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In part one of this article on innovation management we address the theory and practices related to managing innovation within an organization. Probably the best way to demonstrate the effectiveness and application of innovation management is through the use of real case studies. Theoretical concepts often create new thought patterns that sometimes work and more often result in failure. It's only when we apply these concepts to real applications that the proof of the pudding is realized. In part two of this article we will provide a series of case studies that document real applications and results of applying innovation management within organizations. It is our belief that through the review of the surreal life experiences you'll gain a deep insight into the practical application of innovation management and be more able to provide examples of innovation. The following organizations are used as examples to demonstrate innovation principles: Tyson Food, Hughes Aircraft, DirecTV, Thomas Edison GE, Bristol-Myers Squibb, BMW, KB home builders, GE, Callaway Golf, Phillips Electronics, Eureka Ranches, Motel 6, Southwest Airlines, Men's Wearhouse, Virgin Atlantic, Home Depot, Amway, Mary Kay, Tupperware Avon, Dell, J.D. Power & Associates, among others.

At the center of its core, Health Care is the application of a general body of knowledge to the needs of a specific patient. For centuries, this knowledge was generally regarded as the property of the healing professions and the individual clinician, not necessarily of the health care delivery organization. Managerial practice also had a tendency to treat this knowledge as an attribute of the provider, thus focusing on the resources clinicians used as they provided care and on the hotel-type functions associated with inpatient institutions. That is, there was a deliberate differentiation between management practice, focused on business processes, and clinical practice, focused on the activities and decisions of diagnosis and treatment. Though often described as bureaucratic and incrementally changing, health care is also a very dynamic and innovative field. Around the globe, research scientists, private industries, academics, and governmental and nongovernmental agencies continue to work in innovating new ways to provide better care, find cures, and improve health. At the same time, health care delivery has been undergoing a gradual but important change. Patient care, once the domain of the individual practitioner, is becoming the domain of the care delivery organization. Additionally, the mission of these organizations is shifting. As science, technology, care processes, and care teams have become more complex and diverse, the way in which the activities of care are organized and the institutional context in which they occur have become an increasingly important determinant of the effectiveness and efficiency of that care. As a result, the object of management has changed. In response to these changes, health care managers have started focusing on the management of the care as well as the management of the institutions in which the care takes place, thereby creating a set of ‘Best Practices’ which are briefly described in this paper along with how the process of innovation is developing in the health care system.

The age of innovation is here. In most business organizations, creativity is a means to an end, which is innovation. Creativity is the process of generating something new that has value to an organization, group or individual. Innovation is the process of generating a new mindset to produce something that has significant value to an organization or an individual or to society in general. The operative word that distinguishes innovations from creativity is significant. Innovation is the successful implementation of a new concept or product. Innovation is the sustainable process that provides a significant competitive advantage. Research has turned innovation from a haphazard, random occurrence into an understood process that anyone can benefit from. This paper reveals how this new exciting problem-solving and product/process development methodology has become the cornerstone of our Innovative Problem Solving model and the promise of exciting new things to come.

There is an ongoing need to explore opportunities and build a healthy and prosperous future, create new revenue streams and wealth, discover new solutions, and transform our organizations, industries, and societies. This need leads us to focus on innovation management. Through innovation management, order can be found in chaos, while nations, industries and economies can be pulled out of crisis. This will lead to a new foundation for growth and prosperity, which may be realized sooner rather than later.

Despite the growing awareness that innovation is the only sustainable source of growth, competitive advantage, and new wealth, the Council on Competitive Report (2008[1]) and a recent Arthur D. Little survey of 700 global companies and their executives, found fewer than 25 percent of the companies believe innovation performance is where it needs to be if they are to be successful in the competitive global marketplace. Having tried endless alternatives, company leaders are now ready to accept innovation management as a key operational discipline, just as in the past they adopted the disciplines of quality, strategic planning, and performance management systems.

Innovation management is not a new concept in most organizations. However, the old tried and true ways, even those that may have worked in the past, are no longer adequate for the organizations of tomorrow. Across the board, organizations are engaged in new and exciting experiments to reinvent the way they conceptualize and create the future, because the old business-as-usual approaches have not produced the desired results.

A lot of brilliant work has been done to develop methodologies and approaches to apply change management concepts to managing the development and implementation of projects and programs. This has resulted in major improvements in success rates, delays, and the total effectiveness of these projects and programs. Unfortunately, these endeavors have not resulted in the desired improvement in the organization’s ability to endure the constant change activities that the environment, technology, customer, and international competition have placed upon the organization. This technical paper presents a new concept called Culture Change Management (CCM) that will strengthen the total organization’s capability and willingness to accept and prosper in a rapidly changing worldwide environment. It will require a major change in the way organizational change management has been structured, minimizing the focus on projects and programs and maximizing the focus on organizational operations.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the nature of the Directed Evolution methodology, illustrate its usefulness in creating systemic change, and how it can be implemented in face of strong resistance to change. The paper aims to demonstrate how comprehensive product/program systems redesign for higher organizational effectiveness can be realized through a well‐defined Directed Evolution implementation.

A novel model and process for Directed Evolution implementation to facilitate systemic change in organizations and in communities are described. After successful implementation in several types of organizational units, the model was examined for congruence with well‐known frameworks in change management.

The paper finds that the model has congruence with several systemic change management frameworks. It complements systems thinking by harnessing organizational knowledge through creative involvement of organizational members, employing five‐phase execution to sustain organizational members’ motivation throughout the program; and realizing comprehensive patent and intellectual property redesign while improving program and product functionality.

The study show‐cases system thinking and new innovation tools and techniques as an excellent systemic change intervention.

There is an ongoing need to explore opportunities and build a healthy and prosperous future, create new revenue streams and wealth, discover new solutions, and transform our organizations, industries, and societies. This need leads us to focus on innovation management. Through innovation management, order can be found in chaos, while nations, industries and economies can be pulled out of crisis. This will lead to a new foundation for growth and prosperity, which may be realized sooner rather than later.

Despite the growing awareness that innovation is the only sustainable source of growth, competitive advantage, and new wealth, the Council on Competitive Report [1] and a recent Arthur D. Little survey of 700 global companies and their executives found fewer than 25 percent of the companies believe innovation performance is where it needs to be if they are to be successful in the competitive global marketplace. Having tried endless alternatives, company leaders are now ready to accept innovation management as a key operational discipline, just as in the past they adopted the disciplines of quality, strategic planning, and performance management systems [2]. Innovation management is not a new concept in most organizations. However, the old tried and true ways, even those that may have worked in the past, are no longer adequate for the organizations of tomorrow. Across the board, organizations are engaged in new and exciting experiments to reinvent the way they conceptualise and create the future, because the old business-as-usual approaches have not produced the desired results [3].

The purpose of this paper is to define the quality and productivity problems, and improvement opportunities that face the construction industry today.

The authors conducted interviews and surveys plus they researched pertinent literature to come to their findings.

The paper concludes that there is a lack of good research for improved approaches and that construction work is considered an undesirable profession. It also concludes that there has been a slow change over from quality control (QC) to total quality management (TQM).

The research for this paper was limited to surveys and interviews conducted in the USA.

The paper concludes that improved quality and productivity is needed to eliminate high levels of waste in the construction industry.

The paper defines construction problems as they exist today.