Reflection on Course Concepts
This course has involved learning some critical concepts that are applicable to nearly any business setting in todays business environment. Some of the concepts learned in this course include design thinking, building and sustaining an innovation strategy, and organizing and building organization. These concepts relate to todays business environment in terms of their focus on promoting innovation, which is one of the keys to success for modern businesses. Through insights obtained from the concepts, the course has essentially prepared me to develop the necessary skills to drive critical business decisions and develop successful business strategies. I believe that the course has equipped me with knowledge and skills that would help me shape critical business decisions and strategies in my workplace.
Most Compelling Concepts
One of the most compelling concepts from this course is design thinking, which is an iterative process that seeks to understand users and redefine problems through challenging assumptions in efforts to identify alternative innovative strategies and solutions (Interaction Design Foundation, 2018). Strategies and solutions emerging from this process may not be immediately instant with the initial level of understanding. I find design thinking to be compelling because it creates a user-driven approach to innovation, which helps to avoid design bias that can be harmful and lethal (The Economist, 2021).
Building and Sustaining an Innovation Strategy and Organizing and Building Innovation are also compelling concepts learned in this course. Building and Sustaining an Innovation Strategy seeks to enhance the long-term competitiveness of a business through the creation of project plans (Wheelwright & Clark, 1992). The process of building and sustaining an innovation strategy entails effective management of the innovation portfolio. This concept is one of the most compelling because it provides insights on how business executives can avoid making dramatic interventions and vacillating strategies in response to global competitive pressures (Nagji & Tuff, 2012). Through insights obtained from the concept, business executives can respond to competitive pressures in the market and develop appropriate strategies through managing their innovation portfolio....
…CareerThese concepts are applicable in my future career in terms of organizational development, business development, and employee management (HR). Design thinking would be applicable to organizational development as it promotes a user-driven approach to innovation. In this case, innovation projects in my future career will begin with the end-user in mind. This will help promote organizational growth and development as business strategies will be developed in line with end-user needs and preferences. Moreover, the end-user will be incorporated in the design and execution of innovation. With regards to business development, the concept of Building and Sustaining an Innovation Strategy will be applied. Managerial decisions and actions will be based on a proactive rather than reactive approach. This implies that proactive approaches will be adopted to deal with competitive pressures through managing an innovation portfolio. Organizing and Building Innovation will be used as the premise for employee management by adopting an agile operating model. The model will be used as the premise for developing functional teams that work independently to execute…
References
Banholzer, M., Metzeler, F. & Roth, E. (2019). Fielding high-performing innovation teams. Retrieved December 22, 2021, from https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/fielding-high-performing-innovation-teams
Comella-Dorda, S., Garg, L., Thareja, S. & Vasquez-McCall, B. (2020). Revisiting agile teams after an abrupt shift to remote. Retrieved December 22, 2021, from https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/revisiting-agile-teams-after-an-abrupt-shift-to-remote
Comella-Dorda, S., Handscomb, C. & Zaidi, A. (2020). Agility to action: Operationalizing a value-driven agile blueprint. Retrieved December 22, 2021, from https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/agility-to-action-operationalizing-a-value-driven-agile-blueprint
Interaction Design Foundation. (2018). The basics of user experience design. Retrieved December 22, 2021, from https://www.socialsavvi.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/The-Basics-of-user-experience-design.pdf
Nagji, B. & Tuff, G. (2012). Managing your innovation portfolio. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved December 22, 2021, from https://hbr.org/2012/05/managing-your-innovation-portfolio
The Economist. (2021). Design bias is harmful, and in some cases may be lethal. Retrieved December 22, 2021, from https://www.economist.com/leaders/2021/04/10/design-bias-is-harmful-and-in-some-cases-may-be-lethal
Wheelwright, S.C. & Clark, K.B. (1992). Creating project plans to focus product development. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved December 20, 2021, from https://hbr.org/1992/03/creating-project-plans-to-focus-product-development
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