Module 3: Leading Sustainable Strategy and Innovative Change
Module 3: Leading Sustainable Strategy and Innovative Change
Module Introduction
In the rapidly evolving business landscape, organizations face increasing pressure to adapt and thrive amidst the challenges of sustainability, innovation, and disruptive change. It is the responsibility of business leaders to be proactive in navigating complex dynamics and developing strategies for an ever-changing market. As a leader within your respective organization, you must ensure organizational survival and foster long-term success. This requires a deep understanding of sustainable practices, embracing innovative thinking, and leveraging disruptive technologies to gain a competitive edge.
A sustainable strategy is essential for organizations addressing environmental, social, and governance concerns while pursuing profitability. Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) are three key factors used to evaluate the sustainability and ethical impact of a company’s operations and practices. ESG has gained significant importance recently as investors, consumers, and stakeholders increasingly prioritize an organization’s environmental and social responsibilities. ESG involves integrating sustainable practices throughout an organization, from supply chain and operations to products and services. While there is some debate about the longevity of ESG, the point is that leading a sustainable strategy entails adopting a holistic approach beyond complying with regulations. The focus for sustainable design should be on good corporate citizenship, sound environmental practices, diverse and equitable hiring and promotion practices, and sound marketing that aims to create value for all stakeholders. By prioritizing sustainability, leaders can build resilience, enhance brand reputation, attract and retain talent, and capitalize on emerging market opportunities.
Change happens. Markets are constantly changing, and companies have to change to stay competitive. Innovative change is the driving force that propels organizations forward in a hyper-competitive environment. This, of course, involves challenging the status quo. Innovative changes result from encouraging creativity and experimentation while embracing continuous improvement efforts. Leaders who champion innovative change foster an environment where employees are empowered, take calculated risks, and develop breakthrough ideas. These leaders are willing to allow for some ideas to fail but to be still tested. These leaders also understand that innovation is not limited to product development. Innovation can result from improved efficiencies in business processes, enhanced customer experiences, and other organizational structure changes that result in operational gains. By leading innovative change, organizations can remain agile, respond swiftly to market disruptions, and create new avenues for growth.
Disruptive innovation changes expensive or highly sophisticated products or services to those that are more affordable and accessible. By affecting this innovation, products or services can reach a broader market segment and population. Disruptive innovation is called this because it disrupts the market by displacing mature and established competitors. Disruptive innovation can be either innovations or technologies that make expensive or sophisticated products and services more accessible. One of the challenges is that terms often get mixed or misused. Disruptive innovation refers to the use of technology to change a market structure. This is not the same thing as disruptive technology, which is the technology itself. For a disruptive innovation to be successful, it is often the blending of an enabling technology, an innovative business model, and a coherent value network (Twin, 2022).
Leading sustainable strategy, innovative change, and disruptive innovation are interconnected aspects of effective leadership. When leaders can integrate sustainability into their strategies, foster a culture of innovation, and embrace disruptive innovation, they can lead their organizations to long-term success. The journey toward sustainable and innovative practices requires a visionary approach, adaptability, and a willingness to embrace uncertainty.
Twin, A. (2022). Disruptive innovation: Meaning and examples. Investopedia.
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Course Resources
This course uses a Course Library Guide (LibGuide) to provide centralized access to all your readings, videos, and other course learning materials. The centralization of any e-books, library articles, and outside resources will hopefully be more convenient for you and allow us to ensure a high level of availability for course learning materials throughout your program of study. You can access the LibGuide via the Course Resources link in the top menu alongside other quick links (i.e., Dropbox, Grades, Bookshelf, etc.).
Lesson 5
1. Read all Required Resources posted in the Course Resources.
2. Review Disruptive Innovation and Change Management
3. Complete Assignment 5: Explore the Role of Disruptive Innovation in a Global Marketplace
Lesson 5: Disruptive Innovation and Change Management
Lesson Introduction
Change management is a multifaceted process that combines both science and art. It involves a structured approach to guide an organization and its people from the current state to a desired future state while also requiring effective leadership to inspire individuals to embrace and enact the necessary changes. This introduction highlights the importance of change management at different levels, from the enterprise level focusing on capabilities and leadership, to the organizational level addressing specific groups and functions, and finally, the individual level, where employees must adapt and develop new skills to align with new processes.
