What are the concepts of innovation and creativity?
The concepts of innovation and creativity have always been of special interest to humanity. Nowadays, innovation and creativity are inseparable parts of everyday life. These two notions have become of crucial significance for the development of business in the current period. Creative people are needed everywhere as far as they are believed to bring something new to the usual life. The same is with innovations. The modern technological age changes the way of perception of success. In the modern sense, success is closely connected with innovation and creativity.
According to Skogen and Sjovoll, “innovation is a word of today…the ideas and solutions are seen as innovative if they are answers to certain needs and purposes and will promote creativity in practice” (53). Many attempts have been made to define creativity. For instance, Clegg writes, “from the origins of the words themselves, innovations would seem about newness while creativity is about bringing something into being” (2). Sometimes, people use the terms “creativity” and “innovation” interchangeably. However, these concepts are not the same. Creativity is about finding new perspectives and ideas. Innovation is a process of realization (Govindarajan par. 1).
Creative ideas become innovations often nowadays. It should be noted that creativity is not about making something of nothing. It is a process of combining, finding new approaches and visions. For instance, the creators of the 2014 innovation known as “hoverboard” found inspiration in the second part of the movie Back to the Future (“The 25 Best Innovations of 2014” par. 1-2). It is a kind of modern magic carpet, and the technology used may be further improved to protect buildings or pieces of art during earthquakes. The other example of innovation as a result of creativity is 3D-printer. This machine can produce everything from digital schemes. The potential of this innovation is immense. It is already used in schools in science lessons. Besides, scientists use it for the creation of printed reproductions of human organs (“The 25 Best Innovations of 2014” par. 6-7).
The role of creativity and innovation should not be underestimated. Global corporations and businesses invest in this sphere because it makes the modern world better and more modernized. What concerns the business sphere, innovations make companies competitive in the market and allow them to increase their market and, consequently, revenues.
Examples of well-known corporations that implement creative & innovation committee
Apple
Apple is the best-known example of innovation and creativity in the world. The corporation is reputed for its development and realization of creative ideas. Steve Jobs, the founder of the company, established a unique innovation model. Müller writes, “Apple has managed to sustain its innovation efforts with calculated, consistent increases in R&D spending and rapid-fire launches of new products and upgrades. What likes behind Apple’s success is not luck — the company has very deliberately focused its efforts on generating better ideas faster” (2).
Creativity and innovations are two inalienable factors of Apple’s success. The distinctive thing is the usage of an “integrative approach” that presupposes the utilization and development of company personal design and engineering rather than collaborating with other partners. The introduction of the iPad, for instance, revolutionized the sphere of digital music. iPhone became a boom in the area of smartphone devices too.
Samsung
Samsung is another modern company that is famous for the promotion of creativity and innovations. It is the third most innovative company after Apple and Google. Although many people argue that Samsung innovations are more about copying, there are areas where Samsung proves its efficiency. Samsung is a global leader in the production of screens, batteries, and chips (Shaughnessy par. 2-3).
Samsung also promotes the development of the creative corporate culture. Thus, it encourages the collective decision-making process, adopts a flexible time program to increase productivity, and monitors work-life balance to avoid burnouts of employees (“Building a Creative Corporate Culture” 19).
IBM
IBM has a long-lasting history of innovations. IBM has proved its significance via the introduction of the first Personal Computer and the creation of magnetic discs, for instance. IBM has altered the modern world drastically. It created the technology that was used for laser eye surgery. All these innovations were based on creativity.
Currently, the corporation continues to promote creativity. “Creative leaders invite disruptive innovation, encourage others to drop outdated approaches, and take balanced risks” (“Cultivating Organizational Creativity in the Age of Complexity” 1). The focus on creative leadership is predominant nowadays.
Tesla Motors
This automobile company revolutionized the modern car market. First, it introduced a new concept of the automobiles fuelling. Thus, Tesla Motors embodied the idea of cars without gasoline. Their electric machines are efficient as far as they can drive infinite miles.
The second innovation of the company refers to the establishment of the direct distributional model. In the automobile industry, the business-to-business model was prevailing. It meant that the consumer could buy a car from the representative of the company but not directly. Tesla Motors changed it as well (Adler par. 3-9).
Amount spent by companies on creativity and innovations
(Casey and Hackett par. 1-10).
Conclusion
Creativity and innovations are crucial for the development of the business. Although Apple, Samsung, IBM, and Tesla Motor are famous for their innovations, the data show that they do not belong to the top corporations that support innovations and creativity anymore. This information proves the significance of innovations and their relation to competitiveness.
Works Cited
Adler, Brandy. 3 Ways Tesla Motors is Changing Car Industry. 2014. Web.
Building a Creative Corporate Culture. n.d. PDF file. Web.
Casey, Michael, and Robert Hackett. The10 Biggest R&D Spenders Worldwide. 2014. Web.
Clegg, Brian. Creativity and Innovation for Managers. London, United Kingdom: Tailor & Francis, 2009. Print.
Cultivating Organizational Creativity in the Age of Complexity. 2010. Web.
Govindarajan, Vijay. Innovation is not Creativity. 2010. Web.
Müller, Christoph. Apple’s Approach towards Innovation and Creativity. München, Germany: GRIN Verlag, 2011. Print.
Shaughnessy, Haydn. What Makes Samsung Such an Innovative Company. 2013. Web.
Skogen, Kjell, and Jarle Sjovoll. Creativity and Innovation. Trondheim, Norway: Tapir Academic Press, 2010. Print.
The 25 Best Innovations of 2014. 2014. Web.