Human Resource

Eileen Chen Yee Ling

I054010220

Singaporean

Review of lesson 3 Nov

In this lesson, I gained new perspectives regarding innovation and creativity. I learnt that innovation is more of a process rather than a product. The process of innovation will lead to the formulation of a new product. I also learnt that innovation may not require intensive capital input or R&D, and even common people from less developed countries can come up with innovative ideas as long as they have the inspiration and creativity to come up with a more efficient way of doing things. I find it fascinating that many of the innovative ideas were thought up by common folks in poor, rural areas. These people could make use of primitive technology to improve the way they plant crops. Since such areas usually do not have access to high technology, these people will have to improvise with whatever tools they have to discover a more efficient way of doing things. Their innovations may be simple, but they do help to alleviate their workload by a large extent and help them to complete their everyday tasks more efficiently. Many of the big inventions found in the developed nations (e.g. mega machines for agriculture) are patented and it is difficult for poor countries to afford them. Hence, they will need to create their own innovations adapted to their way of life, motivated by the drive to get their everyday tasks done more efficiently.

I learnt that to create new innovation, you need to have a target in mind and know exactly what you want to solve. This is because most innovations can only solve one problem at a time. It is important to have a target so that the technical design and specifications can be specifically tailored to solve the problem at hand. A SWOT analysis can also be conducted to determine the opportunities available for the product. I also learnt about the product development process, which is a rather tedious process, starting from design to development and finally production. The product development process also includes idea screening, detailed investigation, development, testing and market launch.

Furthermore, many of the breakthrough innovations did not happen alone in the lab, but rather, they were the result of brainstorming sessions during group meetings. Informal meetings usually generate more ideas than formal, serious ones because people are encouraged to just share whatever ideas they have, no matter how unbelievable they may seem. It is also very interesting that the first coffeehouse to open in England in 1650 was a space where people get together and share ideas in an informal setting, and it also led to an astonishing number of innovations from this period, which led to the Industrial Revolution.