IntroductionCreativity & A ; invention is of import for endeavors. particularly hi-tech corporations. In the tendency of extended globalisation. it is about impossible for any endeavor to last in the concern universe without seeking aid from originative inventions. The paper focuses on significance of creativeness & A ; invention in the operation of a celebrated company—-3M. 3M is a fabricating company that has a long history. it has a series of well-known merchandises and trade names. The first portion of the paper will place and discourse three issues in the instance survey of 3M. which intrigues me the most. In the following portion of the paper. the originative invention method used in 3M will be hypothetically applied to an electronic company in Hong Kong ; the trouble that might be confronted will be discussed. In the last portion of the paper. the method of 3M will be applied to my ain state of affairs if I am director of the company. Both strength and Challenges will be examined.
I. Creative invention in 3M—-a instance surveyThe instance of 3M corporation is a really impressive enlightenment on the method of creativeness and invention in a company. The whole originative invention system in 3M is a warrant in the company’s great success. In my point of position. the success of 3M by following originative invention method is no co-incidence. From the outgrowth of originative thoughts. to the development of them. and so comes to the application of these creativenesss into productions. from the fosterage of inventions to the execution of them. 3M offers a broad scope of encouragement and inducements to its employees. In the undermentioned transition. I would wish to discourse three issues that involvement me the most in the originative invention methods of 3M.
First. like many other companies presents. 3M has been systematically back uping originative ideas. It employs the people who has higher potency of creativeness and is used to innovative thought forms. In the workplace. 3M allows the employees to hold more free clip and infinite on their ain. 3M encouraged “bootlegging” employees working on advanced undertakings in their ain clip. Besides. the company besides digest its employees to do errors. because as one of its most outstanding CEO William McKnight puts it: “Mistakes will be made. but if a individual is basically right. the errors he or she makes are non as serious in the long tally. ”
What impresses the most 3M’s unfastened attitude towards errors. this enlightened attitude owes to the company’s corporate civilization that regard is the foundation of the company spirit. ( Flynn & A ; Chatman. 2001 ) The employees are given the most freedom possible in developing their advanced ideas and set them into pattern. This distinguishes greatly from those bureaucratic companies where they punish harshly on employees’ errors and would non digest on the employees’ insouciant behaviours.
Frequently. employees in a extremely bureaucratic company will confront dozenss of specific regulations and ordinances. Employees under this sort of nerve-racking working environment will bit by bit restrict their ideas. allow alone invention. their slowly get used to following their occupation in prescribed order and are afraid of seeking something new.
3M’s understands how of import it is to esteem every single employee in the company. As regard and encouragement are the pre-requisites of advancing originative inventions among employees.
The 2nd enlightenment in the experience of invention direction in 3M is the non-bureaucratic manner of direction in the corporation. Harmonizing to the debut in the stuff. the company permits the publicity of forces straight to the direction degree if they make a great part to the proficient inventions to the company. This means employees who are in charge of proficient research and development are possible to be straight promoted to directors of the company. they do non necessitate to reassign from proficient places to direction places to acquire a managerial publicity.
This is an unseeable but effectual manner to excite enthusiasm for work. As it is observed that. many companies. particularly nationalized companies in developing states refuse to authorise power to their employees. In these companies. if a proficient employee want to be promoted to the direction degree. he or she has to foremost do a entry to the senior direction degree about altering their place from engineering to direction. and sohe or she has to get down from nothing in the direction field of the company and so easy acquire promoted. Comparing to these companies. 3M has chosen a wise manner to give its employees appropriate inducement by puting forth such policy. It is besides a good illustration to demo that the company respects its employees and is willing to supply them with chances to do their ain occupational determinations.
The 3rd point in 3M’s invention method I want to turn to in this paper is that the company’s integrating of its invention creativeness procedure and results. Harmonizing to the instance survey stuff. the 3M company figures out ways to affect its consumers in the invention procedure. this indicates that the company looks upon to associating its invention results to the consumers’ demands. ( Figueroa & A ; Conceicao. 2000 ) By ask foring the consumers into its invention bring forthing procedure. 3M is better able to place the what the consumers’ demands and interact with them about how to use originative thoughts into merchandises. What is more. the company can act upon consumers’ potency demands by including them in such procedure.
