Nowadays, it is very common to talk about management and innovation in educational institutions and especially in universities that, dedicated to higher education, are committed to not remaining in the mere transmission of knowledge and constantly being the spearhead in various actions that correspond to him.
Universities in Mexico must be very clear about the innovation processes in their organizations and for this they must document their given processes, the successful ones and the not so successful ones, in such a way that they generate learning for future projects for the good of the university itself and to facilitate these processes that day by day are developed in the universities. Lessons and knowledge need to be shared with other members of the organization.
In any innovation process, five basic elements or factors are present that, if taken into account during the incubation, maturation, implementation and acceptance of the innovation process, can further guarantee the success of its results.
According to Cecilia Fierro, management can take place without innovations, since it is the way of doing things in organizations. Innovation cannot be done without or outside of management, because innovation is a process of management, inherent in it. one
The five basic elements are: Process, Common End, People, Resources and internal and external Agents.
1. Process
Innovation as a chronological sequence, which sets out the natural life cycle of innovations, from their origin to their adoption or rejection. 2 The word process has its origin in the Latin term processus; the concept refers to the action of going forward, over time, to the set of successive phases of a natural phenomenon or an artificial operation, that is, a process is the set of systematized actions or activities that are carried out or they take place with a purpose.
Understanding that this matter is not an isolated action, every innovation process must contemplate, that it is not a one-person action since it must necessarily involve a group, teamwork, even a multidisciplinary and interdepartmental team.
There are different types of innovations, but according to Havelock and Huberman (1980), all must follow the following steps or stages: incubation, design, development or implementation and adoption or rejection process. 3
During these stages of the process that all innovation must follow, all aspects that directly affect the birth, growth and maintenance of the innovation must be considered. It is necessary to carry out good comprehensive planning and visualize its application in the future, which includes aspects such as the number of people who will be involved, the resources to be used, the people who will impact innovation, future needs, the form of communication, the evaluation of the process, etc. All these factors are called “processes involved in innovations” and according to Havelock and Huberman (1980) we must take care of these three aspects to aspire to the success of innovation: administrative, political and pedagogical-training.
Although we could suppose that the pedagogical question would be above the others, the truth is that the pedagogical-formative one necessarily needs the others to do its task effectively and efficiently.
2. Common purpose
It is nothing more than giving the institution a shared vision of where you want to go and what are the educational concepts and principles that you want to promote. It also has to do with processes that facilitate joint understanding, planning, action and reflection about what you want to do and how. Naturally, for these processes to be effective, they must be carried out in a collegial manner.
The common goal is then, to have a vision of the future, that is, to face the future from the clarification of objectives and the generation of consensus, where the actors can promote an intelligent organization, with proposals and creativity, that stimulate participation, as well as responsibility and commitment.
3 people
Organizations are not subject to universal laws, but are cultural artifacts, an invented reality that depends on the meanings and intentions of the people within them. We must recognize the members of any organization as political actors, and this implies recognizing complexity and uncertainty, and it also implies micro-political dynamics of power distribution, conflicts, negotiations, coalitions, etc.
That is why any innovation process contemplates the successive negotiation processes committed throughout its development, 4 that is, it is necessary to match the interests of the existing power groups and direct them to a common institutional good.
Organizations open to learning are capable of systematically facing and solving problems, generating new approaches and learning from their own experience and that of others, questioning it, recovering it and originating knowledge to transfer it to their practices. These types of organizations are open to learning and innovation, which is based on the ability of the actors to innovate to achieve their educational objectives, break inertias, barriers and fears, favor the clarity of goals and support the need for transformation.
4. Resources
Management from the administrative point of view is the ability to generate an adequate relationship between the structure, the strategy, the systems, the style, the capacities, the people, and the superior objectives of the organization considered, it is the process by which An institution seeks to be more efficient and effective to the demands that society demands, for this many different management models have been created that respond to more current demands but without forgetting past ones.
For an innovation to be considered as such it is necessary that resources are allocated for its implementation, it is almost impossible to apply an innovation in an organization if the necessary resources and infrastructure are not allocated for its implementation.
5. Internal and external agents
The reality is constantly changing, due to globalization and the transformation of the culture of our society. All this fact affects universities, as they have to respond to new technological processes, to quality criteria and indicators and to the possibility of offering what society requires. In universities we must realize all this and be aware that although it has prestige and is recognized, it must be aware of all these movements in order to stay out of everything and thus become updated and be able to respond appropriately to demands of our society.
Two important points come into play in educational management: the external context, which refers to education, the external is schools, parents, social organizations, the economy, culture, politics, government, society, companies, business chambers, political parties, etc. The internal context in the educational area constitutes students, teachers, administrative staff, workers, technicians, managers, among others.
It is necessary to have an analysis of the internal and external environment to know where we are standing and to know where to walk with the greatest possible certainty.
To close, we know that sometimes we are part of a process, in others we are responsible for a process, but not the operators of the process; However, we must understand the whole, the total dimension, and then co-responsible everyone in the process. There are more successful innovation processes when they come from the line of work, that is, with those directly involved and not by decree or because the rectory said, then from there is where interesting and feasible proposals are built that tend to be successful practices.
There is no formula or model to follow for an institution that is successful today to continue being so in three or more years. Because innovation is a key factor and you have to work it daily, permanently.
It is necessary to be aware, to be aware of it, to evaluate the management process, to identify the key or critical factors of success or failure and then to start from there in order to innovate, improve, do more with less, seek the Magis, a concept that reference in Jesuit education to the dynamism of the spirituality of Ignatius of Loyola, which permeates the being and doing of all apostolic work of the Society of Jesus, the search for more, for the most universal good, for excellence.
It is essential to know the internal and external factors that can affect my management process in order to plan them well and know what to do and how to do it.
The personal style of governing, directing, leadership, etc. It has a lot to do with management and innovation processes in organizations. When confronted with the institution, it may not be possible to build in the best way.
Management has an end, innovation. In other words, it is not managing all the time, we must take time to plan things and seek to overcome the above, give more.
In order to innovate, a broad knowledge of a need is necessary, not all innovative ideas are successful, therefore, it is necessary to play with all the necessary tools so that innovation not only surprises but also works.
References
1 Fierro Evans, María Cecilia (2005). Building educational quality from within: challenges and tensions in innovation management. Educational Vision Magazine, Sonoran education magazine, Year 4, No. 15, June 2005.
2 Havelock, RG and Huberman, AM (1980). Innovation and problems of education: theory and reality in developing countries. France, UNESCO.
3 Ibidem.
4 Fierro Evans, María Cecilia (2005). Op cit.
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