Innovation, Culture and Structure

To encourage innovation internally a business will want a culture that encourages people to try out new ideas. If the standard way of doing things is to do as you are told and if people who keep their heads down and just follow instructions are the ones that get promoted then this will not encourage new ideas and new ways of doing things. Innovation therefore requires a culture that encourages people to try new ideas, that does not punish failure and that rewards those who do come ip with new approaches. The commitment to innovation can be shown by the leaders of the business: What do they value, what do they recognise and praise? If you want innovation to occur you need the senior managers to set an example. This will include making the funds available to those who need them to experiment and try new ideas out. Apple, HP, Intel and W L Gore, for example, are organisations that are said to have a particularly innovative culture. 

The culture is important because it supports all other actions and highlights the priorities for the business. The culture is supported by and directly related to the structure of the organisation. Innovation requires the sharing of ideas and approaches.  This is more likely in a structure that puts people from different departments than one where individuals stay very much within their own area. By using cross-functional teams that cut across functional boundaries, such as bringing together marketing, operations, finance and human resources, a project can be seen from different perspectives and this can help create new solutions to problems. Using Handy's models of culture, innovation is more likely to be a task culture that a role culture.  (Surridge&Gillespie 2009:147,148)