Identifying and Increasing Innovation Opportunities
The leadership author, lecturer, and business coach John C. Maxwell said, “Change is inevitable. Growth is optional.” This adage is true for individuals and organizations. The very nature of a company is that it is, refereeing to the idea earlier in the course, a living entity. The nature of organizations is that they do not remain static. Managing Change is one of the most critical tasks for a business leader. Changes can come from many directions, including customer demands, social trends, market conditions, economic conditions, competitors, technologies, and input cost changes. The effort to address and control a company’s response to these changes is called change management, and a company’s ability to respond rapidly and appropriately to these changes is agility.
Change management might be referred to as part science and part art. It is a science because it is a structured approach to support the organization and its people from the current condition or status to a future desired condition or status. It is an art because people must be led to enact the Change instead of being managed to change. To understand what change management is, it is helpful to break it down into three tiers or levels. The highest tier is at the enterprise level. At this level, the focus is on capabilities, structures, processes, leadership, and, when applicable, projects.
The next tier is the organizational level. At this level, the focus is identifying groups, functions, and teams that must change. At this level, the application of strategic vision is to see the Change and then organizationally address this through changes to the identified groups, functions, and teams. A standard tool used at this level is project management, where individuals from across functional teams or whole teams are chartered to execute changes and focus on organizational awareness, training, or coaching.
The final tier is at the individual level. At this level, the focus is on individual employees and their ability to adapt to the Change, develop new skills, and modify work patterns to match new processes. This level requires less management and more leadership and encouragement, and it can be viewed as less science and more art. However, even given the personalized nature of addressing individuals at this level, the principles of psychology and group dynamics are well within the domain of scientific management principles. After all, you must know how to understand when and when not to meet individual needs and address behaviors contrary to the desired Change.
Be sure to review the Lesson resources carefully. You are expected to apply the information from these resources when you prepare your assignments.
Required Resources
• Perspectives on Disruptive Innovations
Kumaraswamy, A., Garud, R., & Ansari, S. (Shaz). (2018). Perspectives on Disruptive Innovations. Journal of Management Studies, 55(7), 1025. https://doi.org/10.1111/joms.12399
An in-depth exploration of the meaning of disruptive innovation.
• Disruptive Innovation.
Miller, S. (2023). Disruptive innovation. Salem Press Encyclopedia.
A primer on disruptive innovation
• Wicked Problems Need WKID Innovation: Innovation as a Process to Develop a Disruptive Technology
Stavros, E. N. (2022). Wicked Problems Need WKID Innovation: Innovation as a Process to Develop a Disruptive Technology ProductThis article describes WKID Innovation, a framework to tackle wicked problems and a process for strategic, systematic change management. Research Technology Management, 65(1), 39–47. https://doi.org/10.1080/08956308.2022.1994249
A great look at the United States National Aeronautic Space Administrations’ use of WKID Innovation (Wisdom, Know, and Data) to create disruptive innovation.
• Modularization as Disruptive Innovation
Yoshinori KONNO, & Ayako TAKAI. (2021). Modularization as Disruptive Innovation. Annals of Business Administrative Science, 20(6), 239–251. https://doi.org/10.7880/abas.0211104a
A unique look at alternate means of disruptive innovation.
• Need for Uniqueness and Word of Mouth in Disruptive Innovation Adoption: The Context of Self-Quantification
Zhao, Z., Haikel-Elsabeh, M., Baudier, P., Renard, D., & Brem, A. (2023). Need for Uniqueness and Word of Mouth in Disruptive Innovation Adoption: The Context of Self-Quantification. IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, Engineering Management, IEEE Transactions on, IEEE Trans. Eng. Manage, 70(6), 2006–2016. https://doi.org/10.1109/TEM.2021.3067639
A review of some of the methods and potential methods for disruptive innovation to be effective.
Assignment 5: Explore the Role of Disruptive Innovation in a Global Marketplace
Background
One type of change to consider is disruptive change or innovation. Disruptive innovation is a relatively new term coined 1995 by Bower and Christenson. Essentially, this is any new or different approach to a product or service that radically changes the market. This kind of radical change is hard to predict from your competition. Still, just the type of internal innovation change managers wants to develop their market competitive advantage. Organizations that empower employees to create innovative products or services are the hallmark of industry leaders.
