management

Introduction

The main functions of leadership are establishing a vision, communicating the vision, motivating, and being an agent of change. Leaders should be charismatic in whatever they do. They ought to be visionary in whatever they undertake to do. Some other theories that can be used to foster effective leadership include transitional and transactional theories. The Newsweek named Steve Jobs as the best of the 10 Best Leaders of 2005.

This essay seeks to answer why Steve Jobs was considered to be the best leader of the decade by Fortune Magazine. Job’s leadership styles will be interrogated and analysis of how he fulfils the functions of leadership will also be done. Proper arguments will be put forward as to whether Job’s leadership qualities conform to the current theories of leadership.

Using what you have learned in this module on the functions of leadership, define Job’s leadership style and analyze how he fulfills the functions of leadership

Jobs is referred to in business circles as a benevolent benefactor. Despite the fact that he is a micromanager at Apple, he plays a very different role at Pixar. On the creative side, he is a hands-off leader. Despite the fact that he is very rich, work ethics has been his number one priority. When it comes to issues pertaining to mergers or takeovers, Steve labors to look at the finer details about the partnership agreements.

He is a leader who is ready to let go of certain things as exhibited by his reluctance to honor Wall Street analyst conferences. Steve is one person who leads by example as he states that he is happy to have grown within the industry. He once told business week that he has done sales, shipping, and sweeping floors. Jobs apart from being charismatic, plays equal part of industry knowledge and intensity. Steve is said to be both a left and right brain man (Burrows, Grover, & Green, 2006).

No product can be released into the market without endorsement from Steve. New products in his organization remains a secret until when he decides to role them out as characterized in the launch of Apple. Jobs is a leader who knows really well that controlling a product is less important as compared to the control of desire. This was exhibited when iPhone 4 was being exhibited for the first time in San Francisco when his Wi-Fi went down.

This never seemed to bother him as he instead continued to do his presentation (Collins, 1994). Jobs is a visionary leader, but this quality is firmly grounded on reality as he undertakes to closely monitor his enterprise’s operational and market metrics. That money motivates him is an overstatement because he is one person who is passionate about seeing Apple scale unfathomable heights. He sees Apple as a tool with which he can transform the world (Drucker, 1992).

Jobs has managed to transform Apple from oblivion to a profit raking organization that is innovative. He introduced iMac and iBook that strictly targeted consumers and students. He candidly refers to these latest innovations as a rocket ship. The quality of his products has endeared him to many clients and has made Apple have competitive edge over its potential competitors who deal in similar products.

Jobs return at Apple has been characterized by a marked increase in profit margin. Jobs is a charismatic leader, a leadership quality that many have mistaken to be the source of internal problems that any other company goes through. He is brilliant, idealistic, and visionary thus the Apple’s vision of providing computers that can transform the world. This vision made him tap a pool of talented people to him. His critics have said that he has bad temper; he berates, and humiliates his employees who disagree with his opinions.

Some people define him as somebody who is difficult to work with because he suddenly changes his minds. Jobs has managed to put in place Apple’s organizational renewal. He has regained market share in traditional desktop strongholds like graphic arts and introduced iMac and iBook that targets consumers and technological savvy students. The naming of Steve Jobs as the CEO of the decade can be attributed to his ability to listen to different opinions, make a connection, and empathize (Sundaram and Inkpen, 2004).

Jobs is a transformational leader. He felt that there was disruption in telephony sector, music distribution, and how consumers relate with technology. He believes that Apple’s products like iPhone, iMac, and iBook can play a greater role in transforming the world. This has fuelled his fascination with ‘what’s next’ mindset. He pays much attention to the nitty gritty of design (Philip, 1992).

Conclusion

The main reason why Fortune Magazine decided to name the CEO of Apple Steve Jobs as the best of the ten Best Leaders of 2005 was because Jobs is a visionary leader who communicates his vision for the company to employees and other management staff, motivates his staff, and is an agent of change. He is a charismatic and a transformational leader. These traits have made people to think of him as being brutish to his employees.

Reference List

Burrows, P., Grover, R., & Green, H. (2006). Steve Job’s Magic Kingdom. New York.

Business Week, 2006, Issue 3970, page 62. Web.

