Description
Glasgow Caledonian University
Module Title: Innovation, Creativity and Enterprise in Markets
Module Code: MMN 220681
1BLevel: Post-Graduate
2BModule Leader: Peter Duncan (Business Management)
Coursework 2:
Individual Report
This document applies to both Glasgow and London Cohorts
Innovation, Creativity and Enterprise in Markets
Coursework 2: Coursework and Marking Schedule
1 The Task
Based on an organisation of your choice (private sector UorU public sector UorU voluntary sector), you are required to prepare a business report which critically evaluates how your chosen organisation appears to act in relation to:
- Creating and developing opportunities;
- Managing innovation;
- Behaving as an entrepreneurial organisation.
The report must be strongly underpinned throughout by reference to your chosen organisation UandU relevant theory. It should be well referenced to source documents (which may include Web-based sources) and contain a comprehensive list of all references cited (Harvard Style).
The length of the report should be 2,000 words (+/- 10%).
Date of Submission: Tuesday 22th December 2013
NB Electronic Submission to Turnitin required.
This assessment is worth sixty percent (60%) of your overall mark for the module.
The requirements for the assessment are discussed in greater detail below.
2 Report Structure
The report must be structured as follows.
| Preliminaries*
|
Comment |
| A Title Page | Detailing the title of the report (“An evaluation of opportunities, innovation and entrepreneurial behaviour in <your organisation>”); the name of the author of the report; matriculation number; programme of study, the module title, word count and the submission date. |
| Plagiarism Declaration | See below. This must be signed by you. |
| A Contents Page | Detailing the relevant headings and sub-headings of the contents, and giving the appropriate page number for the start of each section. |
| Executive Summary | A one-page (maximum) synopsis of the whole report. Note that this should summarise the whole report; it is UnotU an introduction.
|
| Report | |
| Introduction | Identification of the overall objective of the report; clearly identify the organisation chosen; a UbriefU introduction to the organisation/sector and rationale for your choice of organisation; an overview of the rest of the report.
|
| Main body
[NB this is not a section title!]
|
This is likely to be spread over several sections and you would have relevant sub-headings where appropriate. The exact format will depend on how you see your argument/evaluation developing. Be careful to ensure that you critically evaluate your chosen organisation across all three dimensions:
· Creating and developing opportunities; · Managing innovation; · Behaving as an entrepreneurial organisation.
|
| Conclusion | Summarising the report and drawing together the key issues. Cyclical closure. |
| References* | Comprehensive list in alphabetical order of all references cited in the report. Follow good practice regarding referencing of Web-based sources, direct quotations; and so on. The disclosure style should follow the Harvard Referencing System.
|
| Appendices* | Well-presented collection of any relevant supplementary material if required. Appendices should be numerically and sequentially labelled (eg Appendix 1: Organisation Structure, Appendix 2: Existing Innovation Framework) and referenced appropriately in the report. |
In the context of this coursework the following points are regarded as Ugood practiceU for writing a business report of this nature:
- Appropriate structure;
- Spelling/grammar correct;
- Appropriate writing style observed (including formality ie no 1st person);
- Clearly numbered Sections and Sub-sections;
- Page numbers;
- Figures or tables appropriately labelled including title and source if relevant;
- Executive summary appropriate and summarises whole report.
Regarding referencing, good practice relates to:
- Harvard referencing style used;
- Referencing is both accurate and consistent in presentation;
- Sources correctly referenced in the text using name, date convention (eg Davenport and Prusak, 1998);
- Giving appropriate credit to direct quotations (indented UbothU sides; name, date UandU page number included);
- Correct referencing of Internet based sources;
- Single complete list of references in alphabetical order.
Solution
1.0 Introduction
In today’s businesses, the effective management of innovation is critical for an organisation to maintain its competitiveness and enhance its survival in the height of increased competition (Etzkowitz, 2008). Traditional methods in managing organisations are becoming ineffective in a turbulent environment full of global challenges and uncertainty. According to Midgley (2009) technological advancements, communication and the drive for financial and social development are the main factors challenging traditional models and influencing management priorities. Therefore, organisations must strive to embrace strategies which will enable them to innovatively recognise and implement any opportunity that would create a competitive edge for them.
John Lewis partnership is an employee owned partnership with its main operations in the United Kingdom. It has its headquarters in the Oxford Street, London (John Lewis Partnership, 2010). John Lewis partnership owns 235 Waitrose supermarkets, over 30 John Lewis outlets, a direct services company, a catalogue business, a farm and a production unit, with a turnover of about eight billion pounds in 2010 (John Lewis Partnership, 2010). John Lewis main activities involve retailing high quality household goods, furniture, flowers and electronics. In addition, it offers insurance and credit card services (John Lewis Partnership, 2010). The partnership is owned by all its permanent employees who have a say in the management and share in the company’s profits.
In 2009, John Lewis ranked first and was voted as the favorite retailer in the United Kingdom (Superbrands.com, 2011). The partnership has developed a visionary way of doing business, putting customer satisfaction and partner’s happiness as their major priority (John Lewis Partnership, 2010). They promise the lowest prices through their slogan “Never Knowingly Undersold”. This report evaluates the opportunities that John Lewis has been able to create and develop and how the opportunity development process has been a success. This report also highlights online strategies which show how innovation has been managed in John Lewis. Furthermore, the last part of the report explores the behaviour and characteristics which shows that John Lewis acts as an entrepreneurial firm.
2.0 Creation and development of opportunities
As Kickul and Walters, (2008) explain, the identification and development of the right opportunities is essential for organizations in the dynamic business world. Goffin and Mitchell (2010) classify opportunities as cultural cognitive, socio political and economic and discuss them from the demand and supply viewpoint. Successful opportunity development process is a complex and dynamic process which is developed over time to meet the needs of the market through creative resources (Burgelman et al, 2009). It is a cognitive process which involves counterfactual thinking and mental simulation emerging from entrepreneurs. In addition, it is a creative process involving creativity and problem solving (Alvarez & Barney, 2007)……………………………….
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