New technology and trusted practices

BUSINESS CREATIVITY

Bringing technology tools together and tying them to business processes can help any company survive in a creative economy, say technology innovation management experts.

Free trade agreements and fierce competition means businesses must compete not only by reducing costs and finding skilled labour for the best price, they must also add more value to products and services by using creativity to secure sustainable practices, said Asst Prof Nathasit Gerdsri, College of Management, Mahidol University.

And Poomporn Thamsatitidej from the College of Innovation of Thammasat University said using knowledge to experiment and take calculated risks will enable businesses to boost creativity.

There are many examples of technology innovation fostering success in creativity and management. For example, in a skilled nice workforce such as jewellery design, the use of relevant contemporary software combined with standard, time-honoured manufacturing processes help reduce the time required to deliver a finished product.

Or in advertising, interactive software may tie in with cultural assets such as temples, schools or upcountry sites which reflect traditional Thai lifestyles, blending modern technology with old-fashioned work practices and creating sales channels through selling downloadable music or games affiliated to the attractions.

"Even politics can benefit," said Poomporn. "Government can add creativity to their management practices, such as e-voting or generating citizens' feedback, although this requires a digital infrastructure.

"However, the most important sector in the long term that should get creative is education, as this can change the way we educate our younger generation, encouraging them to think creatively."

Boonkiart Lewwongcharoen, professor at the Graduate School of Management and Innovation, King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi, pointed out China's success in using mobile phones to generate creativity, with handsets that feature two Sims and a TV receiver function to differentiate them from global brands, thus bolstering the domestic manufacturing industry.

"Creativity, when applied with technology, can bring innovation, which has to combine the embed the organisation's business model into its business process to deliver output success," said Boonkiart.

Nathasit continued that the retail or service sectors should learn to understand their markets and the dynamically changing technology environment in order to bring the appropriate technology tools to their business processes and deliver creativity in open innovation to commercialise products and services.

Reference:
Bangkok Post 30/06/2010
http://www2.bangkokpost.com