Collins, J. W. (1994). Is Business Ethic and Oxymoron? Business Horizons.

Drucker, P. (1992). Managing the Non-Profit Organisation: Principles and Practices,  New York: Harper Collins.

Philip, J. (1992). Business Ethics Is an Inside Job. Journal of Management, 2(4), 44-48.

Sundaram, A. K. and Inkpen, A. C. (2004). The Corporate Objective Revisited. Organization Science,15, 350 -63.

The terms leadership and management are sometimes used interchangeably regardless of the fact that they bear different meanings. Some individuals posit that there is no difference between leadership and management. However, academics like Henry Mintzberg stress that the aspect of leadership is indeed a subset of management.

On the other hand, Warren Bennis is of the opinion that the two terms are distinct from each other. This essay takes the position that the concepts of leadership and management are different from each other even though they are concurrently used to compliment each other.

To begin with, Kotterman (2006, p. 14) argues that leaders are often admired as charismatic individuals and are also valued in most workplace settings. However, managers are seen as taskmasters for organizations. They are also perceived as discipline masters who instill discipline and issue ruthless orders to subordinates.

Are the perceived differences between leadership and management point out the reality on the ground? Alternatively, does the perceived differences between leadership and management influence workplace performance? These are some of the salient questions that demand responses even as we explore the two organizational behavior concepts.

There has been growing academic discourse on the difference between leadership and management. Major organizations, government organs and scholars are all concerned about leadership and management. Therefore, there must be a difference between the two terms whatsoever.

Performance literatures that discuss leadership and management point out a number of definitions. The regular use of the two terminologies has led to blurred difference between the concepts even though they are not the same.

As a matter of fact, the two concepts have be en used casually at workplace for several decades to an extent people no longer see any distinction between them. However, it is prudent to mention that the position assumed by most leadership theorists and management scholars has not watered down the unique interpretations of the two terminologies.

According to Kotterman (2006, p.16), motivation of employees, alignment of resources and establishment of direction are some of the common roles shared out between leaders and managers. Nonetheless, it is vital to mention that the roles of planning and budgeting are exclusively centered around a manager while a leader offers direction. Besides, the responsibilities of managers are quite narrow compared to that of leaders in organizations.

For example, management teams in organizations are charged with the role of organizing the available resources, stabilizing work processes and also maintaining order at workplace. In contrast, organizations are supposed to be aligned by leaders. New goals and objectives are also developed by the leadership of an organization. In addition, it can be appreciated that management teams are expected to control and seek viable solutions to emerging challenges in organizations.

However, leaders inspire and motivate people. It is also interesting to point out that order, predictability, consistency and standards are produced by managers. On the other hand, leaders are highly likely to generate failure, lack of order and dramatic change in organizations.

Directive posts are usually held by managers in organizations. In other words, managers generally organize functions and ensure that the human resource pool and other stakeholders in organizations are utilized in the most economic and beneficial manner. In any case, a manager is anticipated to be well endowed with leadership efficacy. Better still, management and leadership have different focuses altogether.

Nienaber (2010, p. 661) presents a detailed literature analyses of the conceptual differences and similarities between managers and leaders in organizations. The author explores and critiques various perspectives assumed by academic scholars on leadership and management. From a general point of view, it is apparent that managers play multiple roles in organizations compared to leaders. For instance, the functions of leaders tend to overlap with those of the management teams.

However, the author notes that there are no well defined or distinct tasks that leaders perform. Leaders tend to execute general roles as required in organizations on a daily basis. The comprehensive nature of management is visualized during the hiring process. Well defined job specifications are pointed out for managers during recruitment. As already hinted out, managers are also leaders in their individual working capacities. However, leaders may not necessarily be managers in organizations.

The concepts of leadership and management are evidently separate from each other even though the dividing line between the two is quite thin (Nienaber 2010, p. 665). At this point, it is interesting to learn that both leadership and management share a common objective in spite of the fact that their functions are different. The overlapping nature between the roles performed by leaders and managers has been the main source of confusion for a long time.

In conclusion, it can be visualized that leadership and management are distinct from each other. Although the terms are casually used in most workplaces to imply the same meaning, academic scholars in leadership and management tend to bring out a clearer picture between the functions of managers and leaders.

