The Art of Managing Innovation Problems and Opportunities

Innovation has long been a central concept in all areas of life and spheres of the economy, from manufacturing to services, and from commerce to education. Despite the fact that there is much talk about innovation, many organisations in both the private and public sector would rather avoid innovation than accept it with open arms. One reason for this is undoubtedly inadequate knowledge and a lack of skill in the management of the innovation process and the changes it may engender. Like most other skills, those pertaining to the processes of innovation may also be learned by organisations. The right approach, supported by knowledge and insight, and, in particular, the will and support of management in effecting change, are essential in this. This Book is intended both for those who wish to include elements of innovation in their academic work processes as well as practical person who would like to structure and improve their existing processes of innovation. It focuses primarily on the management of the initial phase of the innovation process, i.e. the identification of problems and innovation opportunities. It consists of four parts, each of which represents a chapter, that together represent a new approach to the introduction of innovative methodology. It is a “bottom to top” approach that works from the identification of an actual problem to the implementation of a solution. The Book brings together a selection of some well and lesser known methods, together with a number of newly deliberated approaches and techniques especially prepared for this purpose. It should be noted that some of the methods are original. The authors of each of these are marked accordingly.