CYNICISM ANTIBODIES

Phuoc D. Nguyen

Based on the traditional activity-centered innovation sequencing, Oster (2009) suggests a bottom-up model for the Contemporary Results-Driven Innovation Sequencing, including phases of value consideration objectives or metrics development, customer needs determination, ideation or experimentation or interpretation, competencies assessment and training, and efficient or production or distribution. It is suggested that contemporary results-driven innovation sequencing should include phases in order of staff’s creativity, innovation, change competencies assessment, and leaders’ innovation management and change management competencies assessment; creative and innovative training and innovation management training; creativity and innovation ideas suggestion to create new customer needs; current customer needs determination; ideation from current customer needs; ideas interpretation; ideas approval, value consideration objectives or metrics development, professional and expertise training to support creativity & innovation experimentation and implementation; efficient or production or distribution; and value consideration objectives or metrics measurement and assessment.

Firoozi, Mokhtari, and Mokhtari (2016) concluded that “Innovative behavior is dominated by the dimensions of organizational cynicism. The person who has a wrong belief in relation to their working environment as well as destructive and negative and pessimistic sentiment to the organization.” (p 301). The organizational cynicism and innovation antibodies appear in phases of creativity and innovation ideas suggestion to create new customer needs, ideation from current customer needs, ideas interpretation, and ideas approval. The wrong belief is a major non-conformity from corporate culture, phases of recruitment, and staff orientation, and it is a leadership responsibility.

Blanca and Ramona (2016) propose “The moment when cynicism is identified and this resistance is diminished or even eliminated, the commitment and involvement of the employees towards the organization will grow.” (p. 53). Leaders should identify and eliminate organizational cynicism and negative innovation antibodies from the wrong belief and current core values, and identify and consolidate positive innovation antibodies to control innovations that are going wrong. Additionally, leaders establish an innovation culture to create the right beliefs and core values to include in the innovation process.