Moreover, the slight deviations in arguments presented by scholars on this subject do not eventually equate leadership and management. In stricter terms, it can be stressed that managers perform more articulate, defined and comprehensive responsibilities than leaders in most workplace settings.

References

Nienaber, H. 2010, “Conceptualization of management and leadership”, Management Decision, vol. 48, no. 5, pp. 661-675.

Kotterman, J. 2006, “Leadership versus Management: What’s the Difference?” The Journal for Quality and Participation, vol. 29, no. 2, pp. 13-17.

Proposed Change Management Model

Many companies are currently using modern technologies. My firm can borrow useful ideas from Palmer’s text in order to introduce new technologies. The company should borrow the “best ideas from Lewin’s Change Model” (Kotter, 2012, p. 17). The first stage is unfreezing. The practice will ensure every individual understands the issues associated with the proposed change. The managers should “empower their employees in order to focus on the best outcomes” (Palmer, Dunford, & Akin, 2009, p. 41). The managers should monitor every challenge affecting the proposed change. The second stage is “implementing the change” (Kotter, 2012, p. 42). The firm will introduce new technologies in order to improve the level of performance. The third phase is refreezing. This phase will ensure the implemented change becomes part of the firm. Managers should equip their employees with the best ideas and concepts. Every firm should use the above concepts in order to achieve its objectives.

Contingency Approach

Every organization wants to achieve its goals. Different contingency approaches “make it easier for managers to produce the best behaviors in their organizations” (Kotter, 2012, p. 75). Such contingency approaches can take different shapes depending on the targeted outcomes. A managerial contingency approach can support the above change (Palmer et al., 2009). This contingency approach will ensure every employee understands the issues associated with the targeted change. The managers will ensure every employee develops the best competencies. Managers should encourage their workers to embrace the best practices. This approach will also tackle various organizational challenges. This contingency approach will ensure the targeted firm achieves its potentials. Some contingency strategies might not produce the best goals. Such strategies might also fail to support the targeted change.

Vision and Organizational Change

I have encountered several organizational changes in my workplace. Our firm decided to introduce new organizational practices in order to improve its performance. The managers identified the right vision for the proposed change. The managers used “posters, flyers, training sessions, and meetings in order to inform more people about the targeted change” (Kotter, 2012, p. 47). The managers also encouraged their employees to present the best feedbacks. The managers believed strongly that the proposed change would succeed. However, some employees were unhappy with the proposed change (Kotter, 2012). The above contingency approach made it possible for many individuals to support the targeted change. The managers also used a powerful Change Model (CM) to inform more employees about the targeted goals (Palmer et al., 2009). This approach made it easier for the organization to achieve its goals.

“Vision of Change”

Many employees and stakeholders will react negatively to every new change. The “vision of change is a powerful concept that identifies the targeted outcomes and goals of an organization” (Palmer et al., 2009, p. 72). The effectiveness of the “vision” determines the success of many organizations. This vision encourages more stakeholders to support the proposed change. A “proper vision also motivates more individuals in order to focus on the best outcomes” (Palmer et al., 2009, p. 72). Many employees react positively after understanding the targeted vision. The “vision of change therefore encourages more individuals to focus on the targeted outcomes” (Kotter, 2012, p. 87). The strategy makes it easier for every employee to achieve the best goals. This discussion explains “why managers should design the best visions of change” (Kotter, 2012, p. 87).

Reference List

Kotter, J. (2012). Leading Change. Boston, MA: Harvard Business Review Press.

Palmer, I., Dunford, R., & Akin, G. (2009). Managing Organizational Change: A Multiple Perspective. New York, NY: McGraw Hill.

Investing in a healthy working environment has led to notable improvements in employee performance, as well as business returns (Allen, 2011). Although leadership wellness programs have created several benefits, there are fears that have been associated with the financial burden the organization bears in creating a healthy working environment (Grawitch, Ledford, & Ballard, 2009).

An individual’s health and lifestyle, while at work, go hand in hand. Due to this link, it is within reason to say that a person’s work environment determines the quality of work done by the employee. Allen (2011) notes that organizations that encourage their employees to adopt a healthy lifestyle have record improvements in employee performance.

