Business

Refrigerators can range from residential or home use to industrial or commercial purposes. The purpose of this equipment can vary according to its location, such as storage for medicines in hospitals or food freezers in restaurants or stores. Nonetheless, the common denominator that warrants the need for a refrigerator is the need to preserve the food. There is an expiration date followed for each product, regardless of whether it is a medicine or food, that affects its usability and characteristics for consumption. Thus, it is important that an important storage equipment, that is the refrigerator in this case, is equipped with expiration date warning device.
    The teams proposed innovation is a system installed in refrigerators that warns the users of the expiration date of the items. When the expiration data has passed, the system automatically sends out a signal to warn that the product is not suitable for consumption or use according to the date of expiry placed on the product. Moreover, this system will be introduced in to a range of high technology refrigerators manufactured by Electrolux. The products can differ in terms of purpose and size but there is a expiration date system that will fit into each of the products made by Electrolux.
    The ideas are generated through brainstorming. Each of the team members identified important problems within their everyday lives. There are various problems that arose out of the daily activities followed by the team members. However, most of these are found to be practical activities that the members find difficult. Likewise, it is seen that these daily problems would become easier through innovative solutions meant solely for the problems. After deliberating and weighing the feasibility and benefits that could be derived from each problem provided, the members voted upon the best problem based on feasibility, benefits, and interest in the topic. Based on the problem chosen, the members provided innovative solutions. The members took the initiative to incorporate their fields of specialization into providing the answers to the problems. Most of the team members placed emphasis on producing innovation in products. Through product innovation, it is expected that the companies are able to produce and maintain their competitive edge within the industry (Aydogan 2009). The innovation in the refrigerators gives Electrolux an advantage over the others especially for the clients who store as much products as possible inside the refrigerator. To a certain extent, the group also touches on process-related innovations where storage is enhanced through the system.
    In terms of group processes, each of the members perceived it to be a means of reducing the conflict and increasing the harmony and cooperation ( The Process of Innovation in Education  1973). The group processes are deemed to be means of incorporating everyone elses ideas in order for the group to achieve coherence and systematic organization. The importance of a harmonious and cooperative group process lies on the possible conflicts that diversity brings within the team. The multiplicity of ideas and the different sources of creativity and problems leads to the need for a certain binding factor, which in this case is fully satisfied by a cooperative group process.
    The climate of innovation fostered within the group is reflexive. In a reflexive innovation climate, there is a need for rapid reaction towards the barriers faced (Poluyan  Sedova 1994). The difficulty considered by the group for this case is the importance of expiration dates for the products stored in the refrigerator. There is a need for a refrigerator that reminds the people of the expiration dates that has passed in order to enhance the usability of the refrigerator and improve disposal and storage-related processes. The climate has steered the group towards choosing the remedies that can possibly be applied to foster process- and product-related innovation. The climate has improved the direction of the group and their ability to meet the goals required in the project.
    From a personal point of view, the proposal follows the characteristics attached with innovation. There is a technological change involved that relieves the people from insufficiencies related to certain products and enhances the processes involved in activities. The groups cooperation and brainstorming was successful especially with the kind of climate involved and the processes followed. The cooperation between the members resulted to an interesting, feasible, and beneficial innovative expiration date system for Electrolux refrigerators.

PART B Organizational Climate, Organizational Culture, and Operating Routines
    There are three aspects in organizations that affect the process of innovation. These factors include organizational climate, organizational culture, and operating routines. Each of these aspects have their related impact on the innovation process where some are similar but still bear differences. For each of these spheres, a discussion on innovation is presented.
Organizational Culture
    Organizational culture is characterized to be shared experiences that lead to certain interpretations and shared meanings (Hutchison 2003). It is composed of the  slogans, evocative language, symbols, stories, myths, ceremonies, rituals, and patterns of tribal behavior  (as cited in Hutchinson 2003 489). The concept is considered as a tie that binds the people within a group together through the aspects of culture that they share. These aspects can be related to how they do things within the organization. More often than not, the concept of organizational culture is considered as something that is passed on from one level of cohort to another through their leaders. More so, it affects the individuals within the organization as much as these individuals affect the organizational culture. Through this particular characteristic, every individual is considered as an active contributor that shapes the organizational culture, which can be for improvement or for permanent changes.
