Module 2 - Supporting innovation through change

Denning, S 2011, 'Reinventing management: the practices that enable continuous innovation', Strategy & Leadership, vol. 39, no. 3, pp. 16-24 (online Emerald).

Synopsis

The article discusses the need to innovate in the rapidly changing environment. Innovation is not a matter of choice anymore. It is something that is imperative for survival of the business. Hence, there is a need for significant changes in management. This is because the earlier style of management was marked by rigidity, control and command. These are impediments to innovation and change. There reinvention of management has to be marked by certain changed in the style of management. The article highlights five such changes which will aid in continuous innovation. There are discussed hereunder (Denning, pp. 16):

The purpose of the firm should not be to merely satisfy customers. Instead should be to offer the customer benefit bundles and get the customer lifetime value through customer delight. For this, the management should think of innovative ways to involve the customer. This is the major difference between a product and a brand. A brand is something that the customers are able to relate to. They are able to connect with it.

The manager should play the role of a facilitator. This is the shift from his traditional role of an enabler.

The company should not be to focus only on the customers but to focus on all the stakeholders of the company.

The coordination between the management and the company stakeholders is increased.

The way the management communicates with the employees changes. The purpose should be to encourage conversation over command.

Critique

The article is good in that it is highly applicable I the dynamic environments of today. It brings to light the need for the management to change and not just proposes that a change is needed but also tells the areas where the change is needed. In addition, the article also highlights the way this change should be brought. It points out specific measures that should be taken to remove the shortcomings in the approach of management to foster change and innovation in the organization.

The major weakness of the article is that it does not shed light on the impediments to bringing the desired shift in management. In this context, it is imperative to state that the status quo in an organization may resist any change in the management. The article should have highlighted what the impediments are in the implementation of the proposed shifts and what are the measures that should be taken to overcome the barriers (Denning, pp. 16). In addition, not all the five shifts may be applicable on all the types of business. The author should have identified the scenarios in which each of the five shifts should be implemented. There are certain scenarios in which the effectiveness of a certain measure would be greater than the other measure.

Reflection

The article helped me in understanding how things change with time. It is not only the items that become obsolete but it ...