Organizational imapact OI/361

Education has long been the frontier for society and academic advancement in one’s life. Long gone are the days where only a handful of people were expected to enter into college and earn a degree. In 2014, there are so many colleges and universities that one can choose from. Not only is the choice, whether or not they attend school, but the choice is, whether they want to attend school online or in a traditional college setting of brick and mortar.

The University of Phoenix is one of the nation’s largest private universities located in Phoenix, AZ with more than 200 university locations worldwide. Classes are online for individuals with a schedule that would conflict with the campus class

Innovations form the main sources of competitive advantages and are always of significance for the growth of a company. Companies or organizations put their greater efforts in improving their performance by finding new ideas and knowledge on the best way of beating their competitors and therefore give satisfaction to their customers. There are various factors involved in the innovation design system which can be either internal or external.

Students today are also looking for a school that is convenient for them, both in location and in flexibility of scheduling. Western Governors University offers convenience in both areas. Since it is an online school, the location couldn’t be any more appropriate. It is simply wherever the student has access to the internet and the time to study, whether that is at home, on a break at work, or even on vacation. In addition, there are no set times for classes, so a student can spend just a few minutes or long hours studying the necessary material whenever it is suitable for him or her. What could be more convenient than working at one’s own pace at a location of one’s own choosing?

Innovation and innovation strategies are critical to keeping companies competitive in their chosen fields of endeavor. Consumers benefit significantly from the availability of and access to the latest in technology. This paper

Western International University is a small, for-profit college. Only around 3,000 students enroll every year in this private school. Western International University was only recently founded in Phoenix, Arizona in the late 1970s. This college offers over 160 specialized associate’s, bachelor’s and master 's degrees. Western International University maintains a continuous curriculum system that allows incoming students to choose from 16 basic majors like business, accounting, management, psychology and computer science. Western International University is focused on helping working adults achieve professional certifications and degrees, so they keep up with changing technologies, student expectations and education trends. The school may be small, but they prioritize culturally diversity and student community.

Davenport University also has an excellent online degree program. Davenport University was founded in 1866 and only offered a limited number of degrees. Today, Davenport University offers online and on-campus diplomas, Associate 's, Bachelor 's and Master 's degrees. They also offer post-grad certification programs in business, technology and health care. There are around 13,000 enrolled students spread throughout the 11 campuses.

The University of Florida’s (UoF) realization that brick and mortar schools no longer serve as the only means to attaining a higher education established an institutional paradigm shift (Kuhn, 2012) on education delivery. The university’s evolution of an online education developed alongside the growth of technology (Blocher, DeMontes, Willis, & Tucker, 2002) and the needs of the community (University of Florida, Distance Learning, 2016). For the UoF, online programs began transforming as early as 1947 when challenged to adapt during world events such as the need to deliver GED home study courses to nearly 6,000 immigrants (University of Florida, History, 2016). In years that followed, an increasingly competitive environment (Volery & Lord, 2000) led to the video taping of lectures in 1991 and to the online courses and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) that initiated in 2013. In its early development MOOCs were housed under the Coursera website since it provided an opportunity to test online courses (Coursera.com, 2016; College Factual, 2016). Today, the UoF houses both MOOCs and online programs within the Division of Continuing Education (DCE), which the university established in 2009 and dedicated full-time faculty to it due to the steady growth of online education (University of Florida, Distance and Continuing Education, 2016).

While I was pondering about where to go for my Master’s Degree in Higher Educating Administration my options were limited. I needed a different atmosphere, I wanted a non-traditional setting. A master’s program that offered the classes entirely online, in the comfort of my home. Therefore, I can study at my convenience and also be a full time mother to my teenage daughter. While reviewing the Stony

Organizations pursuing this type of business strategy try to develop a competitive advantage based on product innovation. The strategy requires employees to continually develop new products and services to create an organization’s advantage in the market. These companies create and maintain an environment that encourages employees to bring new ideas into the company.

For-Profits Universities are actually helping the education system by filling gaps left by the traditional public and private institutions. Kevin Carey emphasizes that Ultimately For-profit institutions have many great options to offer their students. The institutions not only offer online courses, they provide accelerated and night programs as well. Many locations of the school are available where most public and private universities are not. Thus briskly expanding all over the country rather than, exclusive “University States”. Furthermore according to Carey’s last claim, he researches the authenticity of the degree provided by each academic institution. Public and private lyceums will declare superiority over for profits. Carey found

As we have learned in this program, innovation gives organizations a competitive advantage. Organizations that don’t move along with innovation and stay stagnant will perish, in the long run. According to Robert M. Grant’s Contemporary Strategy Analysis book, “competitive advantage is not only innovation in technology but also strategic innovation such as developing new approaches to doing business, creating value for customers from novel products, experiences, or modes of product delivery.” An example of this kind of innovation is Ikea and its new system of supplying customers that has reconfigured its entire value chain.

Online schooling can be very convenient for students that have a job or family that is their number one commitment. Students can log into their course whenever the time is best for them instead of having a set time for a class every week (Bird). Some students find online education appealing since students can learn at their own pace. According to a study done by Potomac University, “77% of educators believe that online learning is just as good as traditional leaning, if not better” (“Online”). Online learning is also inexpensive. Online classes are much more inexpensive than traditional classes. Online degrees can cost up to 80 times less than traditional degrees. Traditional degrees average cost is around $85,000, while online degrees average cost is around $30,000 (“Online”). Online education does offer lots of options for students.

From many of these examples and articles, we can gather much information over the relationship between innovation and strategic management. Although, some areas may not be proven in its fullest capacity, there are undoubtedly ways that innovation improved business operations and practices, which can be seen in examples such as Apple, Microsoft, Dominos, and Samsung. On the other hand, not every business incorporating innovation is a success story. In the dynamic days we find ourselves in today, business and organizations are digging deeper into the wells of innovation. We have all come to enjoy the benefits and I am not sure of anyone that would want to

Innovation refers to finding new ways to improve the existing products, services, processes, technologies, and employee performance in an organizational setup. In today's competitive business environment, organizations have to focus on bringing innovation in each and every aspect of their business operations; like products or service offerings, enterprise resource planning systems, marketing and promotional efforts, and organizational structure. The market challenges and competitive pressures also force organizations to use a blend of all these innovation processes in their business activities. Therefore, it is vital to give an equal focus on product innovation, process innovation, marketing innovation, and organizational innovation within the limited organizational resources and capabilities.