A Brief Discussion on Innovation in Enterprise Management
Management innovation is an inherent need for enterprises to adapt to external environmental changes and achieve their development vision. Clearly defining management innovation, comprehensively analyzing the favorable factors and obstacles of management innovation, and deeply exploring the ways and methods of practical management innovation are of great significance for guiding enterprises to consciously carry out management innovation activities and enhance their competitiveness.
Management innovation is an inherent attribute of enterprises. For an enterprise that is constantly honing and seeking development in market competition, timely and appropriate management innovation is both necessary and natural. It is hard to imagine which enterprise can survive in a cruel and intense market by sticking to its own management. But we must also recognize that managing innovation itself may bring certain risks to the enterprise. Improper management innovation, or innovation for the sake of innovation, not only does not enhance the competitiveness of the enterprise, but may also be harmful to its long-term development, and may even push the enterprise into an irreparable situation. Therefore, it is necessary for us to have rational thinking and understanding of management innovation, and guide our enterprises to carry out management innovation scientifically.
1、 Definition of Management Innovation
1. Definition of Management Innovation
So far, there is no unified, comprehensive, and accurate definition of management innovation both internationally and domestically. Scholars with different perspectives have provided different definitions of management innovation from various angles. According to the definition of "innovation" by Austrian economist Joseph Schumpeter, Dr. Wang Jianjun from Renmin University of China believes that management innovation refers to incorporating new management elements or combinations of elements into the enterprise management system, giving it new functions, innovative activities, and innovative benefits. It is an important component of the national innovation system. This is a relatively safe expression, and we will temporarily adopt this definition.
2. The purpose of management innovation
For enterprises, whether it is to carry out management innovation with global or local characteristics, the purpose is to change and improve the allocation of various resources, improve the efficiency of utilizing various resources, enhance the efficiency level of the enterprise, better adapt to current and future changes in various external environments, and better realize the future development vision of the enterprise.
3. Content of management innovation
Management innovation includes innovation in management ideas, management theories, management knowledge, management methods, management tools, and other aspects. According to different management functions, management innovation can be divided into innovation in management functions such as goals, planning, implementation, control, leadership, organization, and human resources. According to the classification of business organizations, management innovation can be divided into management mode innovation, competitive strategy innovation, business process innovation, standard innovation, corporate culture innovation, organizational structure innovation, and management system innovation. According to different functional departments, enterprise management innovation can be divided into research and development management innovation, production management innovation, marketing innovation, supply chain management innovation, human resource management innovation, financial management innovation, information management innovation, etc.
4. The main stages of management innovation
According to different ways of management innovation, management innovation can be divided into new management innovation and introduced management innovation. The processes required for these two types of management innovation are basically the same.
Phase 1: Identify issues. This is often the cause of management innovation in enterprises. In the operation of enterprises, managers often feel that there are some gaps in certain aspects of the enterprise when facing competitors, resulting in a lack of competitive advantage compared to competitors. Alternatively, managers may be prepared for danger and feel that there is still room for improvement in certain aspects of the enterprise in the process of improving efficiency and cultivating competitiveness. This prompts managers to define and explore the reasons for the problems in enterprise operation and management.
Phase 2: Seeking innovative solutions. This stage is the main difference between new management innovation and introduced management innovation. Enterprises can adopt new ideas or methods based on the problems discovered, independently invent and implement new management methods for improvement, which is called full new management innovation. They can also learn from existing management concepts or methods from the outside, which is called introduction based management innovation. Generally speaking, enterprises will choose multiple innovative solutions from different perspectives regarding a certain aspect of management content for selection.
Phase 3: Evaluate and make decisions on innovative solutions. According to the needs of their own development and participation in market competition, enterprises must evaluate and select innovative solutions. New management innovation may not necessarily be economical, and introduced management innovation may not necessarily adapt to the actual situation of the enterprise. Alternatively, the effectiveness of the innovative solutions sought may not necessarily exceed the current operational methods, and it is uncertain whether management innovation will be implemented. However, regardless, the enterprise must make a decision after comprehensive weighing.
Stage 4: Implementation stage of management innovation. Management innovation inevitably involves the application of new technologies, business process transformation, or human resource allocation, and is bound to not be smooth sailing. It must be actively and prudently implemented. If there is no carefully considered implementation plan, or if the pace and steps of management innovation cannot be adjusted in a timely manner, or if employee understanding cannot be obtained, it may often lead to the failure of management innovation halfway.
2、 The Motivation and Resistance of Management Innovation
As mentioned earlier, there are certain risks associated with management innovation. To successfully implement management innovation and achieve the expected results, it is necessary to utilize factors that are conducive to enterprise management innovation and resolve and eliminate factors that hinder management innovation.
1. Motivation for Management Innovation
(1) External factors. One is the emergence of new ideas and technologies. The emergence of a new management concept and a new technology can often drive a transformation in the management style of the entire industry. Faced with increasingly fierce market competition, enterprises are like rowing against the current. If they do not advance, they will fall behind. Neglecting the application of new ideas and technologies is likely to cause the management style of enterprises to fall behind. The second is the change in social and cultural environment. With the advancement of the times, people's values, interests, and behavior patterns are constantly changing, requiring enterprises to constantly adjust their management methods to better adapt to these changes. The third is the strengthening of constraints on resources and environment. With the continuous expansion of population and the increasing frequency of human activities, people have become increasingly aware that many resources are non renewable, and once the living environment is damaged, it is difficult to repair. This has led to a growing awareness of resource and environmental protection, which has also put forward new requirements for the management and operation of many enterprises to adapt to the increasingly severe resource and environmental situation. The fourth is the continuous improvement of economic development level. The result of the improvement of economic level is that there are more and more new products and services available for people to choose from, and people's requirements for quality of life are increasing. Enterprises must constantly adjust themselves and improve productivity.
