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The importance of "innovation" in today's competitive world needs no deliberations.

It is this desire to innovate, to create purposefully, which is a part of the personality of an entrepreneur. However, it would be wrong to say that only entrepreneurs can be innovative. Innovation, as Drucker (1998) points out, is the responsibility of every executive. Innovation has no set rules, processes or even measures of success. It requires a culture where one feels free to deviate from expectations, to question things, and to make a conscious search for opportunities. Innovation is about taking risk and learning from failures. The question most organizations would ask is, "When we are already doing well, why do we need to innovate?" Well, one thing that each company requires to do is to encourage innovation when it is doing well, as the last thing one want to do when one is in the lead is become complacent. Wipro also realized that if they wished to differentiate themselves from their competitors and hoped to gain acceptance in the global market, they needed to innovate. Their initiatives in the field of innovation were based on in-depth studies of organizations like 3M, Nike and Home Depot. Wipro realized that top performers don't just get occasional big hits in a few areas. They need to outperform and systematically improve every aspect of their businessmarketing, sales, R&D, finance, production, distribution and human resources. Next, they translate those changes into products that customers value. They saw innovation as one of the major growth drivers and started focusing on it. 3M, one of the most innovative companies in the world, has stated certain requirements to be successful in innovation. It states that the organization needs a `Vision' (what it wants to be), `Foresight' (knowledge of where the world is going), "an understanding of its core competencies" (which will assist it in setting knowledge management priorities), "stretch goals", "freedom for employees to achieve those goals", and "an atmosphere which enables and encourages people to give help and draw help from others". Comparing the process of innovation at Wipro with the framework developed by 3M, we find that: Wipro also had a `Vision', it wanted to be one of the top 10 IT players in the world. It had the `Foresight', to realize that along with its focus on quality standards, it needed to be innovative in its products and services, to gain acceptance in the global market. "An understanding of its

core competencies" led the top management team to focus on four core areas called the "Themes at WT _ Home Networking, Content Commerce, Collaboration and Knowledge Management and Wireless". Wipro "provided the freedom to its employees" to get involved in the entire process of innovation by making it possible to float their ideas on the intranet, after which they went through a thorough process to check out the viability of the idea. The organization created "an atmosphere and culture which encouraged its employees to take initiatives and innovate". Thus, Wipro clearly imbibed the lessons it picked up from organizations like 3M to foster innovations and the desire to innovate in its people. A close look at the process of innovation clearly indicates the important role played by top management in fostering the spirit of innovation in the organization. It did this by firstly identifying `innovation' as the major growth driver in the IT field, and then providing all the support and resources to encourage it. Innovation requires ingenuity, focus and knowledge. The top management tried to sharpen these skills in its employees by conducting workshops, and even brought in external consultants to refine the ideas of their employees. Though innovation requires knowledge, ingenuity and talent, it may all fail if it is not substantiated by hard, focused, and purposeful work. It requires diligence, persistence and commitment on the part of the employees. Realizing this, Wipro provided rewards and recognition to its employees, based on their competence. Very often, it seems that what the employees lack is not the initiative or enthusiasm, but clarity on "how to go about it". Therefore, Wipro gave clear innovation process guidelines to all its middle-level managers and department heads. The guidelines were provided by the top management in the form of an "Innovation Clock" which gave twelve steps for completion of the innovation process. Every aspect of the innovation process was looked into, the interest of every stakeholder was taken into considerationbe it the employee, the customer or the organization. However, one thing to be kept in mind is that even the best strategies or concepts develop incrementally. They take time to show results and very rarely are successful in the very first

attempt. Generally, organizations are in such a hurry to get a new product to the market that they overlook some basic things required to launch it properlyand then fail. In contrast, the real winners are those who make careful plans to throw everything needed into making new products to ensure their success. This is what Wipro has done over the years through its unique innovation process using the "Innovation Clock". Wipro has succeeded in making a place for itself in the global market, thereby, achieving its vision and goal.

