Assigned Reading Number 1

Title: Central Problems in the Management of Innovation

Reaction Paper by: Remson Mark C. Macawile
Submitted to: Engr. Marvin I. Noroa, MBA

The assigned reading entitled Central problems in the management of innovation written by
Andrew H. Van De Ven discussed the major problems in managing innovation. As per the context discuss,
innovation is the development and implementation of new ideas. Nowadays, innovation is very popular
from a very little sari-sari store to the most humungous business existing in the world. Innovation play a
great role in the success of every company specifically technological company that owes a lot their success
through continuous innovation. As per my perspective, SM ,as the one of the longest running and biggest
shopping mall and retail business in the Philippines, never stops innovating from their store styles up to
what every shelves will contain.
As discussed, the central problems in managing innovation are human problem in managing
attention, process problem in managing new ideas into good currency, structural problem of managing
pat-whole relationships, and strategic problem of institutional leadership. All of this aspects teach me the
real problem going on in managing innovation. On my early years, I thought of innovation is as simple as
a blink of an eye. Thought that it is just thinking a new idea and implementing that idea as soon as you
can materialize it but this central problems help me realize that theres more to life when it comes to
dealing with innovation. As I remember, I was the president of the engineering student council of national
university back then and providing new ideas to the organization give me a hard time, nonetheless as I
pour upon new ideas every officer also throws their idea but at the end of the day we always settle to an
idea which I realized now that I was unconsciously dealing with the problem of managing part-whole
relationship. There also came a time that I came across empty faces with my officers when I had given a
new idea. It seems that theyre not that interested and they wont bother to take even a simple glimpse
with the new idea, again, unconsciously I dealt with one of the problems in managing an innovation.
Simple as it is in my given experiences but if we will look to this in a bigger scale t would cost us a lot in
terms of time even money.
The text stressed on the following note which nailed my attention very much without the
intervention of leadership, structures and systems focus the attention of organizational members to
routine, not innovative activities. This clearly states that good leadership is always needed to pursue a
god result. Even in managing innovations, there is always a big impact if having a good leadership to
minimize conflicts and to organize things to conform to what is really desired.
As a young professional pursuing my career in engineering and taking up to the ladder of
management, this article helps me realize a lot when it comes to managing innovation. I realized that
innovation is a one fruitful asset when managed well. I also learned that managing innovation might be
difficult but it is worth it. Providing right solutions to those central problems can arrived some, if not all,
of the consequences possibly face during the innovation process. Hence, this context help me a lot in

understanding the central problems in managing innovation, thus I look forward to use these different
techniques when came across managing my own proposals of innovation.