Innovation and types of innovation

At present, we can see practically every day the launch of new products, new processes that will facilitate our day to day, systems that will help organizations to establish themselves in the market, innovation among other things.

All these elements are innovations that occur (of a different kind that will be seen later in this article) day by day and that it is necessary for organizations to have collaborators who know how to find this kind of innovations that both the organization and consumers need..

Among the collaborators that are needed to have "radical" ideas, which serve to give a total turn to the organization and not stagnate, are the MIA (Masters in Administrative Engineering) who have the training, skills and knowledge necessary to be able to provide that innovative spark that any organization needs.

Now all this can be considered as a new revolution, "the revolution of ideas" where all the value that all this has within an organization is emphasized, because now what an organization is really looking for is to acquire ideas that will help it. always be one step ahead of your competition.

Key concepts

To facilitate the reading process on the topic "Radical innovations: The vision of an MIA", some definitions will be cited that are considered important for the reader to know:

Innovation.

"In colloquial and general use, the concept is used specifically in the sense of new proposals, inventions and their economic implementation." (Wikipedia, 2018)

Radical.

"Fundamental, which is produced in a total way." (WordReference, 2005)

MIA (Master in Administrative Engineering).

"It is an educational offer with professional orientation focused on the analysis of the operation of organizations in the current context and their future prospects, through a comprehensive vision of the productive and administrative processes." (Technological Institute of Orizaba, 2017)

What is innovation?

We could have the opportunity to read a small definition of what innovation is in key concepts, but now I will try to go a little deeper so that the reader can better understand what this is all about, innovation consists of use the knowledge that we have acquired throughout our professional training to be able to design a new path that will lead us to fulfill a certain objective.

Each innovation process is particular, depending on the case that we are facing, and usually it will not help us to face other situations. That is why it is not always easy to define a methodology to bring innovation to our organizations. Some experts point out that innovation has no logic, because it investigates problems that have not yet happened or creates needs for consumers.

An approved way of relating to innovation is that it is linked to the progress we have as a society: if we innovate the value of our group of individuals will increase considerably and what we do, innovate is something we need to do at some point in time. our existence all human beings in order that we can "evolve" in a certain way.

For obvious reasons, the pace and momentum with which we do this type of process depends on many factors that affect each individual differently, such as our socioeconomic level.

Broadly speaking, innovation is (as mentioned above) having knowledge that gives us a way to reach a particular goal, following a path that has not yet been explored. Despite this definition, the innovation process happens practically every day around us, (only that it happens on a smaller scale), even we could be innovating without realizing it.

On the other hand, contrary to many processes that exist, some experts point out that innovation will never reach any particular end. It is a path that we are totally unaware of, since no one else has traveled it, we are inexperienced and that surely new unexplored routes will emerge from it. Sometimes we will not get where we really want to go, maybe we choose the wrong path. And as redundant as it may seem, the best answer in this case would be more innovation. Innovation is always looking forward, because we will always address future situations (Where do I want to go and how will I do it?).

But unfortunately, innovation (like almost everything in life) has a price, it is not free. The price will not only be monetary, but also administrative. It is not easy and at a good price to manage something as great as innovation, the results of which are not always clear. Despite all this, the price for innovating will always be lower than not trying and waiting for someone else to do it (due to the future earnings that the organization may receive).

To be sure, innovating is an attitude, something in which we believe that to solve or improve the moment in which we find ourselves, we must try something different and that our future will be better than the situation we find ourselves in today.

Importance of innovating

Today, innovation is a point of utmost importance within any organization (regardless of the market in which it is located), because thanks to it, they will implement different changes in all their sectors, such as products and / or services that they offer to their consumers in order to meet the demands that they demand from them every day.

Most of the organizations that occur in the organization are designed to give a total turn to the concepts that were previously had, (as in the case of cell phones, before cell phones were only used to receive and make calls, now they are telephones intelligent in which we have all the knowledge of the world); These innovations can become great generators of economic resources for organizations. On the other hand, it is also important to know that innovations will not always help the organization and will be effective all the time; since in the field of technology, there will always be products that will not be entirely liked by the public.

