Nasa’s innovation

On Saturday 26^th November, NASA launched its recent $2.5 billion innovation to discover the planet Mars. At a weight of nearly one tonne, the rover is due to land on the planet in approximately eight and a half months time (August 2012). It has been nicknamed Curiosity which is exactly its purpose; NASA are intending to have many of their questions answers by using this invention – Are there any signs of previous microbial life? Is there potential for life on Mars? Curiosity has been sent on its mission to explore the area.

It has been designed using a plutonium battery which will allow its operation for more than 10 years; plenty of time for exploring the crater and climbing the summit of the mountain.

With its built in cameras, this smart innovation has the ability to assess its surrounding from a distance, search for sampling targets and examine surfaces and objects to study its chemistry. Also equipped with an infra-red laser system, this robot can ‘zap’ rocks to analyse its atomic elements and identify organic, carbon rich compounds. Other tools allow the Mars Rover to scoop up, sort and sieve samples – smart innovation!

Innovations such as these may come at a heavy cost but if providing a worthwhile return and increasing our knowledge of the World and Solar System, they are viewed as worthwhile investments; providing they work. Being innovative is all about taking risks which can be successful.

Was there life on Mars? Could there be life on Mars? Could we all be jetting off to Mars for our Summer holidays in the future? Only time will tell and now NASA awaits for Summer 2012 when their ‘Mars Rover’ reaches its destination…

References:

BBC News [online], Available from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-15841893, Accessed 27^th November 2011

BBC News [online], Available from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-15904408, Accessed 27^th November 2011

M&S; Success, failure, success

Towards the end of the 1990s, the well known brand Marks and Spencer suffered; profits fell dramatically and share prices plummeted. Consumers viewed their clothing unfashionable and their food range suffered as the public shopped with other brands and major UK supermarket chains for quality food. In May 2000, a new Chairman was appointed to help M&S regain its, once loyal, customers. Change wasn’t achieved as quickly as he’d hoped and in 2001, many of its overseas stores were closed. Given another 12 months to bring M&S back to life, it was announced in May 2002 that the company had experience a soar in profits and share prices; on the way to recovery.

Many suggest that M&S suffered due to the inability to manage change, keeping updated and satisfying customers’ needs and expectations in the changing marketing environment resulting in a “scatter-gun approach to innovation and change” by the public limited company (Bilton, C. 2007:122). Consumers preferred to shop at other High Street brands and “M&S responded to the decline in its existing business by attempting to innovate its way out of trouble” (Bilton, C. 2007:123). This was achieved by the introduction of new franchises such as Per Una as well as the creation of new products and services (such as financial solutions). However, such radical changes clashed with existing customers and the company’s established identity.

M&S has clearly learnt, albeit the hard way, and is now retaining its loyal customers and increase their engagement. Continuous marketing campaigns including celebrities such as Mylene Class help to reinforce the brand image and keep its customers shopping with them.

This has clearly demonstrated how such a successful company can lose its way when focus is taken away from its customers and not engaging fully with the market leading to a lack of understanding of needs and wants. In today’s economy, many businesses are finding it hard to uphold their innovative ways as budgets are squeezed and priorities lie with basic survival against rivals. However, innovation is still important and can significantly affect customers’ perceptions of the company and its products if competitors are always seen to be one step ahead of the game.

Innovations can make or break a business. In the case of M&S, innovations such as the introduction of the Per Una range conflicted with its established identity, however, it could be argued that this was a necessary and crucial radical innovation to make. The public are usually very cautious of radical changes such as these, but they can be convinced and persuaded, in due course, that radical innovations aren’t always negative. In such a fragile state, many may say that M&S needed to rebrand itself in order to catch people’s attention and attract its existing and potential customers back to the store.

Marks and Spencer are well known for their concentration on delivering quality to the best possible standard and either meeting or even exceeding customer expectations at an affordable price. The public limited company are continuing to improve their ranges of food and clothing my upholding its image of high quality to establish and retain its market position as a high quality, but innovative, retailer.

References

Bilton, C. (2007) Management and Creativity; From Creative Industries To Creative Management, Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

So what are the different types of innovation?

There are various types of innovation; some of which are described below accompanied by examples.

Incremental, radical or revolutionary?

Incremental changes are those of small and slow measures. Such examples include Gillette’s razors and its increase in the number of blades from two through to five (McKeown, M. 2008:3). Changes such as this aren't drastic and sometimes may not even be acknowledged. However, slow changes may be appreciated by loyal customers who dislike the concept of change.

