How did/do/will market and technology dynamics provide opportunities for your organisation?
Exploring Innovation
Making use of appropriate academic literature, provide a critical discussion and evaluation of the methods that your organisation uses to make organisational choices for innovation around technology. Include how exploration and execution varies along the technology S-curve, providing relevant work-based examples and being as specific as possible.
The following questions may help with your evaluation:
▪ How did/do/will market and technology dynamics provide opportunities for your organisation?
▪ How were/are opportunities developed by which stakeholders and how?
▪ How were/are ‘technology looking for a home” or a need looking to be met managed differently?
▪ How are/were ideas generated? What sources of ideas were/are consulted?
▪ What methods were/are used – brainstorming, lead user analysis etc.? How were/are risks assessed and prioritised?
▪ How did/does your organisation plan the order in which technological concepts to invest – according to a standard stage-gate, by risk, by investor demands?
Make sure you identify and review business processes that define a set of activities that accomplish specific organisational goal/s and provide a critical and systematic approach to improving particular processes (be selective and specific) within your current organisation landscape.
Where possible try to interview at least two people in various positions in your organisation involved in the cases/examples you critically analyse, and so have experienced or have responsibilities for technological change or innovation. Include your interview questions and answers as part of the appendices.
Consider too how to:
- Apply broader innovation knowledge combined with an understanding of the business context, and include how it is changing and contributing to the organisation strategy;
- Provide a succinct description of the business/organisational context of the cases and examples, including a direct discussion of its relevance to your technical pathway specialism;
[30 marks]
