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ABOUT THE BOOK
Here is a how-to-innovate management
manual for South African organisations. It is based on the lessons
of the previous two volumes in the Edge series, and informed by the
theory and practice of innovation worldwide. In the fast-paced
global economy, where innovation makes the difference between
success and failure, every business organisation must hone its
competitive edge. Expertise, imagination, teamwork and individual
brilliance all go into the mix of innovation. Government departments
and nonprofit organisations too need to create new services and
processes, slim down their operations, and work with the private
sector in partnerships.
The advice in this booklet is specifically tailored to innovators in
the Information Age, based in emergent economies. After reviewing
the four “generations” of innovation in thought and action, The
Competitive Edge leads on to a fifth – the era of combined
state-private strategising for sustainable development. Chapters
cover how to plan for continual innovation, how to build teams and
develop thought leadership, how to roadmap the future and articulate
customer needs, and how to work collaboratively with local and
global partners using information technologies.
The Competitive Edge was written to accompany the
other books in the Edge series. It seeks to interpret what
has been learnt about innovation in the South African
context, and spell out lessons within a conceptual
framework. Leading innovators in this country have shown
again and again that achievement is based on method, not
chance. Organisations that engage in purposeful and
systematic innovation – be they commercial companies, civic
bodies or government departments – always drive the process
through people. Technological expertise, while vital, is
secondary to communication and imagination. We distinguish
between the macro view of innovation (as a national
objective) and the micro view (on the level of the
organisation). An organisation needs its own innovation
strategy, designed to work through structure and process to
enrich ideas and produce results.
Publication details
First published 2005
© The Engineering Association
Copyright in text, Graeme Addison
Copyright in illustrations: Southphotos, or as otherwise credited
Published by the Engineering Association
P O Box 6412, Meyersdal, 1447, Gauteng, South Africa
Tel: (011) 900 4466
Fax: (011) 868 2600
E-mail: savi@yebo.co.za
ISBN: 0-620-31387-0
This book is copyright under the
Berne Convention in terms of the
Copyright Act, No 98 of 1978. No part of this book may be reproduced
or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or
mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or otherwise, nor
reformatted and stored in any retrieval system, without prior
written permission from the publisher and copyright holders. All
illustrations and photographs are copyright of the authors or
institutions concerned. Whilst every care has been taken in
compiling this book, the publisher and author do not give any
warranty as to the factual accuracy or comprehensiveness of text or
visual elements.
Reproduction: Colors, 73 Derby
Road, Judith’s Paarl, Doornfontein Printing: Tien Wah Press, 4
Pandan Crescent, Singapore |
