MGMT06048 2019 Creativity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Creativity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Creativity, Innovation and Ent

MGMT06048

N/A %

MGMT - 0413 Management & Admin

MECT - Mechatronics

06 - Level 6

05 - 05 Credits

Semester

€

2019 - Full Academic Year 2019-20

9999 - The End of Time

Diane O'Brien, Louise O'Gorman

SG_EELCO_B07 201900 Bachelor of Engineering in Engineering in Electronic and Computing SG_EMTRN_B07 201900 Bachelor of Engineering in Mechatronic Engineering SG_EMTRN_C06 201900 Higher Certificate in Engineering in Mechatronic Engineering SG_EELCO_C06 201900 Higher Certificate in Engineering in Electronic and Computing SG_EELCO_B07 202200 Bachelor of Engineering in Electronic and Computing SG_EMTRN_B07 202300 Bachelor of Engineering in Mechatronic Engineering

Due to the level of change in the workplace, several research and industry reports have identified key generic skills which are critical to the future employability of graduates.  These skills collectively are known as Professional Transferable Skills (PTS). The importance of PTS is now widely recognised in the workplace. This is especially true of technology-based industries where content knowledge can quickly become outdated and therefore transferable skills are exceptionally important. 

This module is designed to develop key Professional Transferable Skills (PTS) such as creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship - the ability to think creatively and to see and exploit the business opportunity. Speakers from Industry and Government agencies (Enterprise Ireland) will be invited to present to the students.

The student will also be equipped with the skills to successfully implement a job search plan and to perform at interview.  Websites such as Linkedin will be reviewed and students will have an opportunity to generate their profile.

The module will take a potential entrepreneur through the whole process of starting a business, from first thoughts about the business idea to the practicalities of start-up. The student will be required to work on a technical idea from their engineering discipline generate new business ideas and  from that develop a new Business Plan for a start-up company. 

For those students already in employment, this module will focus on 'intrapreneurship'. Intrapreneurship is the process by which companies seek to maintain their competitive edge in innovation and profit by asking employees to spawn new businesses within their company.  This module would provide the student with a greater understanding of what it would take to run a particular aspect of the company, perhaps a new product line, department or subsidiary. 

Key reasons major corporations encourage intrapreneurship are:

• Technology and globalisation are increasing competition. Companies that can pounce quickly on new opportunities will have an advantage over slower competitors.
• A  McKinsey report shows that a company's chances of holding on to a top position are fading. The key player in any industry will have a tougher time holding onto the top spot now more than ever. Leaders must become creative, innovative, flexible and entrepreneurial.
• Employee loyalty is ending. If employees feel their great idea would be better received by the competition, they will leave more quickly than ever before.
• Take, for example, the case of Palm. The company grew large; it started stifling intrapreneurship, and the founders left to start Handspring. Then Palm realised its mistake and purchased Handspring back at a huge cost.

Topics to be addressed include:

• What makes a good entrepreneur / intrapreneur?
• Generating the business idea - Creativity and Innovation
• Market Research, Marketing & Advertising  
• Financial support
• Preparing operation budgets and break-even analysis
• How to generate a business plan
• How to present your plan (pitch) to potential investors  

It is not required that the proposed new business will be taken any further than the end of the academic year. The marking criteria will take into account how innovative the idea is, that the plan is realistic (potential sales, market share, market research, financial projections) and that students have addressed the main issues including staffing, funding, and route to market.

Guest lecturers will be invited to present to the class on Entrepreneurship - Industry, Government support agencies and past students.

100 %

Required Reading
2015-07-02 Entrepreneurship, Global Edition Pearson
ISBN 1292095377 ISBN-13 9781292095370

Recommended Reading
2017-08-07 The Innovation Code: The Creative Power of Constructive Conflict Berrett-Koehler Publishers

The Innovation Code
The Creative Power of Constructive Conflict

Harmony is sublime in music but deadly to innovation. The only way to create new, hybrid solutions is to clash. Innovation happens when we bring people with contrasting perspectives and complementary areas of expertise together in one room. We innovate best with people who challenge us, not people who agree with us.

It sounds like a recipe for chaos and confusion. But in The Innovation Code, Jeff DeGraff, dubbed the Dean of Innovation, and Staney DeGraff introduce a simple framework to explain the ways different kinds of thinkers and leaders can create constructive conflict in any organization. This positive tension produces ingenious solutions that go far beyond the best of both worlds.

Drawing on their work with nearly half of the Fortune 500 companies, the DeGraffs help you harness the creative energy that arises from opposing viewpoints. They identify four contrasting styles of innovatorthe Artist, the Engineer, the Athlete, and the Sageand include exercises and assessments for building, managing, and embracing the dynamic discord of a team that contains all four. You can also figure out where you fit on the continuum of innovator archetypes.

Using vivid examples, The Innovation Code offers four steps to normalize conflict and channel it to develop something completely new. By following these simple steps, you will get breakthrough innovations that are both good for you and your customers. This is a rigorous but highly accessible guide for achieving breakthrough solutions by utilizing the fulland seemingly contradictoryspectrum of innovative thinking.

Authors	Title	Publishers	Year
O'Kane, Immink	Starting Your Own Business, 2nd Edition. ISBN I-86076-224-7	Oak Tree Press	2005
De Bono, Edward	Lateral Thinking	Penguin Books	1990
De Bono, Edward	Serious Creativity	Harper Collins	1992
Norman, Donald A.	The Design of Everyday Things	The MIT Press	1998
Pinchot, Gifford Ill	Intrapreneuring - Why You Don't Have To Leave The Corporation To Become An Entrepreneur	Harper & Row	1997

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