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Latest News

Innovation study pinpoints key roles

by Personnel Today 24 Nov 2000
by Personnel Today 24 Nov 2000

UK companies could be missing out on potentially creative contributions from employees because they fail to take account of five key roles in the company that are vital for successful innovation.

A new report, Entering Tiger Country: How Ideas are Shaped in Organisations, by executive education and research organisation Roffey Park, examines four contrasting organisational case studies of implementing ideas in organisations, involving British Airways, Save the Children, Permanent Joint Headquarters (a joint HQ for the Army, Navy and Air Force) and Integrisys.

The authors define five key roles in an organisation: spark – originators of an idea who create the vision or define a need; sponsors – usually senior managers who champion an idea; shapers – interested parties who develop the idea; sounding boards; and specialists – usually external advisers or academics.

“These five roles often occur in organisations through accident rather than by design,” claim the authors. “The status of the individuals who perform these roles and the timing of their contribution will vary according to the size and complexity of the organisation.”

They say a key implication from their findings is that organisations need to develop or encourage broad-based thinking and interest in their employees.

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www.roffeypark.com

By Lisa Bratby

Personnel Today

Personnel Today articles are written by an expert team of award-winning journalists who have been covering HR and L&D for many years. Some of our content is attributed to "Personnel Today" for a number of reasons, including: when numerous authors are associated with writing or editing a piece; or when the author is unknown (particularly for older articles).

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Personnel Today
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