An organization must always keep in mind the concept of innovation, because if it does not do so, it would be stagnant compared to its competition that if it is innovating. Although an innovation could be considered a common risky movement for an organization, it is worth assuming it, because as they say, the one who does not risk does not win, in addition, an innovative organization increases its status in front of the others and will provoke expectations to see what is next what will he do.

Innovations that are often considered radical are even more important than other kinds of innovation, since they are generating a complete change in the way things are done, which can be of great help for the company in question.

Sectors of the organization where you can innovate

When we talk about a radical organization, it is necessary that we keep in mind that it can be focused on a particular sector, so it is considered essential that we know which sectors it can be directed to, according to (Oslo, 2007) these are the four sectors where innovation could fall:

Product innovation

The innovations that we can find within a product and / or service presented by the organization are those that generate noticeable changes in its specifications and characteristics; This type of innovation refers to new products and / or services or products and / or services with totally new improvements. The new contributions can be of technical characteristics about its use, the improvements are made with the help of technology or knowledge of its collaborators, new materials or components or computer science in general.

The products and / or services that are innovative, must have well established differences from those that we can already find in the market.

Process innovation

The innovations that are aimed at the processes that occur within organizations are those that occur when significant changes are made in techniques, materials, systems, computer networks, among others whose purpose is to reduce the cost of production and distribution. Innovating processes improves support activities such as purchasing, accounting or the different types of maintenance that are carried out, among others.

Marketing innovation

Within the part of the marketing that an organization uses to be able to publicize its new products, we can also find various types of innovation, the improvements that are applied for the commercialization of the products and / or services managed by the organization are contained, It could also apply to the designs they have and the presentations of these to consumers, finally there is the distribution and promotion that is given through the different communication channels.

Marketing innovation boasts a before and after in the process used by the organization to publicize what it offers to its consumers and future consumers. An example would be opening new sales paths (franchises, direct sales, changing how the product is displayed in different stores, among others).

Innovation in the organization

The last type of innovation is the one that organizations carry out in themselves, as the name implies. This type of innovation is recognized by the use of new business practices as well as the methodologies that they use in their day to day, improvement in the organization of their collaborators to carry out their different activities and in the relationships that the organization has with its external environment. The purpose of being able to increase your productivity and improve your results.

The management of human talent is classified as an innovation in the organization, likewise, the variation between the integration of consumers and suppliers falls into this kind of innovation.

Incremental innovation

Incremental innovation refers to the type of innovation that only adds value to a product and / or service, a process that already exists and is in circulation within the market. Usually this kind of innovation is classified as updates and part of a base of already established concepts and therefore will only bring small changes that are not very significant; An example would be to slightly change the image or shape of a product that is already in circulation in the market, perhaps give it new functions or change a very slight appearance to improve its efficiency or make it more attractive to the consumer.

In the products and / or services, the changes that are not very significant that are added are intended to satisfy the requirements of its customers, it also seeks to generate greater expectations and experiences with the new elements added.

In order to generate incremental innovation in the organization, collaborators can make use of various techniques or tools, such as the well-known brainstorming, sketches, study groups, among others.

It should be borne in mind that this kind of innovation will not last forever and will be restricted to a certain period of time; This is why there are several organizations that are innovating most of the time in order to offer new products and / or services to consumers.

Advantages of incremental innovation.

It indicates to us that the set of knowledge and intellectual capital that the organization has, allows it to change in a generation which rules are being used in the market. It has brought economic benefits to many organizations over the years. the foundation with which to improve the locality of life of societies and people Continuous improvement of production processes Improvement of the return on investment of the partners of the organization Conception and acceptance of ideas in a credible way and with predictable results. Improvements that contribute, in a process of continuity, to the increase in efficiency or consumer satisfaction with the products and / or services offered by the organization.

