My colleague and I use Innovation to define "something new AND
different" - something that adds economic and / or social value.
Harsha Desai
Professor of Management and
Director, Center for Closely Held Firms
Loyola College in Maryland
Baltimore, Maryland 21210 USA
>>>
garyl@MARKET-ENGINEERING.COM 05/08/06 11:15:33 AM >>>
Colleagues,
I'll wander from the topic of films for teaching leadership.
Lynn Martin used the word "innovator" to invoke stereotypes from test
subjects.
For what it's worth, much of the business community makes the same
mistake.
The scientist is an inventor, not an innovator. The successful
entrepreneur
is an innovator.
I suspect that academicians teach often creativity in "innovation"
courses.
When I chaired the Colorado Innovation Summit, I did web research to
settle
on a definition. There is lots of confusion, yet the most often used
concept was "introduce something new to a market." That "something,"
of
course, can be a new idea, product, business, company, industry, or
government. The "industry" might be commercial, arts, education,
military,
government, or even religion.
When we look for stereotypes, we often need to look at the words we
use. If
people haven't taken the time to look up a definition, then media
stereotypes will dominate perceptions.
Best,
Gary
--
Change agent skills
are as important to individual success
as are professional discipline skills.
Gary Lundquist
303-840-9929
GaryL@Market-Engineering.com
President - Market Engineering International
www.Market-Engineering.com
Editor - The Colorado Innovation Newsletter
www.ColoradoInnovation.blogs.com
-----Original Message-----
From: Management Education and Development Discussion
[mailto:
MG-ED-DV@AOMLISTS.PACE.EDU] On Behalf Of Lynn Martin
Sent: Monday, May 08, 2006 4:20 AM
To:
MG-ED-DV@AOMLISTS.PACE.EDU
Subject: Re: Using films to teach leadership
I think the last commentator is absolutely right. These views are
implicit,
deeply ingrained and may not be recognized by the holders of these
perceptions.
Recent research at UCE has identified similar stereotypes with words
such as
"entrepreneur" "scientist" and "innovator" where images seem uniformly
to be
of a middle aged white male. Differences emerged here with
entrepreneurs
seen as ruthless, sharp suited with a range of material possessions
while
innovators were characterised as scientists i.e., irresponsible
bespectacled
meddlers, either with wild hair or bald. Hollywood has a lot to answer
for,
perhaps.
A more depressing study last year also asked students and members of
other
groups to identify 5 names as role models of an entrepreneurs and
innovators; 5 business sectors which might also be considered to be
entrepreneurial or innovative. Results - All male, mainly US despite
this
being an international survey with respondents from the UK, China,
India,
other areas of south east Asia, Interestingly, this was true even when
focus
groups were held in premises owned by highly successful and dynamic
Asian or
female entrepreneurs.
Even worse, when parts of the exercise reviewed quotes and results
from
different sectors and using cases such as Bodyshop and L'Oreal, some
delegates really felt that "cosmetics" or the beauty industry should
not be
included as that "really wasn't a proper industry", favoring instead
auto
and aerospace, nano-technologies etc. Hence female industries too do
not
seem to count, however innovative they may be.
Looks like we may have some work to do yet to change such perceptions.
Please, tell me it's better in the USA!
Best wishes
Lynn Martin
Dr L M Martin
Director, Entrepreneurship and Innovation
UCE, Perry Barr, Birmingham B42 2Su
Untied Kingdom
+44 121 331 7260 / 7248
-----Original Message-----
From: Management Education and Development Discussion on behalf
of
Lmxlotus@AOL.COM
Sent: Mon 08/05/2006 09:38
To:
MG-ED-DV@AOMLISTS.PACE.EDU
Cc:
Subject: Re: Using films to teach leadership
In a message dated 5/8/2006 1:49:36 AM Central Standard Time,
terence_laoshi@YAHOO.COM.AU writes:
Speaking of predominantly male leadership models, I
teach
students about stereotyping using a movie still with two business
executives
at a desk. I ask Ss to nominate who these two people are and what they
are
speaking about.
Of course, nine times out of ten the man is nominated as
the
boss or other comparatively more powerful individual. Where the two
have
equal position status, the male is invariably controlling in the Ss'
role
play performances.
Of course, students begin the lesson by avowing that
they
DEFINITELY DO NOT stereotype people.
STEROTYPES ARE DYSFUNCTIONAL. THE THIRD CULTURE BONDING MODEL
TCB IS
BASED ON THIS POSTULATE (AOM PERSPECTIVES, IN PRESS). MALES AS
PREFERRED
LEADERS IS A SURFACE-LEVEL PRODUCT OF IGNORANCE THAT IS CORRECTED WITH
REAL
DEEP-LEVEL EXPERIENCE WE FIND ( DEALING WITH DIVERSITY, 2003, INFO AGE
PUBLISHING, GRAEN). THIS IS THE CASE IN EVERY CULTURE THAT WE HAVE
STUDIED.
G2