In contrast, however, innovations can be radical i.e larger steps of change. Amazon, for example, was one of the first to develop the concept of selling books online (more than a typical bookshop would sell). This idea has now developed and now sells a broad selection of items in addition to books. The reason Amazon is so successful is because it developed the idea much better than that of its early rivals.

Further impact can be achieved via a collection of innovations; these are called revoluntionary innovations.

Innovations can be developed from incremental to radical leading to revoluntionary. However, some businesses take risks and attempt to introduce revoluntionary innovations without taking the vital primary steps.

Other forms of innovation

Product innovation is thought to be the most common and can be defined as “new products or services introduced to meet an external and market need” (Damanpour, F. 1991, cited in Afuah, A. 1998:14). This demands organisations to keep highly engaged with their customer base to gauge their dynamic needs, wants and expectations. Innovations are an ongoing process. For example, there have been numerous incremental innovations of the Bic ballpoint pen since its original version.

Smartphones are another, but more recent, example of a product innovation; a high-end mobile phone with enhanced abilities of standard mobile phones combining the features of a digital assistant and a mobile phone. More recent models of smartphones have incorporated aspects of media players, navigation systems, digital cameras, web browsers (using Wi-Fi) and high resolution touch screens.

Dell, the well known computer hardware and software company, went from selling hundreds of standard laptops to selling millions of their new innovative product globally; a laptop with interchangeable coloured lids all within two and a half months.

In contrast, process innovation involves “new elements introduced into an organisation’s production or service operations – input materials, task specifications, work and information flow mechanisms, and equipment used to produce a product or render a service” (Damanpour, F. 1991, cited in Afuah, A. 1998:14). Altering the way in which an organisation operates can lead to high efficiency through cost reduction and can, therefore, be a key way to achieve competitive advantage. This is because, unlike products, processed can be more difficult to imitate due to financial constraints, for example.

Online shopping has become ever increasingly popular and a recent UK survey has found that people, on average, spend 161 minutes on the Internet on a daily basis compared to just 148 minutes watching television. This highlights the shift in society towards a more electronic way of thinking.

Such enhancements in manufacturing processes can concern the adaptations of companies usage in just-in-time delivery (JIT). Also know as the Toyota Production System, this process allows organisations to receive its materials when required using signals during different points of the process. It focuses on continuous improvement and can significantly improve a business’ return on efficiency, quality and efficiency by reducing the costs associated with storing materials and products in warehouses.

Operating efficiently as possible is the key for process innovations. Enterprise Rent-a-Car emphasised in their talk how cost control is a major priority for their company. At any one time, there are only two cars in their car park. They believe that a full carpark is a sign that they are losing money; highlighting the importance of strategy and forward planning. In such an economic climate as today, losing money is to be avoided at all possibilities.

Business process innovation can range from improving or expanding the supply chain, to delivering faster customer service and targeting new customers and markets. Most importantly, this is a cost reducing exercise that also enables organisations to deal with and serve customers at greater ease; an important element for any successful organisation.

Organisations can also engage in position innovation i.e repositioning the perception of an established product or process in a specific context in the eyes of their existing and potential customers. A focus is required on how products, services and companies are viewed symbolically and how they are used. Attempts to achieve this could be through successful marketing campaigns to alter people’s way of thinking.

Innovation within marketing can be critical to a business’ success. We are forever seeing innovative television adverts that capture our attention and encourage us to purchase the products or services being advertised. However, a recent surge in the usage of social networks, such as Facebook and Twitter, have proven to provide businesses with social media platforms. A few years ago people thought marketing by text was innovative…

Business model innovation refers to creating or reinventing a business to immerse itself into new market segments, gain significant advantage over competitors and competing on more than just value proposition. Making reference to Dell once more, whilst its rivals and businesses in various other sector were selling their goods via dealers and retail outlets, Michael Saul Dell (CEO) decided to sell directly to the consumer.

Previously, in order to receive, purchase or enquire about an insurance quote, one would have to contact via phone or be contacted by their supplier as a reminder to insurance your car or property. Now however, due to the over-reliance of the Internet, websites such as Compare The Market have emerged; enabling us to compare prices of insurance suppliers to find the best deal that’s cost effective but also reliable, appropriate and suitable.

References:

Afuah, A. (1998) Innovation Management; Strategy, Implementation, and Profits, New York: Oxford University Press Inc

McKeown, M. (2008) The Truth About Innovation, Harlow: Pearson Education Ltd. 