An ideal and healthy work environment is created by the organization’s leaders through the enactment of various policies and encouraging the employees in adopting healthy lifestyles.

The Purpose and Issues Surrounding Healthy Working Environment

Although there are a few people in an organization, who may be capable of maintaining a healthy lifestyle without the need for a healthy working environment, the passage of time and an organization that does not encourage healthy living will eventually lead them to abandon their lifestyle (Grawitch et al., 2009). So as to minimize employee exposure to health risk, it is necessary for organizations to adopt healthier physical and social environments.

Leaders play a significant role in the creation and management of a healthy working environment (Lowe, 2003). Leaders achieve the organization’s objectives by understanding the behaviors of their subordinates (Bierema, 2012). By understanding the employees’ behavior and attitude towards healthy living, the leader can adjust the work environment so as to suit their lifestyles. Following this thinking, the initiation of a healthy working environment could help them achieve the best out of their personnel.Maintenance

The Role of Leaders in Creation and of a Healthy Work Environment

In order to create a healthy environment, it is necessary to identify leaders who support the idea of establishing a healthy workplace and also understand its significance (Allen, 2011). One means of creating a healthy organization is by encouraging workers to maintain healthy practices (Allen, 2011). In such a scenario, if there are employees who have a strict lifestyle and health requirements, the organization’s leaders can strive to provide the ideal working environment necessary for them to continue their practices. Some of these health practices could require the establishment of facilities or the purchase of particular equipment. These facilities could be in-house or outsourced, provided they are close to the organization of the workplace.

Another means of establishing a healthy organization is by enhancing employee awareness of the dangers of unhealthy living (Grawitch et al., 2009). However, this should be done with care to avoid causing social tension in the workplace where unhealthy workers are criticized. To ensure that this is done successfully, the involvement of leaders and managers in the sensitization programs would be useful. Allen (2011) found that the sensitization process should focus on both individual and group strengths instead of weaknesses.

The creation of healthy living support groups with team leaders helps to foster cohesion and encourage participants to adopt and maintain a healthy lifestyle (Bierema, 2012). Leaders should be able to hold their teams together and be the role model for the other employees to follow (Lowe, 2003). In addition, they should be able to construct a healthy lifestyle plan for the organization in a way that the needs of every individual in the organization are considered.

The most crucial part played by leaders is that of distributing the organization’s resources in a manner that does not compromise the company’s profitability (Lowe, 2003). The leaders allocate the funds needed for the establishment of a suitable and healthy, social, and physical environment. When doing so, great care should be taken to avoid leading the organization to ruin while creating an ideal healthy workplace. The refurbishment costs done to the workplace in the organization should be closely monitored so that they do not exceed the cost-benefit of the project.

Data Gathering and Measuring the Impact of a Healthy Working Environment

The benefits of a healthy working environment can be measured by looking at the advantages that come about from the direct introduction of wellness leaders and programs. The benefits may include increased employee performance, shorter time spent away from work due to illness, and an increase in returns, as well as retaining employees over long periods (Allen, 2011). By looking at the relationship between health issues in the organization and the practices and policies that can be carried out by a company’s leaders, it is possible to identify the benefits reaped in terms of productivity.

It will also be important to monitor the costs that will be incurred while implementing and maintaining a healthy working environment. These costs could be in terms of investments in facilities, equipment, policy enactment, employees, and time (Bierema, 2012).

The Future of Leadership Involvement in Creating a Healthy Environment

Although it has been noted that there exists a relationship between employee performance and the working conditions, there still exists a gap as to the extent of the relationship (Lowe, 2003).

Due to the positive results obtained from organizations with healthy work environments, more companies have entrusted the role of creating and monitoring healthier working conditions to managers (Grawitch et al., 2009).

Previous research on healthy organizations points to the involvement of other companies in creating healthier organizations.

Reference List

Allen, J. (2011). Wellness Leadership. Maryland, Washington DC: Human Resources Institute.

Bierema, L. L. (2012). HRD’S Critical Role In Creating Healthy Organizations. Atlanta: University of Georgia.

