, 34. Thomas H. Davenport, Process Innovation: Reengineering Work Through Information Technology (Watertown,MA: Harvard Business Press, 1993), 28. Thomas H. Davenport "The New Industrial Engineering: Information Technology and Business Process Redesign." Sloan Management Review 31, no. 4 (Summer 1990): 11-28, 12 Gary M. Erickson, Robert Jacobson, and Johny K. Johansson, "Competition for market share in the presence of strategic invisible assets: The US automobile market, 1971-1981." International Journal of Research in Marketing (Elsevier Science) 9, no. 1 (March 1992): 23-37, 23. Austin and Cotteleer, "Ford Motor " , 2. Henk A. Akkermans, et al. "The impact of ERP on supply chain management: Exploratory findings from a European Delphi study." European Journal of Operational Research 146 (2003): 284-301, 286 Thomas H. Davenport and Jeffrey D. Brooks, "Enterprise systems and the supply chain." Journal of Enterprise Information Management 17, no. 1 (2004): 8-19, 9. Kevin B. Hendricks, Vinod R. Singhal, and Jeff K. Stratman. "The impact of enterprise systems on corporate performance:A study of ERP, SCM, and CRM system implementations." Journal of Operations Management 25, no. 1 (January 2007): 65-82.

Ford Motor Company - Case Study
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Sally Ahmed is a webmaster , web technology analyst, and a developer for more than 7 years. Earned the Certified Web Professionals title from the International Webmaster Association in 2001. Worked as a technical Internet instructor at New Horizons computer learning center. Worked in several companies where she developed and planned over 20 websites . Holds a Masters degree in web technologies from the University College of Denver, CO. Currently working as a web technology consultant and an E-commerce manager for several local companies.

What is Organizational Innovation?

Defining Innovation

Organizational innovation refers to new ways work can be organized, and accomplished within an organization to encourage and promote competitive advantage. It encompasses how organizations, and individuals specifically, manage work processes in such areas as customer relationships, employee performance and retention, and knowledge management.

At the core of organizational innovation is the need to improve or change a product, process or service. All innovation revolves around change - but not all change is innovative. Organizational innovation encourages individuals to think independently and creatively in applying personal knowledge to organizational challenges. Therefore, organizational innovation requires a culture of innovation that supports new ideas, processes and generally new ways of "doing business".

What is Organizational Innovation?

The Benefit of an Innovative Organization

In promoting a culture of innovation organizations should foster:

- Cross functional team building while discouraging silo building

- Independent, creative thinking to see things from a new perspective and putting oneself outside of the parameters of a job function

- Risk taking by employees while lessening the status quo

The value and importance of knowledge and learning within organizational innovation is crucial. If innovation is about change, new ideas, and looking outside of oneself to understand ones environment, then continuous learning is a requirement of organizational innovation success.

The value of learning and knowledge can only be realized once put into practice. If new organizational knowledge doesn't result in change, either in processes, business outcomes, or increased customers or revenues, then its value hasn't been translated into success.

The road to organizational innovation lies in the ability to impart new knowledge to company employees and in the application of that knowledge. Knowledge should be used for new ways of thinking, and as a stepping stone to creativity and toward change and innovation.

Steps to Innovation

To determine how supportive your current environment is in fostering innovation read the frequently asked questions and answers below, about how to build an organizational culture that encourages innovation.

1) Is a climate of innovation supported by senior management?

a. That means, that such activities as risk taking and small ad hoc work groups that brainstorm and talk through ideas need to be promoted, supported and encouraged in the organization.

2) Do managers routinely identify and bring together those individuals more oriented toward innovation those willing to think new ideas and act on them?

a. Identifying new thinkers and individuals oriented toward change helps to ensure an outlet for innovation by supporting these individuals and giving them and like-minded colleagues the time and opportunity to think creatively. This is tantamount to becoming an innovative organization.

3) Is there a process in place monitoring innovation teams and identifying what has and hasn't worked as a result of them?

a. Maintaining and monitoring innovation is important. This requires checks and balances that identifies how innovation is developed and managed and processes that capture what did or didn't work. In order to be able to continue to innovate in a changing environment, continually monitoring the internal and external environment to determine what supports or hinders innovation is key.

4) How can an organization be strategic and focused on it goals yet build and develop an innovative culture?

a. The value of a strategic focus remains important to a company's success. In fact, clear direction and understanding of a company's mission can help fuel innovation - by knowing where in the organization innovation and creativity would provide the most value. An innovative organizational culture creates a balance between strategic focus, and the value of new ideas and processes in reaching them.

5) Is there a single most important variable or ingredient that fuels an organization toward an innovative culture?

a. Similar to other successes of an organization, what drives innovation are the people of the organization. First, management must set the expectation of innovation and creativity and then "doing business" is about how to improve processes, products and customer relationships on a day-to-day basis. This mindset itself will create an ongoing culture of innovation.

What is Organizational Innovation?
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With 20 years experience as a business and learning needs analyst, Ruth offers a strategic business approach to learning. Ruth's knowledge of adult learning methodologies, and strong analytical skills, ensures she quickly understands the "big picture" of how business goals align to learning.