behaviour in that small elements, such as the non-governmental sector, play a unique irreplaceable role.
The characterisation of the NSI as a system
provides a theoretical vantage point from which to interrogate how current shortcomings could be addressed. South Africa’s NSI could be greatly enhanced by addressing these three critical levels: the innovation process; the organisation; and the national system.
2. Application 2.1 The innovation process We need to manage the innovation value chain, from idea generation to diffusion, holistically. Innovators need to anticipate market and other challenges that are relevant to the innovations that they are working on. An analysis of previous South African innovations reveals a pattern of poor management of the innovation process including: a mismatch between solutions and client wants; disastrous technology choices; unrealistic expectations; and poor or lack of IP protection. The innovation process requires continuous vigilance in order to diagnose problem areas that may be contributing towards clogging up the flow of outputs.
2.2 The organisation
A systems perspective demands that organisations should promote collaborations across units within the organisation and even with outside partners. There should be coherence between the various units within the company that are involved in the innovation process. For instance, ideas that are developed in one part of the company
The Innovation Journal
Dr Manzini holds a PhD (Da Vinci Institute), MSc (UKZN), MEd (Science Education), cum laude (UDW), FDE Advanced (UN), FDE (UN), STD (Esikhawini), Programme in Human Resource Management (UNISA), Higher Certificate in Project Management (Damelin).
Dr Manzini began his career as a science teacher at various township high schools in KZN. After 12 years of teaching and several promotions, he joined the national Department of Education (DoE) in 2001 and then Science and Technology (DST), where he specialized in international relations. During this period he spearheaded and managed international partnership programmes in science and technology within SADC, the AU and the UN system. In 2007 he joined the CSIR as Group Manager to establish the organisation’s human capital development programme where he created, implemented and managed professional development programmes for staff and students. In 2009, the CSIR’s HR department was added to Dr Manzini’s responsibilities so that as Group Manager: Human Capital he became responsible for all aspects of work that were related to people management and development.
In the most recent shift of his career, Dr Manzini has established his consulting company - Hydronium Consulting - which specialises
in technology and
innovation management, among other areas. His domain of research activity includes management of technology and innovation, with particular interest in systems of innovation. He has authored two books and a number of peer-reviewed and public interest publications.
September 2012 | Management Today 77
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