Innovation versus Invention - Essay Example

Innovation versus Invention Introduction An invention is basically a formulation of new ideas and processes to promote new products. Practically, itinvolves applying of new ideas to services or marketable products. Over the years, innovation has been viewed as more important than invention. This is due to the fact that plenty of people had invented ideas but it took great minds to actually innovate and build the ideas to make them marketable. In a market driven economy, the company considered as the real winner is the one that can make something valuable through innovation.

The inventor of the idea is usually not recognized as much as the innovator. When dealing with invention, the focus is usually on novelty which is a key criteria. Novelty is the introduction of a new idea into the world. While dealing with innovation, an idea does not have to be new except in a specific situation. When a company introduces an idea to the world, it is said to be innovative regardless of whether it is new to the industry or not. Basically, an invention is novel and potentially practically applicable whereas an innovation is usually practically applicable and hence introduced into the market.

In terms of stages, invention is seen as an early stage while innovation is the end stage where the introduction of the ideas is presented to the end user. Innovation is categorized into two namely, product or service and process (Weisberg, 60). Product or service innovation is about launching of new and improved products or services to the market. Some of its advantages to man include higher prices and profitability, added value, increased market shares and improved public relations. Process innovation deals with better and efficient ways of producing existing products and better ways of delivering existing services.

This has benefited mankind in terms of reduced costs, improved quality of services and more responsive customer services. One example of innovation that has impacted man’s existence is the application of Bluetooth technology in mobile and computer devices for faster, cheaper and more convenient transfer of files and information. Effects of Hofstede’s Dimensions of National Culture in Europe Geert Hofstede is a very influential Dutch organizational sociologist. He studied the interactions between national and organizational cultures.

He demonstrated how they affect the behavior of societies and organizations globally. He found several dimensions of culture in his study. They include small vs. large power distance, individualism vs. collectivism, masculinity vs. femininity (Hofstede, 297). Power and distance is the extent to which the less powerful members of organizations and institutions accept the power distributed despite it being unequal. Its impact on the European market is devastating to underdeveloped countries. Since the power is distributed unequally, the underdeveloped countries find themselves subjected to the supremacy of the developed countries.

Apparently, more profits go to the developed countries. Under individualism and collectivism, members of different cultures define themselves using their culture. Individualistic cultures expect development and usually display their personalities. The members of collective cultures are defined as a large family or group. In the European market, individual cultures usually gain more profit since they do not share their returns while collective cultures usually make less profit as they share their returns equally.

Under masculinity and femininity, the value of success is determined by the fact that a market organization is headed by a female or male. The European officials believe that competitiveness, assertiveness and ambition are some of the qualities that men bring into the market hence the great successes in organizations headed by male leaders. Works Cited Hofstede G. Culture's consequences: comparing values, behaviors, institutions, and organizations across nations. SAGE print, 2003. Weisberg R.

Creativity: understanding innovation in problem solving, science, invention, and the arts. John Wiley and Sons pint, 2006.