Innovation & Intrapreneurship
What is innovation?
Creating something new or improving an existing product, service, or process.
Name one personal motive for starting a business.
Wanting independence or to be your own boss
Name one way the government supports local business.
Through Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs).
What’s the difference between internal and external sources of business ideas?
Internal come from inside the business (skills, experience); external from outside (customers, competitors).
What is design thinking?
A person-centred, solution-focused, and iterative approach to developing ideas.
What is an intrapreneur?
An employee who develops new ideas within an existing business.
Name one financial motive for starting a business.
To earn more income or achieve financial security.
What is the role of Enterprise Ireland?
Supports Irish businesses to grow internationally.
Give one internal source of ideas
Hobbies, interests, skills, or R&D.
Name the 4 stages of design thinking.
Clarify, Ideate, Develop, Implement.
Give one example of innovation from the business world.
Netflix moving from DVDs to streaming (or any other valid example).
What is a social motive for starting a business?
To solve a social problem or support sustainability.
What is Microfinance Ireland?
A government-backed agency offering loans to businesses that can’t get bank funding.
Give one external source of ideas.
Customers, competitors, or market research.
What does person-centred mean in design thinking?
Understanding and empathising with the user’s real problems.
Explain one benefit of intrapreneurship to a business.
Encourages creativity, improves efficiency, and keeps businesses competitive.
Give an example of a business with social motives.
We Make Good — supports vulnerable groups through craft and employment.
How does government capital expenditure support business?
Builds infrastructure (roads, broadband) to help businesses operate efficiently.
What is intrapreneurship?
Employees developing new ideas within a business (repeated for reinforcement).
What does iterative mean?
Repeating stages to refine ideas until they meet user needs.
Describe how intrapreneurship helped create the PlayStation.
A Sony engineer developed it secretly, and the company supported his idea, leading to the PlayStation.
Explain how social enterprises differ from traditional businesses.
They aim to solve social/environmental issues while still earning revenue.
Describe two supports the LEO provides to new entrepreneurs.
Training/mentoring and financial grants.
Explain how Apples organisational culture encouraged innovation.
They supported employee ideas (giving 20% of the work week to employees) instead of punishing them.
How did Apple use design thinking for the iPhone?
Focused on user needs, tested prototypes, and refined designs for simplicity and usability.