Grawitch, M. J., Ledford, G. E., & Ballard, B. D. (2009). Leading the healthy workforce: The integral role of employee involvement. Consulting Psychology, 61(1), 122-135.

Lowe, G. S. (2003). Healthy Workplaces and Productivity: A Discussion Paper. Quebec: Minister of Public Works and Government Services Canada.

Total quality management (TQM) refers to management approaches and initiatives aimed at improving the level of quality of business output. TQM targets all business activities including directing, organizing, controlling, and staffing functionalities to achieve customer satisfaction in the provision of goods and services. The concept of TQM has developed over a long period to streamline its functionalities for the effective delivery of services and enhancement of culture within organizations.

Some of the leading TQM gurus like W. Deming, V. Feigenbaum, Kaoru Ishikawa, and J. Tuan have influenced the concept of TQM and the values derived from it. Through the adoption of TQM, an organization conveniently and suitably adjusts its culture to promote productivity. In any organization, TQM focuses on executive management, employees, processes, culture, and methodology of production (Wheelen et al., 158). To ensure its proper conduct about quality, multiple values must be inculcated within organizations.

The urge to achieve the highest level of TQM in an organization requires the organization to inculcate virtues such as ethics, integrity, trust, training, teamwork, leadership, recognition, and communication. These crucial elements initiate with the founding components that drive the need for quality in management such as ethics, integrity, and trust. In this case, business ethics entail the codes of conduct that distinguish what is right from what is wrong in the business operations.

Similarly, integrity refers to honesty, impartiality, and morals that customers expect the business to demonstrate in delivering its services. Trust guarantees the development of TQM since it enhances integrity and ethics within the organization. As a result, these elements become the building block of TQM since they facilitate a suitable environment attributed to equity among all participants.

Once the essential virtues like ethics, integrity, and trust are integrated into the workforce in an organization, it is mandatory to improve their capabilities through training. In this case, training facilitates employees to improve their level of productivity. Therefore, it implies that employees should be imparted with additional skills and knowledge through coaching, apprentice training, or development by level. As a result, the employees boost their level of interpersonal skills, decision-making approaches, and problem-solving. In this regard, the employees’ capabilities and productivity improve concerning quality. Also, time and resource wastage within the organization decline considerably (Foong 1).

Since the organization instills good virtues into its employees, the adopted leadership approach should be ideal for all individuals. This implies that the leaders should be able to stir vision, strategize for the organization, and inculcate appropriate virtues among the subordinates. Through the adoption of appropriate communication within an organization, the company’s culture and methodology of processes improve. As a result, there would be appreciation and recognition of employees at the expertise level leading to increased morale and productivity.

Despite the importance of TQM, there are crucial components of management that an organization could adopt to enhance its effectiveness. These alternatives include total quality control (TQC), the theory of constraints (TOC), six sigma, and lean production. Initially, TQC involves the production processes that enhance the consideration of quality in every perspective of the organization. From the production system, the concept illustrates the need to enhance the reduction of defective products and time wastage.

This implies that the workforce should be well equipped with skills and knowledge that promote their level of productivity. Also, employees should have essential tools that enable them to deliver appropriately from the available resources. Concerning the seniors, they have to provide employees with appropriate methodologies that guide them in the production process about the quality of products and schedules designed. Therefore, through this process, the management enhances the quality and controls it within the acceptable standards of the organization.

The theory of constraints (TOC) entails a conceptual methodology of delivering the best output from scarce resources. In this regard, employees are constrained with the need of delivering quality products. This element assists employees to define the most appropriate procedures as per the minimal resources and avoid the production of defective products (Bono and Heller 1). Therefore, through this concept, the management can instill sensitivity and productivity in its employees boosting its performance.

Another crucial element of quality management within the organization is the six-sigma, which elaborates business strategies for the management. The approach outlines how the quality of methods can be enhanced in the production process through the elimination of defective products and variability in products’ quality. This method adopts statistical approaches to control the quality of production. Some of the designs use the Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control (DMAIC) process. In this case, the organization adopts the business strategy when there is a need to improve the quality of existing products.

