Interview Reflection Paper: Innovation Architecture

Innovation Architecture
Name:
Instructor:
Institution:
Date:
Introduction
After interviewing Cody Thomas, the Vice President of Operations Control and Planning at Mesa Air Group, it is clear that companies cannot stay relevant in the market without undertaking innovation. This implies that without innovation, companies lack anything new, and without anything new, companies make very little or no progress. In these uncertain times of COVID-19, companies need innovation more than ever to resolve critical problems. Using the information gathered from the interview with Cody Thomas, this paper reflects on the most valuable things about innovation architecture, challenges that may hinder the implementation of innovation, and how to promote innovation culture within companies.
Valuable things about innovation architecture
One of the most valuable things I learned from the interview is that mindset and leadership are crucial in enhancing innovation architecture in an organization. All the businesses around the world are aware that it is imperative to undertake innovation yet the majority of them only dictate that innovation is a priority and then expect results. In any company, developing an innovation mindset starts with employees and progresses with time. With every new thought that is encouraged, the ability to innovate develops within employees. In this regard, employees are the most significant part of an organization's innovation strategy. The role of the organization and the managers is to develop and provide the right processes, resources, rewards, and culture that foster innovation. Importantly, the decisions undertaken by top managers should be communicated to enable employees to recognize whether their innovations align with company goals.
Furthermore, the interview also revealed that employees may refuse to adopt innovation even if it addresses their needs. In many companies, employees resist the adoption of innovation because the purpose and nature of the innovation are not clear and were not openly discussed. Without discussion, there is always an element of ambiguity and perceived unfairness among employees. Interestingly, the interview indicated that employee resistance to change is prevalent in large companies such as Mesa Air Group than in small companies. Large companies have numerous operations and frequent change of managers and personnel at every level. As a result, there is always an element of fear of the unknown regardless of how big the planned innovation might be.
Challenges facing the implementation of the innovation process
Innovation is one of the most important factors that determine the success and growth of a business organization. Despite that, numerous companies encounter internal and external challenges, which hamper the innovation process. In my organization, I am likely to encounter the following challenges;
* Innovation at every level of an organization requires the support of top managers. However, some managers perceive innovation as something that distracts employees from performing their day to day tasks. In this regard, Zhang (2018) indicates that 37% of employees fail to try new ideas due to the insecurity exercised by their managers.
* Just like ot...