Organization Innovation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Organization Innovation - Essay Example â€Å"Innovation is the specific instrument of entrepreneurship. The act that endows resources with a new capacity to create wealth† Peter DruckerOrganizations today are competing on a global platform and hence must rely on constant 'innovation' to sustain themselves in the fiercely competitive marketplace Innovation is by far one of the most critical tools of competency for firms and has been the key element in steering organizations towards unprecedented success (Jaruzelski & Dehoff, 2010). Technology has played a key role in helping organizations innovate and excel in the contemporary world - a fact which is evident from the meteoric rise of organizations such as Google and a range of social networking sites such as Facebook, Myspace and Twitter among many others.This paper on Organization Innovation, discusses the rise and successes achieved by Facebook Inc., an organization which has become the poster child for most of innovative organizations within the social networking domain in particular and as a pioneer of innovation for a host of other companies in general. It also discusses the various strategies used by the management to attain and maintain a creative advantage; the various external and internal factors affecting innovation, and finally concludes with recommendations which may help in enhancing innovative behavior in the company. Company Background: Overview Facebook is the largest social networking site in the world (NY Times, 2010) with as many as 750 million users, and counting, worldwide as of July 2011 (NY Times, 2011). The company was founded by Mark Zuckerberg, in February 2004 with the sole aim of offering a common platform for social interaction for college students at Harvard. However, through constant innovation, use of exciting new ideas and creativity, the site soon attracted various users which catapulted the company into an overnight sensation. The company's history shows a passion for constant innovation and the same is reaf firmed through its mission, which states that its only aim is "to make the world more open and connected". The popularity of the social networking site, continues to grow which is evident from the billions of dollars earned by way of ad revenues. Facebook is generating profits at a rapid rate. In 2010, Facebook Inc., earned approximately $1.86 billion through advertisements (PC Mag, 2011), a figure which is likely to grow substantially to $4 billion during the year 2011. Furthermore, on the basis of the current trend, it is also estimated that facebook is likely to surpass Google, its strongest competitor in advertising revenues (techcrunch, 2011). Facebook has revolutionized the social media scene, and has posed a threat to its rivals, particularly Google; a position achieved merely on the basis of constant innovation and innovative ideas. Intrapreneurial strategies used to attain and sustain competitive advantage: Intrapreneurship refers to the active involvement of organizational employees in the management of the company. It is a concept which is slightly different than corporate entrepreneruship. According to Hammann (2006), corporate entrepreneurship is defined with regard to the entire organization in question, while intrapreneurship is defined with regard to individual levels (Pinchot, 1987). This notion has been derived from the concept of indpendent entrepreneurship, whereby the employees are encouraged to think independently and create new ideas which add value to the final product. According to Hisrich & Peters (2002) it refers to the process of "creating something new with value by devoting the necessary time and effort, assuming the accompanying financial, psychic, and social risks, and receiving the resulting rewards of monetary and personal satisfaction and independence’. Facebook is a privately owned company, which follows the intrapreneurship style of management within its organizations. It allows and encourages its employees to