On the other hand, the organization uses the Define, Measure, Analyze, Design, and Verity (DMADV) approach when dealing with businesses that are new in the industry to enhance quality and marketability (Longenecker 48). Since these two methods use statistical approaches and management techniques, they enhance productivity and employees’ effectiveness as well as the instruments or machines used in production. As a result, it is one of the best alternatives for industrial organizations when dealing with matters of quality. Also, it enhances the growth and expansion of the company leading to increased market share.

Another element of the quality management approach is lean production. This quality management approach focuses on the expenditure of resources for the utilization of value creation in consumer goods thus reducing the level of wastage. In this case, the business will stretch in its bid to reduce defective products as well as the resources used for production. Through this initiative, the business will be able to provide its consumers with quality goods and services.

The alternatives to total quality management are similar to TQM as they emphasize products’ quality. The adoption of these approaches for differentiation in the market will benefit the firm based on the industry of the business. Since the approaches are crucial for the improvement of the quality of production and service delivery, companies should enforce them within their businesses to ensure effective service delivery.

On the other hand, the employees’ productivity would improve since they would be able to adjust to the business demands based on the motivation given to them. The business pursuit of quality will enhance its relationship with consumers who are the main influential factor in the market.

Works Cited

Bono, Edward, and Robert Heller. “Total Quality Management | Thinking Managers.” Business management, development & leadership @ Thinking Managers. N.p., 2006. Web.

Foong, LM. “How To Measure TQM Success.” Total Quality Management(TQM)Implementation articles and case studies. N.p., 2001. Web.

Longenecker, Justin Goodell. Small business management: launching and growing entrepreneurial ventures.. 14th ed. Mason, OH: Thomson/South-Western, 2008. Print.

Wheelen, Thomas L., and J. David Hunger. Strategic management and business policy: concepts and cases. 11th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2008. Print.

Introduction

Scholars and practitioners have long recognized that organizations must constantly be ready to change not only to solidify their competitive advantages, but also to modify the functioning of the entities (Battilana & Casciaro, 2012). Change leaders are at the forefront in driving the intended change and ensuring minimal resistance from relevant stakeholders, including employees (van Dijk & van Dick, 2009). The present paper looks into some underlying issues on monitoring and responding to drivers of change and resistance within the organization and industry.

Monitoring and Responding to Drivers of Change

As a change leader, it is always important to monitor and respond to the drivers of change with the view to developing a solid understanding of the organization’s capacity for change. Within the organization, I would monitor current trends in technology, globalization, customer expectations, industry, market, competitors, new leadership, regulations, as well as the economy. Within the industry, I would monitor current trends in technology, globalization, market, and the economy (Whelan-Berry & Somerville, 2010).

Such monitoring can be done through the development of a clear and compelling vision which could be used to note variations between current trends and future directions (van Dijk & van Dick, 2009).

Responding to change drivers is often a complex and multifaceted task which requires careful thought and analysis to ensure successful implementation of the change process (Battilana & Casciaro, 2012).

As the change leader, I would respond to the drivers of change within the organizational context by evaluating the organization’s capacity and readiness for change. In the event that the organization is ready for change, it is important to move the change vision to the group level before introducing the particular change to the employees for adoption. Here, it should be noted that the change being introduced to employees arises from a particular driver that has already been identified through demonstrating a vision which must be compelling to and accepted by individual employees (Whelan-Berry & Somerville, 2010).

Afterwards, it is imperative that I not only develop a strategy to sustain the momentum of the change implementation but also institutionalize the change. Within the industry context, I would respond to the drivers of change by assessing how the change may affect the organization and consulting with the top leadership to establish ways through which the organization could gain competitively from the change effort (Battilana & Casciaro, 2012).

Monitoring and Responding to Individuals Resisting Change

It is important to monitor the reasons that make individuals to resist change as such resistance can have an adverse impact on the successful implementation of the change project (van Dijk & van Dick, 2009). As a change leader, I would monitor the reasons by, among other things,

1. maintaining an open door policy,
2. encouraging change-related employee participation,
3. using the 5 stages of ‘grief’ model to assess resistance,
4. facilitating communication and support (Battilana & Casciaro, 2012).