Many companies might hold similar policies that modify its research and development focal point harmonizing to the market state of affairs. but few can make up to 3M’s degree. 3M non merely pays attending to the reaction of market and consumers. it besides intends to impact the market or consumers demands by thorough interactions. This means that the consumers are non merely able to portion the invention results of 3M. but besides affecting in the invention doing procedure.
II. 3M’s invention method applied in a Hong Kong organisation Hypothetically speech production. if 3M’s attack is introduced in an organisation in Hong Kong. China. Will it be successful or non? The state of affairs might be really complicated. Because Hong Kong is portion of China. though it adopted the capitalist economy system. it follows the many Chinese traditions. Particularly since Hong Kong came back to China in 1997. many corporations and organisations there are under great influence from Mainland China. some of them are even nationalized. In these companies or organisations. the cultural ambiance is distinctively from 3M. So. it is difficult to make up one’s mind whether the 3Mexperiences can be successfully transplanted in Hong Kong.
First. the organisational construction and direction in Hong Kong company may be more bureaucratic than 3M. The determinations and orders are go throughing through to the employees through many grades of the organisation. This is non good intelligence for the execution of 3M method. since advanced thoughts will be hard to acquire to senior degree of the company and cause equal attending from the managerial degree. ( Bharadwaj & A ; Menon. 2000 ) As a consequence. the clip from to the full acknowledgment of the significance of an advanced thought to the clip it is applied in pattern will be slow ; the waste of clip does non carry through the demand for efficiency in the concern universe.
Second. as it is mentioned above. if the corporate construction and direction is excessively bureaucratic. it will be difficult for the company to digest errors and familiarity. Bureaucratic companies normally treat employees like machines instead than human existences ; they give less respect to employees. They are non able to recognize the importance of regard and encouragement to employees. Creative ideas are easier to be aroused under more relaxed and respectful corporate civilization. If employees have less force per unit area about doing errors. it will be more confident for them to set about ambitious undertakings and do more audacious inventions.
Third. harmonizing to the instance survey stuffs. the invention of 3M is non without monetary value. instead. the monetary value of invention method is truly high. 3M invest a big amount of money into research and development inventions in contrast to other companies in the similar industry. ( Hindo. 2007 ) If the invention method of 3M is applied to a Hong Kong organisation. the company will confront great force per unit area from the company board. Because investing a great amount of money into invention research and development will sure face oppose from its stockholders. The involvement of stockholders will be greatly affected if the company invests excessively much into the invention undertakings. For the stockholders. the company has to convert them that it is wholly worthwhile for them to put this history of money for the corporation invention because the result will be really rewarding.
In add-on. it will be hard for the Hong Kong organisation to to the full follow the 3M invention method for the ground because it will be difficult for the organisation to use all the advanced engineerings into all its production Fieldss. 3M emphasizes the importance of utilizing the invention outcomes into its assorted production lines. The Hong Kong organisation is limited in the corporate graduated table. so it is non possible for it to use the proficient discoveries to all its merchandises. So. usually. in order to avoid waste of money. . clip and human resources. the Hong Kong organisation obtain its proficient support from establishment in the society of in the universities. In this manner. the Hong Kong organisation has the entree to many advanced engineering accomplishments every bit good as less investing into its ain invention research and development centre.
III. How to break use the experience of 3MThe experience of 3M is truly an animating one for other companies to larn from. particularly high engineering companies. The penetrations and acquisitions from the instance of 3M that I consider could be applied to my ain conjectural state of affairs will be discussed in the undermentioned statement.
First is the treatment of how I will use these penetrations and acquisitions of 3M-innovation method to my future enterprises as a director. By and large talking. I will use the whole system of its advanced direction manner. That means I will non simply copy the signifiers or specific stairss of its advanced methods. More significantly. I will concentrate on the kernel of 3M’s success. The cardinal facet that contributes to the company’s success is that the company has the spirit of invention. besides. it create a corporate civilization that cultivates such creativeness and inventions. I would wish to emphasize one time more here in this transition about the grade of freedom and regard 3M has given to its employees.
It can be illustrated that the company treats all its employees in a really respectful and humanistic manner. I will surely larn from 3M in this and to the full esteem all my employees. Because employees in a company are better able to execute good if they have been given more authorization and freedom to do their ain pick on invention and how to utilize them in pattern.
