What are some ways to achieve innovation for large concerns that improve a firm's competitive advantage?

Google has a slogan “Don’t Be Evil” and they try to live by it.

Is this MBA homework? If it is, we don’t do homework.

If it’s not, hire a consultant and start with a competitive analysis, or ISO 9000 certify your company. You will find a lot of your problems that way. Once you define your problems, fix the root cause. Commit to perfect service for your customers.

Start by not using so much Corporate-speak.

Innovation is almost always wasted on the young…. (to abuse an old phrase) but innovation is usually created by those who don’t know better or haven’t had the uniqueness or ideas whacked out of them yet. Students doing papers at University. Go to the Universities and look at the work being done, or better yet… offer a prize or a scholarship of some sort.

“Every problem is a management problem.” And most management problems have to do with people. The effective utilization of an organization’s personnel should be one of the first places to look for ways to improve competitive advantage. This includes downsizing where appropriate, as well as a focus on collaboration and team-building. Keep in mind that improving organizational effectiveness through effective personnel utilization does not always mean that everyone’s schedule should be crammed full of “work.”

This is a very complex issue, involving personnel functions such as recruiting, screening, training, etc., as well as planning, management effectiveness and organizational structure. It’s rather difficult to come up with a general method for increasing organizational effectiveness in a limited space like this, but I will tell you that effective team-building almost always yields positive results. Just make sure that you build teams where appropriate based on tasks to be accomplished, and focus on individual contributors when appropriate as well.

Take a look at the management structure. What type is it? Does management have a “need to know only” policy? The best recipe for innovation is to open the playing field to the people who actually do the job. Take a good look at the policies of the competition. How top heavy is the company? There are lots of factors here and few details that you’ve actually given. An open system is generally considered to be more effective, especially in a global market, which I must assume you’re operating from considering the fact that ports are involved
Maybe you could fork over a few more details.

Read good books about corporate culture and innovation and implement a strategy that seems best for a particular company. There’s no magic bullet.

listen to the dilberts “the way of the weasel” and anything else writen by scott adams