The companies who are disruptive innovators are companies that compete in the market differently, serving an underserved or unserved customer base, and do so typically at a lower price. One example of this kind of disruptive innovation was the emergence of Amazon in the retail space. Amazon was among the first companies to consider e-commerce as the introductory book and other product distribution method. Through its growth, this disruptive approach to business has affected retail so much that historical physical retailers companies are weakening or closing. Retailers once the largest retailer in U.S. cities no longer exist or are failing because of the disruptive innovation of companies like Amazon and its largest competitor, Walmart. Both companies’ disruptive innovation and efficiencies have an impact not only in retail, but logistics, technology, and public buying trends.
Instructions
For this assignment, you will select a company to compare disruptive innovation approaches. You will compare your established company with either Walmart or Amazon (choose one). You will examine how these companies embraced disruptive innovation strategies, their impact on the market, and the challenges they encountered.
Cover the following elements in your examination:
Section 1: Overview of Disruptive Innovation
• Definition and Characteristics of Disruptive Innovation
• Importance of Disruptive Innovation in Modern Business
Section 2: [Company you choose to compare]
• Introduction, Background, Industry
• Key Innovations Implemented by the Company
• Impact of Disruptive Innovations on the Company’s Market Position
• Challenges Faced by the Company in Implementing Disruptive Innovation
Section 3: Walmart or Amazon (Choose one or the other, not both)
• Introduction, Background, Industry
• Key Innovations Implemented by the Company
• Impact of Disruptive Innovations on the Company’s Market Position
• Challenges Faced by the Company in Implementing Disruptive Innovation
Section 4: Comparative Analysis
• Similarities and Differences in Disruptive Innovation Strategies between the Two Companies
• Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Disruptive Innovation Strategies
• Lessons Learned from the Companies’ Approaches to Disruptive Innovation
Length: Your assignment is to write a paper of 6-7 pages, not including a cover page, references, or appendices.
Please consider that those holding doctorates in business are often hired for their professional and academic expertise to offer solutions to businesses in need. This assignment is geared toward helping you discover how you might respond if asked to act in this role.
References: Include at least four references on your selected company.
Your paper should demonstrate thoughtful consideration of the ideas and concepts presented in the course and provide new thoughts and insights relating directly to this topic. Your response should reflect scholarly writing and current APA standards. Be sure to adhere to National University’s Academic Integrity Policy.
Lesson 6: Leading and Managing Sustainable Innovation
Lesson 6
1. Read all Required Resources posted in the Course Resources.
2. Review Leading and Managing Sustainable Innovation
3. Complete Assignment 6: Rate Methods of HR and Technology Practices for Developing Sustainable Innovation
Lesson Introduction
Creating and maintaining a culture of innovation is essential for organizational success. It requires leaders to build an environment that fosters innovation by encouraging employee participation in process improvement, allowing room for failure, and implementing effective risk management. Sustainable innovation is achieved through the application of these principles and the development of a culture that embraces change, captures the organization’s vision, and strives for continuous improvement in processes, products, and services.
Leading and Managing Sustainable Innovation
Perhaps there is no more important rule in business than understanding that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to creating innovation. Even if you can create a spark of innovation, there is no guarantee that it can be maintained if there is no culture to maintain it. As stated, organizational leaders have to build an environment where innovation can occur and where it can be maintained. For innovation to happen, many conditions must be met. However, the conditions are not formulas for perfect innovations but simple elements that managers must mix in the proper proportions for their respective organizations. These elements include but are not limited to employees being encouraged to participate in process improvement; managers being willing to allow for failures with innovation; and finally, risk management must occur and become socially ingrained. Remember, this is not risk avoidance; it is risk management of the inherent risks of seeking to be an innovator. Other elements may include multitasking, job rotation, and modification of responsibilities.
Sustainable innovation is the continued application of all the previously mentioned ideas and a developed culture that starts with the hiring process and continues with the development of incumbent employees and mid-level managers. The willingness to accept change as an ally towards growth versus seeing change as an enemy is essential. Executive leaders, mid-level managers, and employees must understand the mission and capture the organization’s vision. The push for continued perfection of the process, product, or service must be the always sought-after goal for the organization. Each organization member must see their functional role contributing to those stated objectives.
Be sure to review this Lesson’s resources carefully. You are expected to apply the information from these resources when you prepare your assignments.