Branson's pride and joy; Virgin Atlantic

As outlined in the first blog post, the Virgin Atlantic event was arranged by the University’s Marketing Advertising and Public Relations Society (MAPR) where the Sales and Marketing Director, Paul Dickinson, gave a very informative and interesting talk giving an outline of Virgin’s history as well as some successful innovations, insights into their marketing campaigns and the everyday running of the company.

Some background information

Firstly, he pointed out that Virgin is all about image which is enforced through communication, advertising and inter-relations. Virgin is a well established brand and has been around for approximately 27 years due to its unique edge to survive in the competitive market, unlike many during the recession.

Unlike other airlines, Virgin owns 28 aircraft in the UK compared to its rival, British Airways, owning 250 aircraft. Many people believe Virgin to be bigger than its actual size due to the establishment of the brand. The company is known for its long haul and worldwide flights to over 30 destinations and has been calculated to be amongst the top 30 airlines in the world. Revenue equates to approximately £2bn and is still a private company with 51% being owned by Sir Richard Branson himself and the remaining 49% by Singapore airlines.

Three of Virgin’s priorities are:

• Brand commitment – achieved through word of mouth, customer service, products and memorable marketing
• Acquisition – via their loyalty programme and gaining data
• Retention – enhance loyalty and selling other items to their customer base such as insurance or Internet.

Virgin has realised that after money, people’s next priority is travel. Whatever the company or its size, travel receives high media coverage; such as the effect of the ash clouds on the running of the planes.

Although remote from the office, Branson is the figure head of Virgin used for Public Relations purposes. He established Virgin on the basis that he felt he could make a difference and look after customers better than he’d experienced by other companies.

Some highs…and some lows

Despite appearing a highly successful and established brand in the eyes of the public, this hasn’t always been the case. For example, Branson’s attempt to introduce Virgin Cola to the market was a highly unsuccessful venture as it appeared to have no benefit over the current competition with customers remaining loyal to brands such as Coca Cola and Pepsi.

On the upside, Virgin has had some extreme highs. Who’d have thought that they were the first airline to provide in-the-seat TV screens for its passengers. Paul explained that it’s impossible to always be ahead due to the associated costs. This is true for Virgin at the moment with their technological advancement updating current TV screens into an iPad-type device whereby passengers can flick through films, rate, choose, connect their phone and complete quizzes. This all sounded very impressive until Paul told us the price…£5m per aircraft!

In addition, Virgin also introduced the concept of ‘Premium Economy’ seating to their aircraft as they believed the gap and price range between ‘Economy’ and ‘Upper Class’ was too large and needed to introduce a middle level. This enabled Virgin to stand out…until other companies observed their success and imitated this; a clear example to show how innovations, especially those encountering high success, can never be protected from the imitation by competitors even if patents are obtained to avoid this from happening. Paul described the ‘Upper Class’ for passengers including all inclusive spas, hot tubs, pools, bars, beauty salons and much more. It’s no wonder some passengers turn up hours before their flight is due to leave to get their money’s worth of the facilities!

The above innovations, amongst others, demonstrate Virgin’s attempt to differentiate itself and stand out from its competitors.

Innovating beyond the norm of the airline industry

Virgin have realised that business travellers are their most valuable customers. This customer base is time-conscious and Virgin took this as an opportunity to innovate. At Terminal 3 in Heathrow Airport, Virgin spent £10m helping its business men and women avoid the long queues in the ‘U-Class Wing’ – gaining significant competitive advantage. It took 3 years to build and is designed as a terminal within a terminal using an integrated approach. Passengers experience a private security channel which is empty the majority of the time and £1m a year is spent on extra staff for this venture to succeed. It has been advertised as ‘Limo to Lounge in 10 minutes’. The passenger is met when they arrive by a member of staff with their travel ticket before entering security and straight onto the aircraft. Virgin highlighted this niche audience and primarily is aimed at males aged 35-55 years old. This specific audience allows more efficient targeting.

Overall, Virgin is a strong brand with loyal customers who like what they do through their excellent customer service, product innovation and memorable advertising. They believe measuring effectiveness is a key element in terms of improving in the future.

According to Sir Richard Branson himself:

“An innovative business is one which lives and breaths “outside the box”. It’s not just about ideas. It’s about a combination of good ideas, motivated staff and an instinctive understanding of what your customer wants and then combining these elements to achieve outstanding results” (Clegg, B. (2001:96).