    There is an increasing number of literature that ties the concept of innovation with that of organizational culture. According to Harris and Moran (2004 123),  there needs to be a culture of innovation embedded into an institution  and it is expected that individuals involved within the organization becomes receptive of change, goes for creativity in solving problems, and takes the initiative to lead. In order to introduce a culture of organization, it is necessary to induce changes within the organizational culture of the company. As noted by Ashkanasy, Wilderom, and Peterson (2000), introducing the culture of innovation means changes within the previous identity, values, habits, and beliefs of the people within the organization. In this case, the organizational culture becomes the avenue through which the process of innovation can take place. The tenets of innovation should be incorporated within the larger organizational culture to enable a working environment where innovation can exist and continuously transcend towards the different levels within the organization.
Organizational Climate
    The concept of organizational climate, as cited in Smart (2003 161), is defined as the  patterns of important dimensions of organizational life or its members perceptions of and attitudes towards them.  In more simple terms, it is the way the members perceive their organizational life or the meanings that they attach to the elements of the organization. The organizational climate affects the way they see innovation in relation to the problems within the organization. In relation to innovation, any improvement in the organizational climate for innovation can contribute to the ability of the company to solve their problems and increase their competitive edge in comparison to other companies (Dubina 2007). A creative climate fostered within the workplace can lead to characteristics of innovation among the employees that allows them to think of solutions that are outside the usual routine processes. In doing this, the organizational climate can serve as the means for introducing changes within the way employees perceive their position within the organization. The meanings they attach to the work processes can involve greater degrees of innovation through the creative climate that is implemented within the organization.
Operating Routines
    Lastly, the operating routines can also affect the process of innovation. The operating routines involve the processes that are followed within an organization that helps in the completion of the organizational goals. The processes can be administrative- or production-related that are characterized by the need for continuity and coherence towards a certain goal. Apart from the work process, operating routines can also include maintenance procedures that are needed in order for the organization to continuously operate and maintain the reliability and maintainability of the parts, components, or subcomponents within the work processes.
    Considering that innovation comes in different forms, it can be introduced in several aspects of the operating routines and be affected by the procedures involved within it. First, different forms of innovation can be implemented in order to enhance or change a particular work process. It can be a major or minor work process within the work flow that has the purpose of increasing the levels of effectiveness and output. It can also serve as a means of changing the way things flow from one process to another, which also affects the aspect of organizational culture. Second, the element of innovation can also be introduced in the sphere of products or equipment used. It has the same purpose as that of introducing innovation in the work processes, which is that of improving effectiveness and output. The innovation can be introduced in order to improve how a particular tool is used and impact on its contribution to everyday work processes.
    On the other hand, the operating routines can also affect the level of innovation that can be introduced within the organization. The flexibility of the operating routines can affect the extent of change. Moreover, it can also affect the costs and the profitability of the undertaking. More often than not, innovation can involve changes in the skills required to use the product or the process because of the changes. Aside from training, there are also other things that can affect the introduction of innovation, which also affects the decisions to change the operating routines.
Convergence among the Three Spheres
    These three spheres converge in certain aspects. One, all of these serve as tools for change. The three aspects can work together towards an enabling environment for innovation. These serve as the points where innovation can be implemented and, more importantly, how these could be implemented. Second, these are aspects of the organization that can lead to the receptiveness of employees towards change and its impact. These three can dictate the level of acceptance and the degree to which change is present throughout the organization.
    The organizational culture and organizational climate are essentially the same with the latter serving as deeper roots for the former. The organizational climate can affect the attached meanings, which are present in the organizational culture. In relation to innovation, the climate can serve as the means for a successful change in the culture of the people and their ability to attach a more positive meaning to innovation. The positive change can then flow into the operating routines within the organization that allows for the materialization of the innovation procedures that have been planned. The interrelationship between the three can be seen as a sequential and linear form where organizational climate serve as the catalyst for changing the organizational culture. In line with this, the organizational culture serves as the enabling factor in introducing changes to how things are done within the organization. The concept of  how things are done  can be seen in line with the operating routines, which include both the processes and the tools. The end result of the innovation plans can be materialized through an integration into the last concept, which is the operating routines. Thus, it can be seen that these three factors are interrelated with one another. The sequential  relationship can affect the success of implementing innovation within the organization and in fostering the attitude of innovation within the employees. Indeed, these three spheres can be used in order to better understand the process of implementing innovation and harvesting the benefits that can be derived from the process. Likewise, it serves as the guide of organization for increasing the positive attitude and encouraging creative solutions to organizational problems.