Required Resources
• Transformational Leadership, Sustainable Human Resource Practices, Sustainable Innovation and Performance of SMEs
Asad, M., Asif, M. U., Abu Bakar, L. J., & Sheikh, U. A. (2021). Transformational Leadership, Sustainable Human Resource Practices, Sustainable Innovation and Performance of SMEs. 2021 International Conference on Decision Aid Sciences and Application (DASA), Decision Aid Sciences and Application (DASA), 2021 International Conference On, 797–802. https://doi.org/10.1109/DASA53625.2021.9682400
A review of leadership for sustainable innovation.
• Driving Business Performance: Innovation Complementarities and Persistence Patterns
Bartoloni, E., & Baussola, M. (2018). Driving business performance: innovation complementarities and persistence patterns. INDUSTRY AND INNOVATION, 25(5), 505–525. https://doi.org/10.1080/13662716.2017.1327843
A review of patterns for enhancing sustainable innovation.
• Green Human Resources Management: Linking and Using Green Practices for Sustainable Business Organizations
Dimitrov, K. (2021). Green Human Resources Management: Linking and Using Green Practices for Sustainable Business Organizations. Trakia Journal of Sciences, 19, 276–281. https://doi.org/10.15547/tjs.2021.s.01.040
A review of the emerging idea of green human resource management for sustainable innovation.
• Relationship Between Human ’Resource Management Practices, Relationship Commitment and Sustainable Performance
Syed, M. W., Li, J. Z., Junaid, M., & Ziaullah, M. (2020). Relationship between human ’resource management practices, relationship commitment and sustainable performance. Green Finance, 2(3), 227. https://doi.org/10.3934/GF.2020013
A review of relationship commitment as a means of seeking sustainable innovation through human resource practices.
Assignment 6: Rate Methods of HR and Technology Practices for Developing Sustainable Innovation
Background
For this assignment, you have been asked by the president of your company to explore the creation of a rating method to evaluate human resource (HR) and technology practices. Your goal is to provide a grading rating method addressing how each contributes to the development of sustainable innovation within an organization.
You will create a 7-9 minute video presentation using Kaltura CaptureSpace or record a video presentation using Microsoft PowerPoint. You may wish to use the following as an outline for your presentation.
Introduction (approximately 1 minute):
• Begin your video by introducing yourself and providing a brief overview of rating methods for developing sustainable innovation.
• Clearly state the objectives and structure of your presentation.
Explanation of Sustainable Innovation (approximately 1 minute):
• Define sustainable innovation and explain its importance in the current business landscape.
• Discuss how sustainable innovation can lead to long-term growth, competitive advantage, and positive environmental and social impacts.
Human Resource Practices for Sustainable Innovation (approximately 2 minutes):
• Identify and discuss key HR practices that contribute to sustainable innovation.
• Explain how HR practices such as talent acquisition, employee training and development, performance management, and diversity and inclusion initiatives impact sustainable innovation.
• Briefly highlight some specific examples or case studies that illustrate the effectiveness of these HR practices.
Technology Practices for Sustainable Innovation (approximately 2 minutes):
• Identify and discuss technology practices that support sustainable innovation.
• Explain how technology practices such as digital transformation, data analytics, automation, and collaboration tools enable sustainable innovation.
• Provide real-world examples of organizations successfully utilizing technology practices to drive sustainable innovation.
Rating Methods for Evaluating HR and Technology Practices (approximately 2 minutes):
• Explore different rating methods used to assess the effectiveness of HR and technology practices in fostering sustainable innovation.
• Discuss qualitative and quantitative approaches, including key performance indicators (KPIs), surveys, feedback mechanisms, and benchmarking.
• Analyze the advantages and limitations of each rating method, considering factors such as reliability, validity, ease of implementation, and cost-effectiveness.
Conclusion (approximately 1 minute):
• Summarize the main points discussed in your video.
• Emphasize the significance of rating methods in evaluating HR and technology practices for sustainable innovation.
• Conclude with your final thoughts and recommendations for organizations seeking to develop sustainable innovation through effective rating methods.
Notes:
You must use clear and concise language, ensuring your content is well-organized and easy to understand. You may utilize visual aids (e.g., slides, charts, graphs) to enhance the clarity and effectiveness of your presentation. Finally, you must ensure your video is high quality, and your audio is clear and audible for your instructor to fairly grade your effort.
Length: Your video should be 7-9 minutes.
References: You may reference any other resources in reading this Lesson.
Your video presentation should demonstrate thoughtful consideration of the ideas and concepts presented in the course and provide new thoughts and insights relating directly to this topic. Your response should reflect a scholarly presentation and utilize current APA standards.
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