References:

Clegg, B. (2001) Creativity and Innovation for Managers, Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann 

Creative minds; an important asset

“There is no doubt that creativity is the most important human resource of all. Without creativity, there would be no progress, and we would be forever repeating the same patterns” (Edward de Bono (2004) cited by Innovation Tools [online], Accessed 9/11/11)

What is it?

According to Bilton (2007:3), creativity “requires that we make or think something new” as well as a combination of existing ideas but “the idea must also be useful, or valuable”. This concept includes the ability of individuals, groups and organisations to consistently develop ideas, reconfigure new and existing ideas, examining constituent parts and broadening the overall scope. This can only work in the workplace if it is prepared to do things differently as creativity often involves taking appropriate risk which can lead to dramatic changes. Mary Lou Cook believes that “Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes, having fun” (Parker, Wayne & Kent Ltd. [online], Accessed 9/11/11). This quote, applied to a workplace environment, does not encourage rule-breaking but for employees to enjoy their work and be creative at every opportunity.

Margaret Boden (1994:75 cited in Bilton, C. 2007:3), believes there are two levels of innovation. These are “P-creativity” which is new to the individual and “H-creativity” which is new to the world. To allow creativity, encourage is needed from the organisation concerned. This can be affected by the business culture, organisational structure and, most importantly, the people involved. West et al. (cited in Thompson, L. and Choi, H.S 2006:137) suggest that there are three main themes regarding team creativity and innovation; the “group tasks” and the “demands and opportunities” for creativity and innovation, “diversity in knowledge and skills” and finally “team integration”. A fourth element has also been proposed; “external demands of uncertainty” which can inhibit idea generation but implement creative ideas or innovation.

In the past, organisations had departments who specifically focussed on creativity, such as the Marketing department with creative advertising and developing slogans. However, in today’s environment, it is common to find that all employees are involved in this concept. West et al. (cited in Thompson, L. and Choi, H.S 2006:137) outline the differences between innovation and creativity; “Creativity is the development of ideas, whereas innovation implementation is the application of ideas in practice”.

It is difficult for individuals to apply their creativity in a situation whereby they are ignored by others and an autocratic management style is present leading to low levels of participation, limited communication and lack of opportunities. Communication is of particular importance. Often ideas are discussed by rarely implemented; this can hinder the willingness to contribute and make suggestions in the future if promised by management but never turned into reality.

What does it enable?

Without creativity, innovation becomes difficult to achieve. Creativity allows ideas, invention, imagination and innovation to occur. As described by Edward de Bono, “Creativity involves breaking out of established patterns in order to look at things in a different way” (2004, cited by Innovation Tools [online], Accessed 9/11/11)

Problems can often be resolved with creative solutions. For example, the quality management tool of Total Quality Management (TQM) achieves reduced waste and costs, leading to an increase in business efficiency. Although the focus may primarily be on devising creative solutions, it can also help identify potential opportunities; leading to success and competitive advantage over rivals as a result.

Organisational structures

Although not as frequently found in todays organisations compared to in previous years, rigid and hierarchical structures can discourage and prevent creativity and innovation. This may occur in businesses whereby risks are minimal and ensure rationale decision making. Organisational structure can relate to management styles; an important determinant for whether creativity is allowed within a company. Styles can vary between sectors, for example, a manufacturing sector may require an autocratic style whereas an office environment could acquire a democratic management allowing two way communication to occur.

Culture

The term ‘culture’ depicts the norms, believe and values help by an organisation and governs how the business runs. Creativity can be determined by the business culture whereby idea generation is supported; both on an individual and group level. The exchange of knowledge and ideas is critical, however, individuals are often reluctant to share their ideas because knowledge is power and someone else can easily take advantage of this; passing off ideas as their own. Sufficient time, resources and opportunities and recognition of contributions should occur as this can prove to be a motivating factor and encourage creativity in the future.

A culture that encourages creativity can be related to Herzberg’s two factor theory. In terms of the motivating factors, allowing employees to be creative can give them responsibility and lead to personal growth (Mullins, L. 1996:495). As a result, dependent on management styles, a sense of achievement from their creative ideas can therefore motivate them leading to high productivity and commitment.

Clegg (2001:18) considers there to be four distinct stages to creativity; identifying the question, generating answers, polishing the outcome and then the implementation. Despite this, the acceptance of creativity within the workplace is dependent upon the culture adopted in addition the organisational structure and management styles (as discussed above). Innovation depends on people and people rely on corporate culture; highlighting it as a highly influencing factor with regards to behaviour and conforming.

