HR 750- Talent Acquisition and Management- Explanatory Essay

Students will write an explanatory essay to expound on the topics covered in the chapter that they read in the Culture section of the textbook.

Explanatory Essay

An explanatory essay provides students with an opportunity to further explore a topic of interest. In conducting additional research on the topic, students should include citations from a minimum of 4 scholarly resources in addition to the course textbook readings. The explanatory essay should follow APA guidelines. Explanatory essays should be 3-5 pages in the length, not including the title page and reference page.

Characteristics of innovative individuals and organizations

The topic of interest I selected in chapter 37 on the characteristics of innovative individuals and organizations. Innovation is one of the key important drivers of success in the current world. Most organizations and leaders seek to recruit great talents with great brains and skills that can steer growth through their creativity and innovation. With the current society sitting through various changes and advancements in the technological well-being of individuals and business operations that have affected the needs of people, innovation is a key fundamental aspect that should be utilized. Fostering innovation starts within an individual by creating the drive and desire to be the top of the center of the discovery of a new way to solve the problem at hand to find a solution to the dynamic needs of the individuals we face. This desire is then spread to teams and the whole organization at large. However, what is key in ensuring the innovation is fostered in the best and most desirable way is the availability of a conducive and supporting environment that encourages creating among the employees and supports innovation greatly.

Many challenges may inhibit innovation. As highlighted in Berger & Berger (2017), some factors may include a lack of connection both internally and externally which reduces the support needed for an individual to fully showcase their innovative talents. Fewer researchers and inadequate innovative hobbies among individuals also create a challenge in innovations. Another is the competitive aspect that comes. With changing, technology and many talented individuals each striving to be innovative and unique in their way makes competition so stiff that the innovators have to keep improving their work to keep up with the pace lest they lose their talents.

Innovative organizations are bound to embrace diversity as they understand the value of diversification in the organization. they do not shy away from employing people from different regions across the globe, expanding their work globally, employing members of different races, language groups, expertise, or religions. Diversity improves innovations and creativity as everyone approaches the problem differently which leads to quality results (Bagley, 2014). In addition, the organizations will always employ various means or methods to solve a problem thus creating new trends in the industry.

Innovators are also known to be risk-takers whether as an individual or an organization. Any innovative innovator has great support for unconventional ideas and will do their best to invest in the ideas no matter the opposition they face. They understand that nothing comes easily unless they go against the norm set by the society or the industry they operate in. they are always ready to try new ideas or things and find which one suits the existing needs more and can provide the best and most lasting solution to it (Berger & Berger, 2017).

Innovators are hardworking, with high levels of responsibility and commitment. They are known for their great endurance and patience until they get the desired results. They understand the path to innovation is not easy and the challenges will be many but will always take it and see to its end with patience and lots of trial and error until the outcome they desired is achieved. The innovators are committed to their takes and ensure the failures they face but do not give up but keep working harder to improve the outcomes until it becomes better. They are always competent in their work and are accountable for their work and decision. These set them apart from the rest of the people (Chamorro-Premuzic, 2013).

Another factor is their adaptability as they are easier to adapt to changes as they do not shy away from the change. They are vigilant to note what changes happen in their environment and how to adapt to those changes to have them at their advantage. They are also committed to technology hence keeping at pace with the changes and advancements in technology incorporating it into their operations. (Mehta, 2020). By understanding that they will always face change in their environment due to the rapid changing of technology and thus evolution of human needs, they always embrace change. A good example is the Netflix organization which embraced change and adapted to the changing technological environment in the movie rental industry. Unlike their competitor blockbuster that did not embrace the online streaming and subscription strategy innovated by Netflix, the latter, changed and now has become the biggest and top in their industry. Adaptability and openness to change thus play a critical role in the growth of innovators whether individuals or organizations (Chhabria, 2017).

Innovators are ambitious and show great leadership skills. Taking the lead is something that a true innovator should desire and their ambition is like their motivation and driving force. They take lead in trying new things and finding solutions to the challenge at hand. Also, with their ambition to grow and set the pace, they can explore their potential and talents to reach their desire. As a true leader, an innovator will embrace great talent development through mentorship, training, and coaching to help the followers reach their potential and be greater innovators and help build the organization. This helps them in developing great succession programs and finding the best successors in their organizations (Thiollière G. & Detouillon, 2011).

Another characteristic is they show a strong competitive-collaborating ideology. Innovators do not shy away from working together with others s they are open to working together and learning from one another. They understand the value of teamwork and collaborations hence will work together with other innovators and learn from them as they get help to improve their work. They do not also shy away from criticism and will work harder to improve their failures while learning from their mistakes. In addition, they are very competitive and will strive to be the best which improves their resilience thus bringing the best out of them. The competitive nature of innovators is what keeps them competent in their work and thus stays strong no matter the challenges at hand. It builds their mental stamina in endurance and accepting failure.

Innovative organizations have embraced a clear, and engaging innovative process. These organizations are growing oriented hence have a great process that allows for continued innovation. They have laid in place great plans that support innovation and are willing to spend on it. Through the employee training programs, talent management, employee engagement programs, and the reward systems as well as open communication that is embraced, the systems ensure employees are free to share their great ideas. In these organizations, employees have been given freedom of expression and try their new findings. Creativity is always encouraged and creative minds are rewarded and recognized. This increases job satisfaction and employee efficiency. A good example of such organizations with a clear innovation process is the Microsoft organization where innovation is part of the organization, they seek top talents and help develop them more to be more creative and innovative (Zenger & Folkman, 2014).

In conclusion, innovative organizations and individuals all have similar characteristics and the characteristics set them apart from the rest. Their desire to be great and find new ideas without thinking about the norm makes them unique thus they are very important in our daily lives. With their leadership, ambition, hard work, and endurance, innovators have made the world reach where it is today. It is thus a great idea to support the innovative individuals within the organizations as they can build innovations in the organizations they belong to.

References

Ashwin Chhabria. (2017). The rise of Netflix and the fall of Blockbuster. https://scashwin.medium.com/the-rise-of-netflix-and-the-fall-of-blockbuster-29e5457339b7

Bagley O. R. (2014). The 10 Traits of Great Innovators. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/rebeccabagley/2014/01/15/the-10-traits-of-great-innovators/?sh=3ff695484bf4.

Berger, L. A., & Berger, D. R. (2017). The Talent Management Handbook (3rd ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.

Chamorro-Premuzic T. (2013). The Five Characteristics of Successful Innovators. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2013/10/the-five-characteristics-of-successful-innovators.

Mehta. M. (2020). Traits of innovative organizations. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eT--ZmXj1hg

Thiollière G. & Detouillon T. (2011). What are the characteristics of leaders when managing innovation in organization: A combination of traits and skills? Umea Universitet. https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:429485/FULLTEXT01.pdf

Zenger J. & Folkman J. (2014). Research: 10 Traits of Innovative Leaders. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2014/12/research-10-traits-of-innovative-leaders