ANALYSIS:Upon reviewing this case, the first impression is that its central theme is "innovation"as a means of giving a company a high level of global competitiveness, which will make it among the best in its industry. This principle is particularly important in the Information Technology sector, the main activity of Wipro. Upon further examination, however, it becomes apparent that the Wipro case is really about an example of successful cultural change within an organization. This example provides the reader with a list of characteristics needed for a successful top-to-bottom institutionalized change that results in a more competitive and profitable company. Wipro not only gave lip service to changing work behavior within the organization, but also developed an entire organizational infrastructure to support and sustain change. They developed a system called "Organizational Architecture" in the management jargon, by revamping the entire organizational structure, including the administrative and rewards systems. The case shows the importance of commitment of the top management in the process of change. It was this group within the organization that was convinced that innovation was the major driver of growth. Furthermore, top management defined what innovation would mean: the implementation of a new idea resulting into a marketable product or service. With this idea, they matched two concepts: innovation and profitability. Innovation is good only if the company benefits from it. This became the beacon that illuminated all the processes of change. The vision was clear: Profits would increase to the extent that innovative products and services were developed.

Top managers determined the priority areas for focusing innovation efforts. Once the vision and priorities were established, Wipro developed the model of the Innovation Clock, a process for the administration of innovative ideas. The Innovation Clock provides a step-by-step guide for the transformation of an innovative idea from an employee to the marketing of a product or service. It was also interesting to see the process of designating a group of persons, the Innovation Council, who would be responsible for evaluating each innovative idea and its commercial viability and would have the authority to decide which ideas would be turned into products and services. Other resources dedicated to innovation are also described in this case, such as the Innovation Centers, the Technology Forums and the Research and Development Centers. In conclusion, the Wipro case provides a good example of the characteristics needed for a successful organizational change process. The most important are: a clear vision of the desired future provided by top management; the creation of an organizational structure to manage the process; financial support; and a rewards system for motivating employees.

The Innovation Clock


In its promise statement, Wipro promised to provide its customers with innovative solutions. The process of innovation in the company is reflected in "The Innovation Clock". Before commenting on the twelve steps of the Innovation Clock, I would like to highlight the importance of the definition of innovation in Wipro. The company has a clear operational definition of the concept of innovation, which helped it design a process that would lead to measurable outcomes. The authors were successful in presenting this operational definition before explaining the different steps of the innovation process in Wipro. However, they have not explained some of the steps in the Innovation Clock such as "Top management focus and tolerance for mistakes". What are the kind of measures that are taken by the top management in the company to apply and insure this step and procedure? I believe also that some of the steps in the clock can be merged together and the clock does not have to be a 12 or 24-hour clock!

Wipro's Approach to Innovation


Regarding the approach to foster innovation in Wipro, the company had adopted both macro and micro approaches. This strategy indicates that the company has the tools to study the market forces at the national and international levels, and human resources management issues such as performance appraisal, reward systems and motivating forces. However, the emphasis in motivating the employees, as it is presented by the authors, is more on external factors than on both internal and external factors. For a long-term success of innovation in the company, Wipro has to invest in developing an organizational culture which fosters innovation and creativity at all managerial levels. In addition to rewarding and motivating, this might require more training on organizational behavior for all managers and employees in the company. The institutionalization process through establishing teams and top management commitment should be accompanied by middle and lower management commitment and support. The resistance to change and innovation, and distortion of communication occurs usually at these two managerial levels. To gain middle and lower management support and commitment, they should be made a part of a participative decision-making system. To ensure the success of innovation in the company, it is not sufficient to see an obvious benefit to the company in the short-term, since an innovation that is not beneficial in the short-term, could turn out to be beneficial in the long-term. Nevertheless, the idea of rewarding the individual as well as the team for innovation is an excellent approach to ensure the success of innovation in the short-term. The total time for an idea to be communicated was estimated to be around 18 months which is a reasonable time. However, exceptions should be made and more time for incubation should be allowed and encouraged.

Top Management's Role


The role played by the top management in Wipro is excellent. However, the role of middle and lower management is not clear. Therefore, the company needs to make more effort at these levels in order to gain management commitment at all levels. It would be more effective for quality management if the company is restructured in order to become a team-based company, with a horizontal rather than vertical organization. The endeavor to make the innovation process a success and to instill it as a culture in Wipro, requires a long-term strategy for fostering innovation and developing creativity. Hence, the company needs to concentrate more on training its employees on creative abilities and skills such as "the whole Brain Thinking" of Herrmman.

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