Creativity and innovation highlights the important of recruiting a diverse workforce. With people from various backgrounds, cultures, countries and ethnicities, many thoughts are likely to be generated. Culture is shown to be effective in generating and encouraging creativity in companies such as Innocent Smoothies. In a recent programme broadcast on BBC2, Peter Jones set out to discover whether there is a blueprint for success. The programme focussed on Richard Reed and Michelle Mone. It was clear from the programme that the working environment at Innocent is very relaxed; employees are allowed to wear whatever they feel comfortable in, working in a very relaxed atmosphere with no allocated desks to encourage face to face interactions and Peter Jones said it looked more like a play centre than a workplace with astro-turf covering the floor at Fruit Towers. Richard Reed, Co-founder, was described by employees as ‘very inspirational, honest, excited and constantly thinking of ideas’. They have been awarded on many occasions including the Sunday Times Award for being ‘One of the best small companies to work for’ in 2010 (Peter Jones: How we made our millions, 2011). They have been awarded on many occasions including the Sunday Times Award for being ‘One of the best small companies to work for’ in 2010.

The people

It is important that everyone is involved in creativity in order for it to become effective within the organisation and create an impact. In the 1970s, Dr Meredith Belbin observed groups focusing on why some groups thrived and others failed to deliver. Belbin’s research revealed that success or failure for a team was dependent on behaviour. From this, nine team roles were devised to explain the differences between individuals and their behaviours. These team roles included: Plant, Monitor Evaluator, Co-ordinator, Resource Investigator, Implementer, Completer Finisher, Teamworker, Shaper and Specialist.

The “Plant” role is the most important in this case as this describes the group member(s) who is “creative, imaginative and solves difficult problems” but associated weaknesses could include the ignorance of details and too distracted to allow for effective communication (Huczynski A. and Buchanan D. 2007:329).

Although each team role has their associated strengths and weaknesses, achieving the right balance is important. It was found that presence of each behaviour was essential for a team to succeed. For example, the absence of a “Plant” can lead to a lack of creativity within a group and any ideas to pursue. In addition, without a “Shaper” there would be little direction for a group leading to missing deadlines. Too many “Plants” in a group can lead to conflicts between differing ideas and solutions and a high number of “Shapers” can lead to low morale as more than one individual aims to take control.

In his book, Team Roles at Work, phrases used by Llants include “When there’s a problem, there’s a solution”, “Ideas start with dreaming” and “Without continuous innovation, there is no survival” (1997:80). This clearly illustrates the high focus of creativity for this team role.

Can creativity be learnt?

This is debatable. People argue that you can be born creative. Steve Jobs, for example, was a highly inquisitive individual and began asking questions at an early age that no typical teenager would ask. Edward de Bono believes that “Creative thinking is not a talent, it is a skill that can be learnt. It empowers people by adding strength to their natural abilities which improves teamwork, productivity and where appropriate profits.” (2004, cited by Innovation Tools [online], Accessed 9/11/11).

How to encourage creativity

• The ‘right’ culture - i.e one that encourages creativity, willing to take risks and the acceptance that mistakes will be made
• Encouragement from management
• Sufficient time and resources
• Interest in topic – this can lead to motivation, commitment, loyalty to product or project, more likely to succeed
• Commitment – by managers to encourage creativity of employees
• Engagement – contact with and amongst employers and employees to share knowledge and ideas

Regular meetings to discuss ideas can ensure that creativity levels remain high as well as allowing employees to make contributions. Suggestion boxes could also be used to engage those from the workforce who are willing to contribute and share ideas.

From a University talk delivered by two placement students at IBM, they explained the scope of creativity throughout the organisation. A Dragon’s Den idea has been adopted whereby employees can pitch their idea to a panel of executives. If deemed a successful venture, IBM will fund them, provide patents, turn their ideas into a tangible product and pay them the royalties.

In 1964, Vroom devised the ‘Expectancy Theory’ and which is “founded on the idea that people prefer certain outcomes from their behaviour over others” (Mullins, L. 1996:500). If an employee expects to be given the scope to test their creativity in the workplace but this is hindered by management styles, the business culture or the overall operating environment; this can significantly affect motivation levels.

Organisations need to be innovative and creative if they are to stay ahead of competition; especially with the emerging markets (Asian markets especially) climbing through the ranks. For example, China used to be well known for its mass production and cheaper products but has now changed the scene; developing highly technical and more expensive innovations.

