ins_u10rpl.docx

Submission:

In response to two peers on their selections in the course milestones and project, address the following:
· Which of your peer’s recommendations did you find most compelling, surprising, or innovative?
· One important theme of this course is the need for most companies to innovate on a regular basis or risk falling behind their competitors. The same can be said for employees.
· What skills can you add to your toolbox to future-proof your career?
· What skills can you acquire to support an innovative culture at your organization?

Peer 1:

This course has been challenging and yet extremely enjoyable. It touched on aspects that I had never considered and provided a solid framework in evaluating the cultures present in corporations.
My paper hinged on the incremental innovation strategy, and I chose this because the automobile and electronics industries are constantly changing. To produce a radical new idea would take a considerable amount of time, and upon the roll-out of the prototype, many of the innovations would be obsolete. Incremental changes allow companies to incorporate new ideas based upon market demand, and should the mood of the customer change it would be much easier for the company to react to the new requirements. 
By creating a team atmosphere that ultimately improves the culture of the organization and is conducive to formulating new or improved ways of doing things. By creating a work environment that promotes idea formulation management clears the path for innovation and it then becomes a permanent part of the organization’s culture. It aligns with the strategic values and objectives of the company and helps to ensure continued success as it enters new and innovative markets.
Using the stage-gate process combined with the Agile process allows companies to begin innovating without large amounts of capital being dedicated to the project. It demands executive review at various stages and sets the stage for Go/No Go decisions based on the progression of the new innovation. Without these checks and balances in place, the company would be bogged down with new ideas and innovations with few making it to the production stage. 

Peer 2:

I’ve enjoyed working on the projects and small assignments for this class. Some assignments were more challenging than other, but I definitely did learn a lot from them. My favorite parts about the assignments and the research the fact that it was based on real time data and additionally a very interesting future topic.
 
I chose incremental innovation as my strategy, with consideration if continuous innovation in the future. The reason why I went with Incremental innovation, because of the nature of the market as it is a fast growing market and changes happen suddenly at all times. I also choose incremental innovation, as most of the competitors offer great features now and each of them had a special feature, which stood out from the other. So through incremental innovation, the company is able to allow its self to compete with less risk while discovering a feature that will make it standout besides connectivity. 
 
I recommended a decentralized organizational structure, as this system tends to be more flexible and less rigid. Additionally, this system will help to strengthen communication and relations among employees as everyone and from various functional departments will be working towards the same goal. Due to the flexibility and less restrictions, employees will have more opportunities to become creative and proactive.