MBA 580 Module Seven Short Paper Guidelines and RubricOverview
Organizational creativity and innovation have proven to be challenging concepts to measure. There is not a particular output that indicates organizational levels of innovation. To flourish, innovation and creativity must be fostered within the organization. They must be established as cultural values in order for the organization to see the benefits.
Directions
Write a paper evaluating business metrics for innovation. Although business metrics generally measure indicators or outputs of an organization’s culture, we can find correlations between some business metrics and the quality of an organization’s innovation culture. Review the table shown below and answer the following questions.
Specifically, you must address the following rubric criteria:
- Evaluate the metrics in the table and whether each metric is an effective measure of innovation and creativity.
- Could the metric be an indicator of innovation or an indicator of whether the innovation is incremental or discontinuous?
- While evaluating research and development (R&D) headcount, address whether this metric is an indicator of innovation or labor efficiency.
- What would it mean if any of these metrics increased over time?
- Evaluate and select which company (INAGG, Inc. or AMMB, Inc.) is most likely to have a culture that supports innovation and creativity. Consider the following:
- How might non-R&D staff time dedicated to experimenting with new products be an indicator of an innovation culture?
- Identify scenarios where having a higher number of patents would not be a reliable indicator of an innovation culture.
- Discuss the ability and limitations of using business intelligence (BI) and the metrics provided in the table to measure an organization’s ability to innovate and foster employee creativity.
- What are the limitations of the metrics you consider the most effective indicators of an organization’s innovation culture?
- How can using a combination of metrics help resolve some of the limitations?
MetricINAGG, Inc.AMMB, Inc.Number of active products126Research and development (R&D) budget$10M$14MR&D headcount5233% of sales from products introduced in the past four years15%35%Number of new products launched in the past four years73Employee time dedicated to experimenting with new productsNot tracked10%Number of patents in the last four years723
Note: Both companies are in the same industry and make similar products. They have the same number of total employees, revenue, and length of time in business.
What to Submit
Submit a two-page Word document with double spacing, 12-point Times New Roman font, and one-inch margins. Sources should be cited in APA format.
Module Seven Short Paper RubricCriteriaExemplary (100%)Proficient (90%)Needs Improvement (70%)Not Evident (0%)ValueMetrics EvaluationExceeds proficiency in an exceptionally clear, insightful, sophisticated, or creative mannerEvaluates each metric in the chart as to whether it is an effective measure of innovation and creativityShows progress toward proficiency, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include evaluating all of the listed metricsDoes not attempt criterion30Company EvaluationExceeds proficiency in an exceptionally clear, insightful, sophisticated, or creative mannerEvaluates and selects which company is most likely to have a culture that supports innovation and creativityShows progress toward proficiency, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include evaluation of both companiesDoes not attempt criterion30Ability and Limitations of Metrics and BIExceeds proficiency in an exceptionally clear, insightful, sophisticated, or creative mannerDiscusses the ability and limitations of the metrics in the table and business intelligence to measure an organization’s ability to innovate and support employee creativityShows progress toward proficiency, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include identifying the limitations of metrics and business intelligence to measure the ability of an organization to innovate and support employee creativityDoes not attempt criterion30Clear CommunicationExceeds expectations with an intentional use of language that promotes a thorough understandingConsistently and effectively communicates in an organized way to a specific audienceShows progress toward meeting expectations, but communication is inconsistent or ineffective in a way that negatively impacts understandingShows no evidence of consistent, effective, or organized communication6Citations and AttributionsUses citations for ideas requiring attribution, with few or no minor errorsUses citations for ideas requiring attribution, with consistent minor errorsUses citations for ideas requiring attribution, with major errorsDoes not use citations for ideas requiring attribution4Total:
