Innovation Management (19CIE40000)
General information
Type: |
OB |
Curs: |
1 |
Period: |
S semester |
ECTS Credits: |
4 ECTS |
Teaching Staff:
| Group |
Teacher |
Department |
Language |
| |
Ivanka Visnjic |
Operaciones, Innovación y Data Sciences |
ENG |
Prerequisites
Mindset, attitude and intrinsic knowledge. Participation in the classroom is instrumental to the success of the course. The best way to describe desired class atmosphere is with the analogy of the orchestra: participants are the performers while instructor is the conductor.
Thus, participants should be prepared to participate in the class discussion and take part in the teamwork. This implies capacity to come up with arguments and ideas, audacity to share it with others and openness to receiving constructive criticism. Equally, it implies the ability to listen attentively and criticize constructively the arguments of others.
Previous Knowledge
Prior knowledge. Knowledge of other courses thought in the Master of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, first semester is needed for this course. We will build and extend what you have learned in the first semester. I look forward to accommodating participants with different backgrounds and I expect diversity to drive creation and innovation in the teamwork.
Workload distribution
Workload distribution.
In class:
- Lectures, invited speakers and discussion: about 30%
- Simulation & experiential learning: about 30%
- Exercises & role play: about 30%
- Tutoring/feedback (work in class on final exercise): about 10%
Outside of class:
- Independent work (reading materials at home): about 2h per class
- Group work (homework preparation): about 1h per class
- Final project & exam preparation: about 10h
COURSE CONTRIBUTION TO PROGRAM
The corporate world is no longer characterized by stable and predictable problems that lend themselves easily to analysis and long range planing. Managers need a new set of skills to deal with rapidly changing environment that requires them to identify and tackle new problems or new ways to solve the existing ones - to innovate.
Examples of outstanding companies that accredit their success to innovation are numerous. Apple's performance thanks to the relentless innovation in technology and design of their products, IBM's reinvention from a product to a service business model or Google's and Amazon's ascent from minuscule start ups to the giants that disrupted ICT sector, are cases in point.
The examples of companies that are struggling or disappearing because of their inability to innovate are equally numerous. Think about Barns and Noble, the bookstore that Amazon disrupted. Or Blockbuster, the video rental chain that Netflix left behind. For every success example, there are multiple examples of failures to innovate or failures in innovating. All these companies used to be remarkable in executing their existing strategy, but failed to effectively reinvent themselves.
In short, innovation seems to be ?the must' for most companies, large or small. However, innovation is not easily achievable and may require a different management approach.
The goal of this course is to introduce participants to innovation management principles that are necessary in complex, turbulent and uncertain market environment. We'll learn what innovation is, how to create organizational context to innovate and become innovators ourselves.
Course Learning Objectives
At the end of the course, students should be able to:
1. Use the innovation process in a variety of settings to drive innovative outcomes (e.g. develop new products and services). The ability to manage innovation starts from the understanding of the process of innovation and its critical points, core questions and dilemmas in a specific context (industry, organization).
2. Ability to make managerial choices by applying the innovation frameworks. Participants will learn core innovation management principles, frameworks and analytic tools that they can use to resolve the dilemmas that innovators at different organizational levels (from designer or an engineer to the CEO) face. Stated differently, we will learn how to manage teams and organizations to deliver innovation.
3. Acquiring the ?innovator' attitude through classroom practice. Finally, without the right mindset it is almost impossible to go through the innovation process or make the right managerial decisions. ?Innovator' attitude is necessary to be prepared to become a part of the ?innovation team' in a large company or entrepreneurial venture.
Competences
| 16. Creativity and innovation |
| 6. Strategic thinking, systemic thinking (CT1) |
CONTENT
1. Lectures |
2. Case study analysis |
3. Simulation |
4. Exercises |
Methodology
Methodology. This course is centered on experiential learning. We will work on actual innovation problems and combine this with simulations, invited lectures, and exercises to provide balance between inputs from faculty and experience of practitioners with active engagement, creating youe own innovation experiences.
Preparation. Participants are expected to come to class prepared. Instructions and preparatory material (e.g. readings) will be uploaded on Moodle at least one week in advance, together with slides and preparation guidelines. Furthermore, all classes start with the recap of the previous class, so please refresh your memory on what we did last time. Class-specific preparation is mandatory for every class and it depends on the content of the lecture.
Homeworks and in-classroom exercises will be done in groups. If program management has already set up the groups, we will use those groups in this course as well. All potential questions with regards to the group formation will be discussed in the first class.
ASSESSMENT
ASSESSMENT BREAKDOWN
| Description |
% |
| Individual participation |
30 |
| Class-wide participation |
10 |
| Case analysis & other group exercises |
20 |
| Exam |
40 |
Assessment criteria
Individual participation. Attendance and participation are absolutely essential for the success of this course. All participants are expected to come prepared and to participate actively in class discussion. In evaluating an individual's class participation, I will consider attendance as well as the quality and frequency of participation in every class. Quality comments reflect thought and analysis that moves our understanding of the topic forward. They are clear and concise, fit into the flow of conversation, and most often build on (or disagree constructively with) what others have said. Assessment of class participation will be noted separately for each class.
Assignment Assigment consist of the development of a solution to an actual innovation challenge / problem that will be provided to the participants. We will start working on the idea development part in the class 6 and continue with the plan for the experimentation in the class 7. After the course is over participants will be expected to finalize their solutions and submit a report. For further information, see separate document with the instructions attached.
Assignment will be the subject of group performance assessment. Quality of the work will be evaluated primarily for the team as a whole. Think of yourselves as a start up- the success of any product innovation can be only assured by the whole team and is very reliant on creativity that arises as a part of team dynamic.
Exam.
Exam will represent an application of learnings in the new setting and will complement Assignment. You will receive specific question (4-5) about the decisions you would make to address challenges in each case. These questions will refer to the first 5 classes- designing organizational context, allocating resources, etc. The exam will be an ?open book' - you will use laptops to complete the exam and you will be able to use all your materials (digital and physical, including internet) to answer the questions. You will be strictly forbidden to communicate to your colleagues. Failure to refrain from communication (direct or digital) will result in fail. For further information, see separate document with the instructions attached.
Final grades will be calculated as follows:
Individual Participation 30% (3 points)
Assignment 30% (3 points)
Exam 40% (3 points)
Remarks on the participation. While I consider that class participation has to remain key part of the grading scheme in order to be representative of the nature of the course, I will take into consideration culture, language and any other legitimate barriers to class participation. Participants that feel that they may require this should contact me at the beginning of the course.
Bibliography
Mandatory preparation pack will be made available on Moodle before the class.
As we go through the course I will be recommending specific literature in the context of our classes. If you are interested in anything in specific, just let me know.
Just FYI, here are links to some of the books that I would recommend to raise awareness of the topic of innovation in general:
http://secondmachineage.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Innovator%27s_Dilemma
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Jobs_(book)
Timetable and sections
| Group |
Teacher |
Department |
| |
Ivanka Visnjic |
Operaciones, Innovación y Data Sciences |
Timetable
