Managing Innovation in Business - Report Assignment

Write a 4,000 word (20 pages maximum) individual report to improve the innovation capabilities of a chosen organisation to meet the future challenges of the industry.

This assignment tests the following Learning Outcomes for the module:

• Apply an evaluative approach to a range of business data, sources of information and appropriate methodologies in identifying drivers of innovation within a business and its environments;
• Analyse and illustrate how organisations and their leaders can successfully plan and prepare for innovation;
• Critically discuss the importance of organisational knowledge, knowledge transfer and cross functional co-operation in order to analyse and assess innovation capability and blockages;
• Actively engage in the identification of a new product/service for a chosen organisation and identify the key activities required for its successful development;
• Conduct an innovation/organisational development audit appropriate for the introduction of the new product/service.

Assignment Task: You are to identify an organisation that you wish to work for or one that will ideally be in the market sector you wish to work in once you graduate.

Your first task is to conduct an innovation audit of the selected organisation to examine the organisations present level of innovation activities and capabilities. The audit will factor in wider macro and competitive environment factors as well as upstream and downstream supply chain participants.

Your second task will be to identify new product or service that will emerge as a result of either technology push or market pull within the industry/market sector over the next 5-10 years.

The third task will require you to identify and critically discuss the leadership and operational requirements for enabling the organisation to successfully develop the new product or service from its existing innovation capabilities.

Suggested Report Structure, Headings & Word Count

Front Cover page

Executive Summary (NOT included in word count, 400 words max)

Contents

1. Introduction (page count starts here)

The Organisation and Market Position & Purpose of the Report (500 words)

2. The Organisation Innovation Audit

The Organisations Existing Innovation Performance and Capabilities (800 words)

3. The Future Innovation Needs of the Industry

Technology Push or Market Pull - The Products or Services of the Future (500 words)

4. Building the Future Innovation Capabilities for the Organisation

Leadership & Planning (650 words)

Organisational Collaboration and Knowledge Sharing (650 words)

People and Innovation Capability Development (650 words)

5. Conclusion (250 words)

References - Harvard Format (Pages not included in page count)

Appendices (Maximum 4 pages)