9.2b - Methods of Innovation Flashcards
What are the different ways a business can innovate?
- R&D
- Kaizen
- Intrapreneurship
- Benchmarking
R&D definition
Scientific investigation conducted to discover new products or manufacturing processes
How does R&D support innovation?
- Invents new products to enter new markets
- Finds more efficient ways of production
- Improves quality of existing product
Kaizen definition
An approach to constantly introducing small incremental changes in a business in order to improve quality and efficiency
Disadvantages of Kaizen:
- Probably won’t lead to innovative new products as workers aren’t really encouraged to think about wants and needs of customer
- Focus on small changes to own job rather than how they could make big changes to whole process
What principles is Kaizen based on?
- Gradual change
- Staff suggestions
What skills do entrepreneurs display?
- Commitment
- Determination
- Self-confidence
Intraprenuership definition
When a business encourages employees to display entrepreneurial skills within a firm
Advantages of intrapreneurship:
It is done alongside worker’s regular role so company isn’t wasting money employing someone just to try new things
How can a business encourage intrapreneurship?
- Training
- Culture
- Reward
- Sense of ownership
Benchmarking definition
The search for the best practices that will lead to the superior performance of a business
What are the different types of benchmarking?
- Internal
- Benchmarking with competitors
- Fucntional/generic
Internal benchmarking definition
Collecting comparative data for benchmarking from similar functions within business
Functional/generic benchmarking definition
Gathering information for benchmarking from a business with the same or similar processes, although the business may be in a different field
How does benchmarking support innovation?
- Analyse and improve processes to gain a cost advantage
- Enhance performance by correcting mistakes
- Identify better approaches
