Collective innovation

Thesis (M.B.A.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 2007.Includes bibliographical references (p. 178-179).The ability to innovate sits at the heart of an organization's ability to succeed in a competitive environment. An organization can innovate by improving existing products, services, or processes or by generating new products, services, or processes. Achieving successful, repeated organizational innovation, however, is a significant challenge. The hurdles to such innovation run the gamut from psychological to structural to procedural. Managers can fall victim to myopia and other human level challenges. Organizational processes, structures, and values can short circuit innovation as well. Given these challenges, we posit that an innovation strategy embracing the concepts of collective intelligence and openness may enable organizations to surmount these hurdles. We refer to this approach as Collective Innovation and define it as a connected, open, and collaborative process that generates, develops, prioritizes, and executes new ideas. To develop our argument, we surveyed literature from a wide array of disciplines including economics, organizational behavior, social psychology, and organizational change.(cont.) We begin this thesis by drawing a connection between the economic theories of Adam Smith and Ronald Coase and research into the changing workplace by Thomas Malone. We then introduce the concepts of collective intelligence and openness, core tenets of Collective Innovation. After introducing Collective Innovation, we examine its place in the history of innovation strategy. Next, we outline and describe the four stages of the Collective Innovation process. Having dealt mainly in theory, we then turn to the application of Collective Innovation and the myriad challenges that managers will face when attempting to implement such a strategy. Keeping in mind these challenges, we outline four ways in which organizations might use Collective Innovation to power the exploration-side of their operations. Finally, we revisit several remaining questions before concluding our analysis.by Alex Slawsby [and] Carlos Rivera.M.B.A

Green Jobs in a Sustainable Food System

The U.S. food sector is among the most productive in the world and is a significant driver of our economy. Yet, it's failing us in major ways -- putting public health, livelihoods and our environment at great risk. Obesity and diabetes rates are rising, communities are plagued by food deserts, and agriculture runoff is the biggest source of pollution in our rivers and lakes.The good news is that communities across the country are addressing this crisis in innovative ways. Through different community-based efforts, local activists and food advocates are finding ways to improve community health and environmental outcomes while creating a more economically equitable food system.It is within this context that this report identifies opportunities to transform jobs in the green economy and enhance environmental and economic equity outcomes in the future. The initial analysis promises opportunities for workers to build long-term skills, and emphasizes the importance of linking local efforts to broader regional and national policy platforms. This multi-level engagement and collaboration will help set in motion the systemic changes needed to create a more sustainable and equitable food system

Profiting From Purpose: Profiles of Success and Challenge in Eight Social Purpose Businesses

Offers an in-depth analysis of eight community-based human service and youth-serving nonprofit organizations that received assistance from Seedco's Nonprofit Venture Network to develop their capacity to launch social purpose businesses

Production and marketing innovations in Fair Trade and organic coffee cooperatives in the Córdoba-Huatusco corridor in Veracruz, Mexico

The conditions brought about by neoliberal policies represented challenges, but also opportunities, for smallholder coffee cooperatives (SCCs) and their farmers to change practices. This study focuses on the production, processing, marketing, and organizational innovations that result from coffee farmers taking the decision to form cooperatives for the purpose of marketing their coffee as a specialty crop (Fair Trade/organic) rather than simply as a commodity. These innovations are examined at both the level of the cooperative and the individual farm. Field research was conducted in the Córdoba-Huatusco corridor from July to October 2013, where six coffee cooperatives and an independent group of seven conventional farmers agreed to participate in this study. For SCCs, challenges, such as increasing production costs, stagnant coffee prices, and lack of low-or moderate-interest credit options, have reduced their opportunities to make a living through their participation in the coffee value chain. Chapter 2 examines how changes in agricultural policies, particularly government financial support programs for the coffee sector, have influenced the responses of SCCs to changes in the market. Since market liberalization occurred in Mexico, the Mexican government implemented several economic policies to comply with the rules and regulations imposed by international organizations. Multinational corporations vertically integrated in the value chain have become principal actors in international coffee markets. Within markets, cooperatives that received Fair Trade payment for their coffee production attributed their increasing incomes to the following factors. 1) Farmers received more training to improve record keeping; 2) Cooperative leaders are more familiar with procedures and paperwork to obtain certification and re-certification annually on time; and 3) Investments in infrastructure, training, and professionals hired have led to an increase in the quality of their production. Chapter 3 examined how access to training programs, governance and infrastructure investments contribute to marketing and production/processing innovations in SCCs. Main contributions included improving organizational skills, involving youth and professionals, improving decision-making processes (participation of all members in the SCC), promoting diversification (production and marketing strategies), and investing scarce resources in infrastructure (primarily processing equipment). By providing training to leaders and members of the cooperatives, many of these changes are advanced. Chapter 4, which examines innovations in production members of SCCs have adopted as a result of shifting from conventional to Fair Trade and organic production. Some innovations were mandated by Fair Trade and organic requirements, and farmers made others on their own as they adjusted to the new regimes. Farmers explained how practices have changed since they have incorporated themselves into the alternative (Fair Trade and organic) markets. SCC farmers implemented the following innovations: composting, especially using organic residues previously considered waste; various techniques to replace old coffee trees that take into account the size of their farms, the quantity of coffee needed annually to obtain a decent income, and the financial resources available; pest management strategies derived from hands-on experiments with natural low-cost remedies; and diversifying the range of crops that could be sold as organic and, subsequently, increase farmers’ incomes. Still, there is a lot to learn, but SCC farmers participating in alternative markets have a better chance to succeed and continue working in the coffee sector than most independent conventional farmers