Disadvantages of incremental innovation.

It is not very easy to be able to adapt quickly to new markets, little risk, little opportunity to make big profits.

Radical innovation

The innovations that are classified as radical are those that generate a watershed or separations between organizations and the concepts that they already have stipulated. These kinds of innovations give way to the creation of products and / or services, also being able to be new processes or methodologies, which when entering the market give rise to things that were not currently known.

The most common radical innovations are those that are based on technology; As an example, we could have the use of horses to move the vehicles where people were transported, to motor vehicles, which in our time is still the most common way in which we transport ourselves.

Creating a radical innovation can provoke different feelings among all those involved, from generating a lot of expectation, to generating distrust among the top managers of the organization since they do not know for sure how the product and / or service they will launch on the market will be accepted. Many of the times, these innovations cause changes in the areas in which they arise, altering the competitive position of the organization that is generating them.

Creativity is a necessary element in the creation of radical innovations, where it is unrestricted, as in the case of incremental innovation, it is also a good idea to brainstorm, share past experiences among all the collaborators involved, and even if it seems lie, chance has also been the basis of radical innovation.

Organizations will always seek to generate radical innovations to maintain high levels of leadership with respect to their competition, because their products and / or services are exclusive to the organization that is producing it, it will generally put a price considered high for the most, but that your most loyal customers will be willing to pay, achieving good profitability.

Advantages of radical innovation.

Radical innovation is not limited only to things about development, it goes beyond the limits already established in the current market, it is willing to change the rules of the game as we know them, even the part of generating conflicts in the market. The encouraging argument and flexibility, since they are not immersed in a technological battle with other organizations, which are following established and proven paths over and over again, and they do not have very narrow structures as in organizations. This will make it easier to create a new market (ocean blue) and introduce an innovation that considers new things that were previously ignored by others. New markets cannot be studied in a traditional way, so a new way of planning and analyzing is required..Loss of competition and a new opportunity to create new markets.

Disadvantages of radical innovation.

You will normally have as an obstacle, various inconveniences to receive internal support within the company (especially with senior managers), since they usually need heavy investments and the level of risk is always usually high. You have to overcome various difficulties to achieve adaptation to the majority markets. A separate process is needed from strategy, focused on unexpected opportunities. Instead of “outlining” products and / or services, the organization's plans are oriented to the Innovation design. Profits cannot be obtained very quickly, since the “digestion” of future clients for a new product and / or service is not very fast.

Master in Administrative Engineering.

As a student of the Master in Administrative Engineering at the Technological Institute of Orizaba, I take the liberty of citing the mission and vision of the educational program, so that the reader can learn a little more about what it is about.

Mission.

View.

Thesis proposal.

Promote the importance of innovation in SMEs in the region, through students of the Master in Administrative Engineering.

Objective.

Through the students of the MIA master's degree, the importance of having an innovative mind within SMEs will be made known, the students will use the knowledge acquired in the master's degree.

Thanks.

I thank my family, for giving me all the support and the drive to continue day by day, to the Technological Institute of Orizaba for opening its doors to me and allowing me to continue my studies with the Master in Administrative Engineering and Doctor Fernando Aguirre y Hernández for motivating me with their Knowledge in the Administrative Engineering Foundations seminar to carry out each of the assigned articles.

Conclusion.

In my particular case, that I am beginning to study the Master in Administrative Engineering I am beginning to realize the importance of all this, we must have an innovative mentality, not be "square-minded" if we want our organization to be able to survive.

The important thing is to innovate, it does not matter in the way it is (incremental or radical) it is always good to try a change, since as they say he who does not risk does not win, perhaps we will not be able to immediately perceive the gains, but if we manage to innovate In a way that consumers accept, the profits will come by themselves.

It is necessary for a Master in Administrative Engineering to generate this kind of vision in order to offer various options on administration, management, development of new products, marketing, among others, that the organization can use so as not to remain stagnant and be surpassed by its competition.

Thesis mind map.