nnovation, the application can be viewed at many different levels. If an individual has the mind to be an innovative thinker, he or she can act on their instincts to create new and inventive ideas. Yet on the organizational level, a business cannot count on a single innovative thinker to stay ahead of the competition. Organizations can utilize innovative methods to gain a competitive edge, yet where do the new ideas come from? In many organizations the capacity for innovation is there, the question is how to advance and promote thinking in new ways. The businesses that discover how to operate while supporting the cultivation of new ideas, are the ones that stay ahead of the competition and excel as leaders.While innovation can cause an organization to be superior, today it is necessary to a degree, simply to keep up with the ever-changing business world. Companies that fail to address this will more then likely find themselves inefficient, unproductive and eventually obsolete in comparison to their competitors. Organizations need to innovate not only to gain competitive edge, simply to maintain their existing business. Although the question still remains – what exactly can an organization do to be innovative? The innovation process is not simply a policy that needs to be implemented or a memo that needs to be sent out. In order for business to promote innovation and for new ideas to emerge, there has to be an atmosphere which encourages creativity and promotes challenging traditional ways of thinking, while maintaining some standard of order. The suppression of creativity and the pressure to conform is a factor which has been present in the lives of employees and even employers constantly throughout life. This is a large obstacle that takes creative measures on the part of the management to recognize and overcome. Rather than simply promoting innovation in an organization, a business can start the process by simply us...