Telecommunications: Collective Bargaining in an Era of Industry Reconsolidation

[Excerpt] In this paper, we examine the reconsolidation of the industry, between 1995 and 2001, focusing on the merger, acquisition, and business strategies of the major corporate players; union responses to those strategies; and the resulting evolution of union-management relations and collective bargaining outcomes. We argue that the nature of the industry and technology, coupled with its institutional legacy, provides incentives for consolidation and recentralization of the ownership structure. In this process over the last decade, former Bell affiliates have sought union support before regulatory commissions, and the unions have leveraged their political power to make important gains in collective bargaining and in organizing new members. As a result, the outcomes for union members and prospects for union institutional viability are more positive than they otherwise would have been

Quantitative value chain analysis : an application to Malawi

The Government of Malawi has since 2005 been pursuing a growth strategy mainly based on increasing the volume of agricultural exports. This entails that Malawi should endeavor to improve the competitiveness of its agricultural commodities so as to gain an increasing share of the regional and international markets. This paper analyzes the competitiveness of the country's key agricultural commodities -- tobacco, maize, cotton, and rice -- using prices that prevailed in the 2007/08 agricultural season. The paper employs a quantitative value chain methodology to assess the country's prospects for competitiveness and suggest weak links along the value chain that require attention in order to improve trade competitiveness. The results indicate that Malawi has some competitive advantage in the production and exportation of tobacco and cotton, and that this mostly derives from its low labor cost advantage. However, the results indicate that based on 2007/08 prices and costs, Malawi does not have competitive edge in maize and rice production for export. As such, Malawi would better pursue an import substitution strategy in these cereals, and perhaps only aim at the export market when regional market opportunities arise. Key factors that underpin Malawi's narrow competitiveness include the high cost of inorganic fertilizer and other inputs, low productivity, and the higher trader margins and intermediation costs along the value chains. Furthermore, farm gate prices in Malawi are higher than in other countries, and this undercuts its trade competitiveness.Transport Economics Policy&Planning,Crops&Crop Management Systems,Economic Theory&Research,Markets and Market Access,Climate Change and Agriculture

A Roadmap to Reduce U.S. Food Waste by 20 Percent

The magnitude of the food waste problem is difficult to comprehend. The U.S. spends $218 billion a year -- 1.3% of GDP -- growing, processing, transporting, and disposing of food that is never eaten. The causes of food waste are diverse, ranging from crops that never get harvested, to food left on overfilled plates, to near-expired milk and stale bread. ReFED is a coalition of over 30 business, nonprofit, foundation, and government leaders committed to building a different future, where food waste prevention, recovery, and recycling are recognized as an untapped opportunity to create jobs, alleviate hunger, and protect the environment -- all while stimulating a new multi-billion dollar market opportunity. ReFED developed A Roadmap to Reduce U.S. Food Waste as a data-driven guide to collectively take action to reduce food waste at scale nationwide.This Roadmap report is a guide and a call to action for us to work together to solve this problem. Businesses can save money for themselves and their customers. Policymakers can unleash a new wave of local job creation. Foundations can take a major step in addressing environmental issues and hunger. And innovators across all sectors can launch new products, services, and business models. There will be no losers, only winners, as food finds its way to its highest and best use

The Next Generation of Market-Based Environmental Policies

We examine what will be required if market-based environmental policy instruments are to become a major force in U.S. environmental policy. We define market-based instruments, and specify five categories: pollution charges; tradable permits; deposit refund systems; reducing market barriers; and eliminating government subsidies. We review major U.S. applications, including: EPA's emissions trading program; the leaded gasoline phasedown; water quality permit trading; CFC trading; SO2 allowance trading; and the RECLAIM program. We assess the U.S. experience in terms of the relatively limited use of these instruments and in terms of the mixed record of performance of implemented instruments. We ask how the next generation of market-based instruments can be advanced, focusing on four sets of approaches: improving program design; applying market-based instruments on the state level; implementing new Federal programs; and addressing long-term issues. We conclude with a brief prognosis of the likely future role of market-based instruments in U.S. environmental policy.

Forecasting for Environmental Decision Making

Those making environmental decisions must not only characterize the present, they must also forecast the future. They must do so for at least two reasons. First, if a no-action alternative is pursued, they must consider whether current trends will be favorable or unfavorable in the future. Second, if an intervention is pursued instead, they must evaluate both its probable success given future trends and its impacts on the human and natural environment. Forecasting, by which I mean explicit processes for determining what is likely to happen in the future, can help address each of these areas.forecasting, environment, decision making, environmental decision making