What Is Innovation?

This is a word that constantly get's used, especially at my biz school, since it's all about technology. Don't know how good of a job I did here but it's an interesting excercise.

To a management and business student, Innovation can have many meanings, depending on the industry or area of study you are considering. This paper will look at innovation in general, and then apply the concept in more depth by considering innovation in the discipline of architecture.

Over the past year, excessive innovation may have caused some trouble in one area. Innovation in the financial markets, which often may be good, has recently resulted in dire consequences for the global investment community, and very possibly the US economy. In many cases, innovation can bring risks, such as we see with the financial markets, but more often, it allows companies to remain competitive, and the world to progress. In fact, innovation is progress. Regardless of field or situation, it always involves a new way of meeting a need or solving a problem. This is how it can be distinguished from invention in the strict sense – invention is all about making something new, innovation is about the use of something new or old to achieve some sort of benefit in a new way. Every field has its own problems and people are constantly innovating to help solve them.

Consider architecture for example, where there is an interesting mix of problems, some functional, and some aesthetic. Functional problems, such as making a space useful to the largest number of people, or improving the acoustics of a room, are important concerns for users of the space. Similarly, as architecture is often regarded as a work of art, not just a functional object, architects regularly face the problem of how to keep their structures from looking outmoded or derivative. While a simple solution to these problems might be the easiest choice, simple solutions often are not available or appropriate. This is where innovation becomes necessary. The functional problems could be met with innovative functional solutions, such as chairs that fold into the floors, or a new type of sound dampening wall panel. The aesthetic problems may be less straightforward but can still be tackled through the artistic methods of aesthetic innovation, perhaps by creating a design carefully balanced between reference and originality. Interestingly, some of the best solutions might come from applying an aesthetic solution to a functional problem, or as was the case in the development of Modern architecture, a functional solution to an aesthetic problem.

Again, Innovation means the application of ingenuity to meet a need or solve a problem. It is a word that is used often these days in business and in the world. Such use may cause the word to become clichéd, though the frequent use but reflects the great importance it has for the future of our nation and for mankind. To continue to adapt, to change, to grow, it is in our human nature, no matter what the word; innovation is what we as people will do.