Unit 4. Great ideas

I. Lead-in

• List as many inventions as you can think of from the last 150 years.

• Guess Game. One person thinks of an invention. The others ask questions to guess what the invention is. The table 2 below can help you. You can only ask yes/no questions. For example:

Was it invented in the 19^th century? Yes.

Is it made of metal? Partly.

Does it work with electricity? No.

Table 2

Thermometer 1591	Piano 1709	Steam engine 1712	Vaccination 1796
Typewriter 1829	Aspirin 1882	Postage stamp 1842	Matches 1827
Refrigerator 1851	Dynamite 1866	Telephone 1876	Motor car 1884
X-rays 1895	Radio 1900	Television 1925	Aerosol spray 1941
Automated digital computer 1946	Microwave oven 1947	Soft contact lens 1965	Compact disk 1979

II. Study the vocabulary

resistance – сопротивление

to take to a meeting – вынести на обсуждение

to prevent from– препятствовать

computing – вычислительная техника

corporate venturing – управление корпоративными рисками

intrapreneurship – внутреннее предпринимательство; предпринимательство, осуществляемое менеджером внутри организации.

to encourage – поощрять, поддерживать

entrepreneur – бизнесмен, предприниматель

entrepreneurial – предпринимательский

to stifle [΄staifl] – душить, подавлять

skunk works – (букв. "кабинет скунса") маленький, часто изолированный исследовательский отдел какого-либо предприятия, функционирующий полусамостоятельно, практически без контроля начальства

to hamper – мешать, препятствовать, затруднять

bureaucracy – бюрократизм

in-fighting – соперничество, распри между членами одной группы или организации

to persuade to– уговорить

breakthrough – прорыв

continuous improvement – непрерывное совершенствование

market response – ответная реакция рынка

to eliminate – исключать, упразднять

irritation – недостаток

initial – первоначальный

beta version – (пробная версия) версия программного продукта, предшествующая выпуску коммерческого продукта

beta-test – эксплуатационные испытания

trial – испытание, проба

enormous – огромный, громадный

niche – рыночная ниша; незанятый сегмент рынка товаров или услуг

to exploit – воспользоваться

to extend – расширять

to enhance – увеличивать, усиливать, улучшать

to meet a need – удовлетворять требованиям

to fill a gap – заполнить нишу

mail order – заказ товаров по почте

to buy in bulk – закупать оптом

capacity – производительность

‘top up’ card – карта экспресс-оплаты

Post-it Notes – самоклеящиеся блоки

to overlap – частично покрывать, совпадать

licensing agreement - лицензированное соглашение

III. Read and translate the text

Resistance to new ideas is well known. In organisations, the best way of killing an idea may well be to take it to a meeting. The very things that make companies successful in one area may prevent them from developing success in new activities. Early work on personal computers at Xerox was dismissed by its senior managers because they considered that the company's business was copying, not computing. Company leaders talk about corporate venturing and intrapreneurship, where employees are encouraged to develop entrepreneurial activities within the organisation. Companies may try to set up structures in such a way that they do not stifle new ideas. They may put groups of talented people together in skunk works to work on innovations - development of the PC at IBM is the most famous example. Skunk works are outside the usual company structures and are less likely to be hampered by bureaucracy, in-fighting and so on.

When innovators go to large companies with new designs for their products, they face similar problems. The inventor of the small-wheeled Moulton bicycle could not persuade Raleigh to produce it, so he set up his own company. But a single innovative breakthrough is not enough. There has to be continuous improvement and market response. The current winners in bicycle innovation are producers of mountain bikes, who have taken the original bicycle design and eliminated its irritations, revolutionising an old concept by providing relative comfort, easy gear changes, a 'fun' ride and so on.

The initial idea for a car will be turned into a series of prototypes and tested. In software development, the final 'prototype' is the beta version, which is beta-tested. Pharmaceuticals go through a series of trials. Even the most brilliant entrepreneurs will not have the resources to go it alone in industries like these, as the investment and experience required are enormous. Cars, software and pharmaceuticals are examples of industries dominated by giants. The 'rules of the game' are well established, and newcomers are rare, unless they can find a small niche unexploited by the giants. There may be more opportunity for innovation where the rules of the game are not yet established. This may involve selling and delivering existing products in new ways: think, for example, of selling books and airline tickets on the Internet.

One thing is certain: business will continue to benefit from the creativity of individuals and organisations which can develop great ideas and bring them to market.