■ The innovation audit
This part of the auditing process reviews how effectively the organisation
is able to deliver the level of innovation necessary to create new products,
new services and new ways of undertaking activities. Success in these
activities is likely to depend on the company successfully harnessing the
latent creativity in individuals at all levels in the organisation. The innov-
ation audit examines whether the necessary assets and competencies are
present and examines four key areas:
1 The current organisational climate with regard to innovation.
2 Hard measures of the organisation’s current performance in
innovation.
3 The organisation’s policies and practices that are currently used to
support innovation.
4 The balance of the cognitive styles of the senior management team.The organisational climate
There are two components to the audit of the organisation’s climate: an
attitude survey, and the technique of metaphorical description.
● An attitude survey of key areas of the organisational climate that affect
creativity
The aim of this component of the audit is to discover the current feel-
ings of staff about the organisational climate. There are eight influen-
tial factors that are crucial in supporting innovation and four areas that
act as constraints (Burnside, 1990). Support for creativity and innov-
ation includes:
1 Teamwork: The level of commitment to the current work, the level of
trust between team members and the willingness to help each other.
2 Resources: The amount of access to appropriate resources in terms of
facilities, staff, finance and information.
3 Challenge: The challenge involved in the work undertaken in terms
of its importance and the very nature of the task. Is it intriguing in
itself?
4 Freedom: The amount of control individuals have over their work
and ideas. How much freedom are they allowed to decide how a
project or task will be undertaken?
5 Supervisor: Managerial support in terms of clear goals, good com-
munication and building moral.
6 Creativity infrastructure: Level of senior management support and
encouragement of creativity and the structures necessary for develop-
ing creative ideas.
7 Recognition: The level of recognition and the type of rewards given
for innovative ideas.
8 Unity and co-operation: Factors such as a collaborative and co-operative
atmosphere and the amount of shared vision in the organisation.96 Strategic Marketing: Planning and Control