Creativity is affected by culture and climate and demands creating opportunities and effective communication.

No creativity means no progress.

References:

Belbin, R.M (1997) Team Roles at Work, Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann

Bilton, C. (2007) Management and Creativity; From Creative Industries To Creative Management, Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Clegg, B. (2001) Creativity and Innovation for Managers, Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann

Huczynski A. and Buchanan D. (2007), Organisational Behaviour, 6th Edition, Essex: Prentice Hall

Innovation Tools [online], Available from: http://www.innovationtools.com/Quotes/QuotesDetail.asp?CatID=2 (Accessed: 9^th November 2011)

Mullins, L. (1996), Management and Organisational Behaviour, 4th Edition, Essex: Pearson Education Ltd.

Parker, Wayne & Kent Ltd.[online], Available from: http://www.pwkpr.com/public_relations_quotations/Creativity.htm (Accessed: 9^th November 2011)

Peter Jones: How we made our millions, (2011) [TV Broadcast] BBC2, 9^th November. 21:00 hrs

Thompson, L. and Choi, H.S (2006) Creativity and Innovation in Organizational Teams, Mahway, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc., Publishers

The 50 Most Innovative Companies (2011)

The rankings for the 50 Most Innovative companies have been released for this year (by a different source than previous) and it’s clear to see how it’s changed from 2010. Although Apple is still number 1, compared to the Bloomberg table of 2010, Google has been pushed down to number 6 by Twitter, Facebook, Nissan and Groupon (according to FastCompany [online], Accessed 16/11/11). However, Fast Company and Bloomberg clearly use different factors when deciding upon the list due to the differences in ranks. No doubt that in Bloomberg’s 2011 listings, Apple and Google will remain in our top two. The debate is, which one is more reliable? We don’t know. Compared to Fast Company’s previous rankings for 2010 however, little has changed over the last 12 months although, shockingly, Apple was ranked 3^rd in 2010.

The reasons for the top 10

1. APPLE : An “ecosystem of creativity” that has changed our lives
2. TWITTER: Re-defining communication
3. FACEBOOK: Attracting 600 million users which out-competed Google by 145% as prime Internet destination
4. NISSAN: “The first mass market all-electric car”
5. GROUPON: “For reinvigorating retail and turning down $6 billion”
6. GOOGLE: Improving the ‘search’ experience as results are found whilst still typing
7. DAWNING INFORMATION INDUSTRY: World's fastest supercomputer
8. NETFLIX: A $9 billion market cap, 20m subscribers and over-powering Blockbuster
9. ZYNGA: The $500 million producer of social gaming
10. EPOCRATES: Easy-to-use drug-reference program for health professionals on mobiles and laptops

The 50 Most Innovative companies according to Fast Company:

Rank	Name	Last Year
1	APPLE	3
2	TWITTER	50
3	FACEBOOK	1
4	NISSAN	–
5	GROUPON	–
6	GOOGLE	4
7	DAWNING INFORMATION INDUSTRY	–
8	NETFLIX	12
9	ZYNGA
10	EPOCRATES	–
11	TRADER JOE'S
12	ARM
13	BURBERRY
14	KOSAKA SMELTING AND REFINING
15	FOURSQUARE
16	ESPN	–
17	TURNER SPORTS	–
18	HUAWEI	5
19	INTEL	14
20	SYNCARDIA	–
21	DONORSCHOOSE.ORG	–
22	EBAY	–
23	NIKE	13
24	LINKEDIN	–
25	WIEDEN + KENNEDY	–
26	YANDEX	–
27	AMAZON	2
28	OPENING CEREMONY	–
29	IBM	18
30	AMYRIS	–
31	DOUBLE NEGATIVE	–
32	KASPERSKY LAB	–
33	PEPSICO	–
34	UNIVISION	–
35	SNOHETTA	–
36	MARKS & SPENCER	–
37	MICROSOFT	48
38	SOLARCITY	–
39	SHAADI.COM	–
40	VOXIVA	–
41	CISCO	17
42	ENERKEM	–
43	SAMSUNG	36
44	PANDORA	–
45	GE	19
46	CHANGCHUN DACHENG INDUSTRIAL GROUP	–
47	AZUL	–
48	STAMEN DESIGN	–
49	FX	–
50	MADECASSE	–

What are your views?

References:

Fast Company [online], Available from: http://www.fastcompany.com/most-innovative-companies/2011/, (Accessed: 16^th November 2011)