Read “Darwin and the Demon” HBR 2004
1. Give examples of three companies (not mentioned in this article) that implemented any of the innovation types described in this article.
i) Disruptive Innovation. One of the most disruptive innovations made in Venezuela has been Harina PAN. Harina PAN is a precooked corn flour that completely revolutionized the way that Venezuelans eat their main dish, arepas. Before Harina PAN make arepas was a complicated process that involved cleaning, milled, cooking, grinding and kneading the corn. Empresas Polar, the first goods manufacturer in Venezuela, patented and commercialize this innovation. This disruptive invention changed the life of the entire nation. ii) Application Innovation. The Microsoft Kinetic provides users the possibility to interact with their video-game consoles using corporal and facial movements. It has been a great success and it has been utilized in different industries like medical equipment’s. Microsoft bought the 3D sensor technology that Kinetic use from PrimeSense (recently bought by Apple) to develop this device. iii) Product Innovation: PlayStation 4 is the fourth generation of the Sony video game console. So far, it has been a huge success. Personally I am going to buy one of these soon.
2. Describe how your company might implement any of the innovation types described in this article that are not currently implemented by your company.
Between 2012 and 2013, I was working at the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), a multilateral investment bank. Like a traditional bank, the main product of the IADB are the loans. The bank charge low interests (usually less than LIBOR) to the different borrowing members (26 countries) for the loans and the technical support to develop projects in strategic areas. During the year working there, I could realized some innovations that the bank can apply in the Venezuelan market. First, designing new contract models (product innovation) to tackle directly the financial, and technical needs of the Communal Councils (local-based organizations that develop and oversee different