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1. Distinguish innovation and invention.

Innovation and invention are critical to the development of technology in our world today. Though, there is a distinct difference between the two. This difference is that an invention is the origination of a technology, product, or process. Innovation is the improvement or significant alteration of the technology, product, or process. A great example to help explain the difference is the invention and innovation of televisions over the years.

Televisions were first introduced in the late 1920s, though they did not become more popular until after World War II^[1].  Since then anyone who owns a TV know that they were not like this in the 20s. The invention of the TV in the 20s was black and white and those were the used into the 50s, until the innovation of colored TVs. This is a change in the original invention of the TV to enhance it and make it color. Since then we have seen innovations such as flat screen TVs, LCD TVs, HD TVs, and so on.

The black and white TV in the 20s was the original invention and since then we have seen many innovations to the TV that has brought us to the Flat Screen 4K LED HD TVs that we are accustom to today.

1. In a large organization explain what types of things that management can do to foster more innovation within the organization.

It is very important for the management team of any organization to create a work environment that promotes innovation from all of its employees. It is the responsibility of the management team to establish clear goals for their employees that create a positive culture that rewards employees for being innovative. Having clear incentive programs that rewards innovation is vital within a large organization. Another way to foster more innovation is by allowing employees time at work to focus on projects that they feel passionate about. Management could also establish contests for their employees which rewards them for innovative ideas.

Many large technology firms provide incentives to their employees to promote innovation. One example that comes to mind is how Yahoo created its own “Hack Day” in which it sends many of their engineers to attend and collaborate with engineers from other companies. The goal is for their engineers to come up with great innovative ideas for the business in a short period of time.

1. Explain how and why a business model often has to evolve as an innovation moves from a concept to being in the marketplace.

When developing a business model, it is important to understand that you will most likely need to adjust your plans to adapt to a changing environment. As Diana Kander pointed out in her video, it doesn’t matter how good of a business plan you have if you do not understand your clients. It is very important to understand that as your client’s wants and need change, so does your business model. Companies that struggle to understand this and that do not evolve with their customers will be replaced by new and innovative companies.