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Lesson 1: Introduction to Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Creativity

Lesson 1 Introduction

Welcome to the MBADM 850 class, where we embark on an journey to explore innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurship. This course is designed for learners who are eager to delve into the intricacies of these vital concepts and apply them effectively in various organizational contexts, including business startups, corporations, and public sector institutions

Note: Video removed. You will have access to the video in the actual course.

Lesson Objectives

After successfully completing this module, students will be able to:

  • Identify and recall the purpose and meaning of key terms associated with innovation, such as creativity, entrepreneurship, and entrepreneurship.
  • Compare and contrast the different types, and building blocks of, innovation.
  • Explore the role of creativity in organizations and find ways of making it a driver of innovation and entrepreneurship.
  • Apply the principles of organizational creativity by assessing organizational creativity and identifying strengths and weaknesses.

Module Topics

  • Introduction to innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurship
  • Strategy and innovation
  • What is entrepreneurship
  • Types of innovation
  • The essential elements of corporate creativity
  • Assessing organizational creativity

Key Terms

Innovation and entrepreneurship are dynamic, overlapping fields with a rich vocabulary. Here are seven key terms that are essential to understanding the material in this course.

  • Innovation: This is the process of creating new ideas, products, or methods, and implementing them in a way that generates value. Innovation often involves improving existing systems, processes, or technologies, or developing entirely new ones to meet emerging needs or to solve complex problems.
  • Entrepreneurship: Entrepreneurship is the act of creating, organizing, and running a business venture, along with its associated risks, in order to make a profit. It often involves identifying market needs, marketing new products or services, and effectively commercializing them. It is also characterized by the monetization of various forms of innovation.
  • Intrapreneurship: Intrapreneurship is the application of entrepreneurship and innovation principles and processes in a corporate context. Intrapreneurship is behaving like an entrepreneur in an organization, rather than in a startup situation.
  • Disruptive Innovation: This term refers to an innovation that significantly alters or disrupts an existing market or industry, often by replacing old systems or habits with new, more efficient ones. Disruptive innovations can create new markets and value networks, eventually displacing established market-leading firms and products.
  • Lean Startup: A methodology for developing businesses and products, which aims to shorten product development cycles and rapidly discover if a proposed business model is viable. This is achieved through a process of "build-measure-learn" using minimal viable products (MVPs), emphasizing customer feedback, and incorporating iterative design.
  • Business Model Innovation: This topic involves changing the way a company creates, delivers, and captures value. It's about rethinking a business's approach to its market, including its revenue model, value proposition, target customer segments, and cost structure. Business model innovation can lead to significant competitive advantages and market leadership.
  • Creativity: In a business context, creativity refers to the ability of people, teams, and organizations to generate innovative ideas, solutions, and approaches that add value. It involves thinking outside the box, challenging conventional wisdom, and finding unique ways to solve problems, meet customer needs, and achieve business goals.

In this module, you will explore the meaning of innovation, entrepreneurship, creativity, and related terms, and their relationship to business strategy. Many different types of innovation will be highlighted, as will the many different enablers of creativity in corporations.

Readings and Activities

By the end of this lesson, make sure you have completed the readings and activities found in the Course Schedule.


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