Reading the "The Knowledge-Creating Company," I was reminded of visiting Toyota Corporation in while studying abroad in Japan. I was particularly intrigued by the idea of using metaphors as a way to communicate implicit knowledge into explicit knowledge, and the use of teams to create competition and dialogue among various perspectives to invent the most innovative product.
Here are some links showing Toyota's most recent innovations which I thought that you might enjoy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQmoTJFScMY
I was actually lucky enough to see this 'band' perform when I visited the corporation!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xs_vL9g4IYk&feature=related
As energy-efficiency becomes an important part of the economic and political dialogue in our country, I wonder what policies could be made on the government and local levels which could encourage corporations to incorporate knowledge-creating management styles within their organizations to pursue energy sustainability. I wonder if it would be more effective for our government or a company to pursue the creative innovations which would lead to a more sustainable future. The culture of a company is important in encouraging creative innovation. Does the type (state or corporation) also matter?
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Of course, it would be more effective for our government to provide incentives for companies to pursue creative innovations which would lead to a more sustainable future. However, in America where the bottom line is most important, it would be a challenge to convince companies to pursue creativity without ensuring that profits are at least maintained. I think in countries like Japan, companies and workers are interested in developing innovative ideas because they are more concerned with reaching a new goal or pushing themselves to new heights, which is defined as intrinsic motivation. Although profit is a goal, these companies are motivated not primarily by profit but by the possibility of generating ground-breaking developments.
ReplyDeleteAmabile explains that extrinsic motivators do not necessarily make employees passionate about their work or creative abilities. On the other hand, intrinsic motivators allow people to be more creative because they are motivated by interest, satisfaction and the challenge of work itself, not by external pressures (Amabile, 1998). The most creative innovations will surface when American companies focus on providing incentives that motivate employees to pursue creative innovations in addition to increasing profits. These companies need to understand that creative innovations will ultimately result the development of unique products, which will result in high demand and therefore increased profits.