Process of Innovation

Process of Innovation
According to Shockley (2011), organizational changes occur as planned or unplanned events that result into flux. According to Kotter (2012), organizational changes and innovation occur through eight steps. These steps work as accelerators to these changes depending on their urgencies. Leaders are responsible for initiating, communicating, integrating, and implementing innovation. These processes describe the diffusion of innovation. Communication plays a significant role in ensuring that innovations are not only developed but also communicated well to all the interested parties. Thus, it is imperative to manage communication relationships during change as described by the stakeholder theory in Shockley (2011). In planning for a change, it is important to consider appreciative inquiry (AI) that expands on past success, thereby creating a positive work environment. The model is comprised of four elements, which are discovery, dream, design, and destiny.
Innovation Communication Technique
Regarding communication techniques on innovation, Shockley (2011) describes six models including equal dissemination, equal participation, quid-pro-quo, need to know, marketing, and reactionary. Recently, the head of our faculty requested all the members to suggest waysto improve the department and increase the student enrolment in the courses. This is an application of equal participation model. As a consequence, the team became enthusiastic about the whole idea of being involved in the innovation.

A significant contribution of the model is attributable to the equality it presents within the organization. When leader-subordinate equality is established, especially in sharing information, people get the feeling of being part of a team and valued. Equally important is that the model recognizes that idea generation could emerge from the entire working community.
Example of Change in an Organization
As an employee of the Dairy Yoghurt Company, the company initiated a change in the packaging of our products and introduced a new flavor. These innovations were aimed at improving the customer satisfaction and attraction of the products. The change involved the need to know the model of communication. The involved stakeholders included the board led by Mr. Barnwell, the marketing manager, Mr. Wilkerson, the P.R administrator, and Mrs. Shepstone and Mr. McDonald as heads of the production and packaging departments respectively. The concern for the proposed innovation evoked different anxieties among the participating stakeholders. The production and packaging team was more compliant with the current working system. Comparatively, the marketing team was concerned about information deficits considering the few selected departments involved in the change. Risk perception was expressed by the higher authorities fearing that the modification may delay before the targeted customers accept it.Thus, for a change to be successful, there is the need to collect enough data on the current problem of the products. The marketing and P.R teams were responsible for this duty, which was to be executed by providing questionnaires. Data evaluation follows data collection. It involves interpreting the view of the people regarding the change. The duty was assigned to the management team. Planning and implementing of solutions, as well as the evaluation of the results, was carried out by the board of governors.
Models of Communication used by Professionals
According to Shockley (2011), the purchase model of communication involves the participation of a communication specialist through a request by the organization. The specialist carries out the instruction provided by the requesting parties. Comparatively, the patient-doctor model requires the assessment of the problem by the specialist who then proceeds to prescribe the necessary solution. Process model involves the participation of the both the specialist and the organization in identifying the problems and finding their solutions. It is my view that the process model is most valuable. This model ensures that members are more committed to the innovation they propose.

References
Kotter, J. (2012). The 8-steps process for leading change. Kotter International, 1-8.
Shockley-Zalabak, P. (2011). Fundamentals of Organizational Communication. Boston, MA: Ally & Bacon.