Moving on, I would attempt to respond to the reasons for resistance by not analyzing the motivations behind the resistance but also improving the utilization of my self-enhancement strategies in response to the reasons advanced by individuals as forming the basis for resisting change (van Dijk & van Dick, 2009). To minimize resistance, I would also attempt to implement the change effort using tested and humane change models such as Kotter’s 8 step change model.

The steps of the model include developing urgency for the change project, structuring a powerful partnership, developing a vision for change, communicating the vision, addressing the various obstacles, designing short-term wins, building on the change project, and anchoring the change in corporate culture (Kotter’s, 2015).

Conclusion

The current paper has provided a personal perspective on how I would monitor and respond to the drivers of change as a change leader, and also how I would monitor and respond to reasons that make individuals to resist change. Drawing from this exposition, it is evident that a better understanding of these processes is needed to ensure effective change implementation.

References

Battilana, J., & Casciaro, T. (2012). Change agents, networks, and institutions: A contingency theory of organizational change. Academy of Management Journal, 55(2), 381-398.

Kotter’s 8-step change model: Implementing change powerfully and successfully. (2015). Web.

van Dijk, R., & van Dick, R. (2009). Navigating organizational change: Change leaders, employee resistance and work-based identities. Journal of Change Management, 9(2), 143-163.

Whelan-Berry, K.S., & Somerville, K.A. (2010). Linking change drivers and the organizational change process: A review and synthesis. Journal of Change Management, 10(2), 175-193.

Innovation in Business Process Management

Innovation is one of the widely discussed issues in performance management (Sahu 2009). The word innovation usually captures the imagination of people because it gives people a sense of possibility (Pratali 2003). Very many definitions of innovation exist. To understand what innovation is, it is useful to consider the common elements in these definitions.

In many cases, innovation refers to the invention of a new process or a new product based on existing ideas (Jones 2008). Innovation usually does not include the development of novel outcomes. If something has not been in existence, the appropriate word to describe it is invention. Innovation on the other hand usually builds on what already exists (Dalal 2007). It combines or advances ideas to ensure that the outcome solves existing problems. In this sense, innovation is a way of using what already exists to solve prevailing problems.

Schumpeter made a distinction between product and process innovation (Omachonu & Einspruch 2010). Product innovation is the process of increasing the value or the functionality of a product by some form of improvement. The motorcycle was an innovation that came from the combination of the bicycle and a motorized engine.

The objective of process innovation is to increase the efficiency of carrying out certain tasks (Omachonu & Einspruch 2010). A good example of process innovation is the work done on the Dubai port to increase the time it takes to handle cargo at the port. Innovators used computers to develop a system that can handle cargo at high speeds and with high accuracy. This is one of the sources of competitive advantage for the Dubai Port.

In young industries, product development is usually very rapid. The product development process usually calls radical changes in product design based on feedback from consumers. This is called radical innovation (Verganti 2009). In established industries, the pace of innovation is slower, or highly targeted. In the automobile industry, innovation is slower, and each one adds only something small to the existing cars. For instance, the transition from carburetor cars to electronic fuel injection cars only dealt with the fuel supply to auto engines. The rest of the components of the vehicles remained the same.

Article Summary

Vincent K. Omachonu and Norman G. Einspruch from the University of Miami wrote an article on healthcare innovation titled, “Innovation in Healthcare Delivery Systems: A Conceptual Framework”. The authors observed that healthcare has benefited a lot from innovation in the last decade (Omachonu & Einspruch 2010). The improvements have resulted in increased standards of care, higher life expectancy, accuracy of diagnosis, and ease of administration of healthcare facilities. The authors also pointed out that the bulk of healthcare innovations arose from information technology (Omachonu & Einspruch 2010).

However, while healthcare has benefitted from innovation, no conceptual framework governs innovation in healthcare settings. Innovation models used in healthcare settings tend to be offshoots from other disciplines. Developments in database management led to the development of database systems for healthcare facilities (Niles 2010). In cases like procurement of medical supplies, the innovations used arose from the use of IT in procurement in other fields. This means that the healthcare sector may not be reaping the full value of innovation because there is little product innovation that originates from healthcare settings.

