You have been appointed as the Manager for Innovation and CE at Bustech, a developer of business software providing a wide range of business support software. The company has been in business for 10 years, with the Board of Directors, one of which is the founder of the organisation comfortable with the position of the company in the market, which was quite dominant with 30% of the market share in the Australian domestic economy. Although they were aware of smaller companies, which have entered the market on the back of low end developments in software which were essentially cloud based and according to the Directors was not a significant market for Bustech as the margins were too low and not the main market for them or Bustech The CEO encouraged the Board of Directors to establish a new position of Manager Innovation and CE to manage the Research and Development Division of the organisation. The CEO had been aware of the changes at other organisations in the industry and decided that it was time that Bustech would move with the times. One of your first responsibilities is to change the name of the R&D department to that of Innovation and CE department. The CEO believed that this would represent the department and what it does. On your first review of the department, you enquire regarding the innovative direction, the response form many of the department is that we do what we are told to do by the CEO. In many case development of new products is restricted to ensuring that the products offered are comparable to the other competitor in the market Huge IT Ltd, which has approximately the same market share as Bustech. In your office you notice a number of files which are dated six months ago, you ask your Assistant where did the files come from, his response is from the CEO. On opening the files you read a number of innovative suggestion from members of the staff none of which have been actioned or even replied to. The company had been approached by a University to consider developing a working association to develop software that would complement students studies in particular in the Business disciplines. This proposal was put to the board however, was rejected. You ask the CEO why the proposal was rejected he replies that the board considered this a distraction from our core business and that the risk was far too high. You asked if you could pursue the proposal further, the CEO says not to waste your time but to focus on the next development of the existing software which need to be launched before Huge IT introduced their new programs to the market. Based on your knowledge gained from your Entrepreneurial MBA you decide to discuss innovation with your peers, you call a meeting with the managers of the departments to discuss innovation in their respective departments and the organisation, you are met with a degree of cynicism and reluctance to be involved in any major innovation projects. You understand from your discussion with the group that the process of obtaining funds for innovation is difficult with the approval process for major projects in excess of $5k being vested in the board of Directors. Small changes in processes are encouraged however there is no real drive by the managers as they see no benefit in either reward or recognition from either the Board or the CEO. The mangers also indicate to you that the approval process is made more difficult by the number of management layers in the organisation and a win at all cost attitude exhibited by the CEO. You meet with the CEO to define more closely your role in the organisation, you ask him about innovation in the organisation, he remarks that the innovation is solely the responsibility of the R&D department which is now your baby. He adds that everyone else is too busy and must focus on the tasks at hand to maintain Bustechs market position. The board of Directors have given you a brief to develop innovation in the organisation with a particular focus on the R&D department (now the Innovation and CE department) as they see this as critical to maintaining and sustaining the growth of the organisation. Given your studies in corporate entrepreneurship you have a number of concerns relating to the Boards direction and your role.

Required

1. Identify the major of the areas of concern that you have in relation to the successful undertaking of your role.

2. Is the Board of Directors moving towards an innovation and learning organisation? Why/why not.

3. Develop a plan for the Board which identifies some the problems and recommends a different approach to Innovation and CE in the organisation, in particular emphasising the importance of measuring innovative activity in an organisation.

Please provide references.