Managing Innovation at St. Lukes Medical Center Essay

Managing Innovation at St. Lukes Medical Center - Essay Example Every organization exists to achieve a purpose. In order to attain organizational goals, a set of policies and strategies are defined and developed by management. As averred by Christensen, Andrews, & Bower (3), policy is â€Å"the study of the functions and responsibilities of senior management, the crucial problems that affect success in the total enterprise, and the decisions that determine the direction of the organization and shape its function†. One of the strategic management decisions undertaken by aggressive and competitive organizations is innovation. Most business practitioners have grown accustomed to innovation stemming from new inventions and advancing technology. But suiting policy to changing circumstances includes also the application of a firm’s long-established strengths to unexplored segments of the market via innovations in price, service, distribution, or merchandising. Innovation is the â€Å"process by which an idea or invention is translated into a good or service for which people will pay. In business, innovation results often from the application of a scientific or technical idea in decreasing the gap between the needs or expectations of the customers and the performance of a firm's products.† (Business Dictionary 1) One of the most innovative organizations in Asia is St. Luke’s Medical Center in the Philippines. It is the number one hospital in the Philippines but its vision is to be one of the top five medical institutions in Asia by 2010.