(2)内部动因。企业管理创新的主体不只是管理者，也包括被管理者。企业管理者总是在追逐成本的最小化、利润的最大化，这促使管理者不断寻找企业运营管理中不合理、效率不高的环节，谋求改良或改革途径。同时，受市场竞争环境的影响，企业管理者有一种自然的危机感，主动寻求创新、超越竞争对手的方式和方法。而对于被管理者而言，他们是管理制度、管理方式的受众，按照组织行为学的理论，这些管理制度、管理方式是否合理，也直接关系到被管理者的工作满意度，关系到被管理者自身价值的实现，对他们而言，也有一种改良管理方式的愿望，这种愿望也同样是企业进行管理创新的内部动因之一。
2、管理创新的阻力
尽管企业管理创新有着有利的外部、内部动因，但它的推行绝不可能一帆风顺，它必然面对以下一些因素的阻力。
(1)文化因素。企业文化伴随企业的成长不断强化。在中国，受东方文化的长久熏陶，企业普遍较为缺乏创新、冒险精神。另一方面，存续时间越久或者规模越大的企业，愈加趋于保守。对于这些缺乏创新、冒险精神的企业来说，他们往往会担心创新的管理方式可能导致企业的状况不如从前，会使企业走下坡路。
(2)利益因素。在特定的管理模式下，总有部分管理者或被管理者获得一些特定的利益。一旦企业进行管理创新，很有可能触动他们的利益，甚至让他们砌底失去特定利益。一经权衡，这些既得利益者会采取各种方式抵制管理创新的推进。
(3)习惯因素。对于一些长期在某种管理模式下工作的管理者和被管理者而言，他们已经习惯于他们日常的工作方式、内容，害怕适应不了新的工作方式和内容，或是无法掌握新的管理技术，从而对管理创新怀揣一种抵触情绪。
(4)认知因素。尽管管理创新与科技创新同样重要，但是相对于科技创新而言，管理创新显得较为“隐性”，且其产生的效果，往往没有科技创新带来的效果那么直接，因此往往也容易得不到足够重视，难以保证实施力度。
三、企业增强管理创新能力的途径
1、建立创新型的企业文化
企业管理创新的主体是全体管理者和被管理者，他们都有可能成为管理创新的发起者和执行者，缺一不可。因此，必须在企业建立一种与时俱进、敢于创新的文化氛围，帮助员工培育和建立创新观念，让他们充分认识到企业要生存、要发展，就必须始终依靠创新。一旦企业全体员工建立起了乐于创新、勇于创新的价值观，企业的发展也就获得了源源不断的动力。例如，海尔连续14年以年均82.8％的速度高速前进，就得益于其创新型的文化激发出的发展活力。
2、建立有利于管理创新的组织结构
从西方企业的创新实践来看，为了应对日益变化多端的外部环境和市场需求，增强管理创新和适应能力，其组织结构逐渐朝着三个方向发展：一是小型化。即对企业进行“化大为小”，把大公司分解为小公司或模拟小公司，鼓励小公司担负职责，激发创新活力。二是扁平化。随着企业的发展，管理层次不断增加，企业的管理呈现官僚式的低效率，因此目前很多企业开始在组织结构设计上采用管理层次很少的扁平结构。例如日本的丰田公司，从总裁到第一线基层管理员工之间只有五个层次。三是有机化。也可称为组织结构的柔性化。有机的组织结构类似一个生命有机体，这种组织结构在复杂多变的条件下显示出良好的适应性，可以及时地对外部环境的变化作出灵活而有效地反应。对我们国内的一些大型企业而言，在一味强调“做大做强”的同时，也应该向国外先进企业学习，吸收借鉴他们这些优化组织结构的做法，不断增强自身创新和适应能力，才能在复杂激烈的未来市场竞争中保持竞争力。
3、建立学习型组织和知识分享机制
21世纪是属于知识经济的时代，各种新知识、新技术、新思想不断更新，企业必须努力将自身打造成学习型组织，才能不断从外部吸取新知识、新技术、新思想，才能保持企业的知识、理念不至于落后。而外部不断更新的新知识、新技术、新思想，正是企业管理创新的源头。“问渠那得清如许，为有源头活水来”。企业管理创新的过程，实质上也正是结合企业自身实际，对这些新知识、新技术、新思想加以吸收应用的过程。与此同时，当外部这些新的东西吸收到企业内部后，还应当建立起知识分享机制，每个员工都奉献自己所知道的东西，并随时可以学习他人贡献的知识，互通有无，更加有利于企业员工的知识积累。
4、建立管理创新激励机制
管理创新激励机制的建立，有利于激发员工研究、提出管理创新方案的热情。事实上，仅仅依靠少数的管理者，很难使企业持续保持管理创新的动力，也很难全方位地在企业内部开展管理创新，必须充分调动、发挥全部员工的创新热情和聪明智慧。现代人力资源管理理论认为，仅靠单纯的行政命令无法最大限度地发挥员工的潜力，个人的创新能力和适应能力远远超过企业的期望，同时员工同样能够进行自我管理。对企业的高层管理者而言，所需要做得就是把创新的权利真正赋予每一位员工，给予员工持续的创新支持，充分发挥员工的创新自主性。例如丰田公司，它之所以能够成为全球汽车企业之首，很大原因在于它每年有100万个创新，人均贡献35条创新，这也是它保持持续发展的关键因素。在国内很多企业，都建立了员工创新建议一旦采纳即给予物质奖励的措施，这样的措施和机制无疑对加强管理创新是十分有利的。
文章来源：快读网
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