To solve this problem, the authors developed a framework that can help guide people interested in innovation in the healthcare sector. The conceptual framework developed for healthcare innovation has processes and goals of healthcare that should form the basis of healthcare innovation (Omachonu & Einspruch 2010). Innovation in healthcare should improve how patients are seen, how they are heard, and how their needs are met (Omachonu & Einspruch 2010). The main aspects of care in this regard include quality, cost, safety, efficiency, and outcomes (Omachonu & Einspruch 2010). The processes of healthcare include treatment, diagnosis, prevention, education, research, and outreach.

Contribution of Authors in the Field

The first main contribution of the authors to the field of innovation is that they provided a clear definition of innovation for the healthcare sector. Their definition stated that innovation in healthcare was, “the introduction of a new concept, idea, service, process, or product aimed at improving treatment, diagnosis, education, outreach, prevention, and research, and with the long term goals of improving quality, safety, outcomes, efficiency, and costs.” (Omachonu & Einspruch 2010, p. 5). This definition clarified all the issues that healthcare innovation needed to cover. It provided a strong foundation for developing an innovative culture in healthcare systems.

The second contribution of the authors to innovation in healthcare was that they provided a clarification of the issues in healthcare that should be subject to innovation (Omachonu & Einspruch 2010). These issues included concepts, ideas, services, processes, or products consumed in the context of healthcare provision (Omachonu & Einspruch 2010). The significance of this clarification is that it is wide enough to cover all the aspects that require innovation in the healthcare setting.

The third contribution of the authors was distinguishing the facets of healthcare that can benefit from innovation, from the processes that support these facets (Omachonu & Einspruch 2010). While a healthcare facility can benefit from improvements in efficiency, efficiency in itself is not the goal (Robert 2007). Rather the efficiency should translate into better services. For example, an improvement in the efficiency of handling patients in a healthcare facility should result in a reduction of complications that arise when patients wait for too long to see a doctor.

Application of Innovation

The definition provided by the authors summarized the conceptual framework developed to map out the application of innovation in healthcare settings. These concepts can help my organization in the following ways. First, hospitals need ways of measuring patient waiting time to find ways of reducing the time because of the quality implications (Robert 2007). My hospital needs to find creative ways of cutting back on the current waiting time to increase patient satisfaction. This can be done via incremental innovation.

The second area that can benefit from the framework presented in the article is research. In terms of business process management, the amount of research currently underway in the hospital is not commensurate to the needs of the hospital. In this regard, the hospital can benefit from more research to help it improve on the various performance indices. Research in healthcare settings tends to focus on medical aspects such as epidemiology and pharmacology (Robert 2007). In this regard, research can drive the innovation efforts by identifying and quantifying the problems associated with the operations of the hospital.

The third application of the framework in business process management is the identification and development of opportunities for innovation. The hospital has several functions that can benefit from innovation. Currently, the hospital’s educational programs target the staff already working in the hospital. The hospital uses posters and handbills to educate the public. With some innovation, the hospital can do more in the area of education by using IT to reach a wider audience and to improve the quality of education provided to members of the public.

Reference List

Dalal, S 2007, Creativity And Innovation Driving Business, Creativity Innovation Books, Mumbai.

Jones, MA 2008, The Innovation Acid Test: Growth Through Design and Differentiation, Triarchy Press, Axminster.

Niles, NJ 2010, Basics of the U.S. Healthcare System, Jones & Bartlett Learning, Sadbury, MA.

Omachonu, VK & Einspruch, NG 2010, ‘Innovation in Healthcare Delivery Systems: A Conceptual Framework’, The Innovation Journal: The Public Sector Innovation Journal, vol 15, no. 1, pp. 1-20.

Pratali, P 2003, ‘Strategic Management of Technological Innovations in the Small to Medium Enterprise’, European Journal of Innovation Management, vol 6, no. 1, pp. 18-31.

Robert, GB 2007, Bringing User Experience to Healthcare Improvement: The Concepts, Methods and Practices of Experience-based Design, Radcliffe Publishing, Oxon.

Sahu, RK 2009, Performance Management System, Excel Books, New Delhi.

Verganti, R 2009, Design-Driven Innovation: Changing the Rules of Competition by Radically Innovating What Things Mean, Harvard Business Publishing, Boston, MA.