Second. I will larn from 3M that advanced thought will necessitate the support from a consummate direction system for the inventions to develop. If any employee is hit by originative ideas or inspirations. the company will do certain that his or her thought gets to the senior degree every bit fast as possible. this insures that the clip interval between the occurrence of invention to the application of invention is short and effectual. Besides. if the advanced thought is proved to be relevant and valuable. the individual who initiates it will acquire fund or other fiscal assistance from the company to assist them transport their thoughts out. ( Tushman. & A ; Nadler. 1986 ) If the invention thoughts turns out to be a large success that help hike the public presentation of the company. for illustration. merchandises that used this invention are popular on the market and sell good. the discoverer of the thought and those who help in transporting the ideal out will acquire considerable wages from the company.
Third. I will larn from the experience of 3M that it links to its invention with the market or the consumers. As the director of the company. I will hold my employees doing feedback signifiers on the company web site for any consumer who purchases the advanced merchandise from our company. These signifiers are designed with a series of inquiries on the consumers’ experience when utilizing out advanced merchandises. what are their suggestions to our future advanced merchandises. what other possible solutions they can supply to consummate our current advanced merchandises. By reexamining of such feedbacks from consumers. the company will be more targeted in its hereafter invention reforms.
The strength of my company is that it is a company that is been set up after 1990s in China. This is a great clip for advanced companies in China. as the state has many incentive policies on the companies’ invention advancement. The authorities offers many invention fringe benefits and revenue enhancement price reduction to advanced companies or advanced undertakings launched by the companies. Under this context. my company will be equipped aspiration and stuff foundation for the above invention betterments. However. there is some restrictions as good. Since my company is a nationalize 1. nationalized companies in China are frequently really bureaucratic both in the corporateconstruction and the corporate direction. allow alone corporate civilization. It is difficult to to the full follow all the invention experience from 3M in my company.
The advanced reforms will face with a batch of obstructions from both the interior and outside of the company. In order to alter this state of affairs and to do a better environment for the invention betterment in the company. The most pressing demand is to transport out reforms on the bureaucratic corporate civilization ; many of the blessing and treatment processs can be left out in order to make efficient and effectual working manners. The senior degree should larn to swear on the subsidiaries and authorise more power for employees to do inventions. In add-ons. the company should hold more fiscal inducements on the advanced thoughts.
Last but non least. for the interest of money salvaging and publicity of productiveness. it is better for the company to collaborate with other organisations on the invention procedure. For illustration. the company can put up fund to financially back up inventions from the university pupils if the company can use the inventions. This will be much cheaper than straight put the money in the company’s invention research and development centre. Furthermore. the company should non set up separate office countries and canteens. because this will do a sense of differentiation and favoritism among employees. and it will non assist to construct a respectful and free corporate civilization.
DecisionConcluded from the above statement and analysis. the experience of invention method of the 3M company is worthwhile for other hi-tech companies to larn from. 3M has a free and respect civilization that aid cultivate inventions in the company. it has a whole consummate system to assist transport out all the relevant originative inventions. The accomplishments of its invention method are efficaciously applied in its production. However. there are troubles for a company to to the full take on the 3M’s manner. particularly when the cultural state of affairs for the company is really different. like company in China. Still. there are ways to cover with these troubles. Mentions:
Bharadwaj. S. . & A ; Menon. A. ( 2000 ) . Making invention go on in organisations: single creativeness mechanisms. organisational creativeness mechanisms or both? . Journal of Product Innovation Management. 17 ( 6 ) . 424-434.
Flynn. F. J. . & A ; Chatman. J. A. ( 2001 ) . Strong civilizations and invention: Oxymoron or chance. International enchiridion of organisational civilization and clime. 263-287.
Figueroa. E. . & A ; Conceicao. P. ( 2000 ) . Rethinking the invention procedure in big organisations: a instance survey of 3M. Journal of Engineering and engineering Management. 17 ( 1 ) . 93-109.
Hindo. B. ( 2007 ) . At 3M. a battle between efficiency and creativeness. Business Week. 11. 8-14.
Tushman. M. . & A ; Nadler. D. ( 1986 ) . Forming for invention. California direction reappraisal. 28 ( 3 ) . 74-92.
