| Course | WMBA 6020 Fostering a Culture of Innovation |
|---|---|
| Week | Week 1 |
| Paper type | Discussion post |
| Length | About 540 words, 3 pages |
| Format | Discussion post, APA 7 citations |
| School | Walden University |
| Program | Master of Business Administration (MBA) |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for WMBA 6020 Week 1
Week 1 Discussion: Types of Innovation and Where Culture Stalls Them
Six Changes in Three Years, None of Them New: Sorting a Title Insurer's Recent Innovations and Naming the Review Step Where Its Culture Stops the Third Kind
I work in escrow operations at Ashgrove Title and Escrow, a composite title insurance and closing company of about 640 people with 38 offices in Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky, founded in 1934. Our leaders say often that they want new ideas. In the past three years we have made six notable changes, and sorting them is revealing.
Four are incremental, improving what we already do for the customers we already serve: electronic recording of deeds, a callback app that verifies wiring instructions before funds move, electronic signatures on closing disclosures and a new scheduling system for closers. Two are adjacent, applying what we already do to a new group or in a new way: remote online notarization for refinance closings, and lien and filing searches sold to rooftop solar companies, which need the same county records work we do for lenders. None is genuinely new, meaning a product or business model the company has never offered. Dewar and Dutton (1986) distinguished radical innovations, which depart sharply from existing practice, from incremental ones, and found that adopting radical innovations was associated with deep technical knowledge inside the firm. Ashgrove has that knowledge in its title examiners, so knowledge is not what is missing.
One genuinely new idea did appear. Two years ago a team in Kentucky proposed a subscription that would alert homeowners when someone filed a deed or mortgage against their property, a defense against deed fraud. It never reached a pilot.
My claim is that our culture stops new ideas at one specific step: review by underwriting counsel. Every proposal touching a policy or a customer goes to counsel, whose performance is judged by claims avoided. Counsel asked the Kentucky team what would happen if an alert failed and a homeowner sued, and no one owned the answer. Incremental changes pass because they reduce claims. New ideas carry unknown risks, and a reviewer rewarded only for avoiding losses has every reason to wait. March (1991) warned that organizations tend to favor exploiting what they know over exploring what they do not, because the returns to exploitation are surer and closer in time. Our review structure makes that tendency a rule.
Does your organization have a single review step where new ideas reliably die, and who is rewarded for saying no there?
Reply to Danielle
Danielle, your hospital's list of innovations is mostly incremental too, but I am not sure the cause is the same. You describe a budget cycle that funds only projects with a payback inside a year. That would stop genuinely new ideas regardless of who reviews them. Have any new ideas passed when they were funded outside the annual budget, for example through a grant?
Reply to Owen
Owen, I like your argument that your firm's culture is fine and the problem is that no one has time to explore. I would push back a little: Schein and Schein (2017) treat what an organization consistently makes time for as evidence of its culture, not separate from it. If exploration always loses to client work, isn't that the culture speaking?
References
Dewar, R. D., & Dutton, J. E. (1986). The adoption of radical and incremental innovations: An empirical analysis. Management Science, 32(11), 1422-1433. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.32.11.1422
March, J. G. (1991). Exploration and exploitation in organizational learning. Organization Science, 2(1), 71-87. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2.1.71
Schein, E. H., & Schein, P. A. (2017). Organizational culture and leadership (5th ed.). Wiley.
Reading the WMBA 6020 Week 1 instructions
The opening discussion in an innovation course often asks students to define types of innovation, apply them to one organization and offer a first view of how its culture affects new ideas. Prompts typically name categories such as incremental, adjacent or radical, sometimes drawing on a portfolio model from the readings. Instructors expect real examples sorted with reasons, not a list of definitions. They also expect a claim about culture specific enough that classmates could disagree. Expect a post of roughly 350 words and replies a little over 100 words each. Students may use their own employer, a former one or a composite organization, and should keep identifying details out. The question that closes the post should invite classmates to examine their own organizations.
Inside the WMBA 6020 Week 1 example
The post introduces the company by size, age, footprint and line of business. Six changes from three years are sorted: four incremental changes that improve current services for current customers, and two adjacent ones that apply existing capabilities to a new group or a new channel. A sentence states that none is genuinely new, then cites Dewar and Dutton on radical and incremental innovation and observes that knowledge is not what the company lacks. The single new idea, a deed fraud alert, is described in two sentences. The claim follows: one review step, underwriting counsel's, stops new ideas because its reviewer is rewarded only for avoiding losses. March's argument about exploitation crowding out exploration supports it. One reply suggests a budget rule as an alternative cause; the other applies Schein's view of culture to a classmate's time argument.
Where the marks sit in the WMBA 6020 Week 1 rubric
Graders reward accurate sorting, with a reason given for each category rather than labels alone. Recognizing that an organization has produced no genuinely new innovation, and saying so plainly, often earns more than inflating modest changes. A culture claim tied to a specific mechanism, such as one reviewer's incentives, shows analytic depth. Citing a source on why organizations favor familiar work strengthens the argument. Replies score well when they question a peer's cause or propose another one backed by a reading. The closing question should prompt reflection rather than agreement. Discussion rubrics also weigh timeliness and engagement across the week. Clear writing within the word limit and APA citations in the post and replies finish the expectations for this week.
WMBA 6020 Week 1 help from the desk
Begin by listing every change your organization has made in the past few years, then sort each one and write a sentence on why it belongs there. Be strict: an improvement to an existing service is incremental even if it uses new technology. Look for one new idea that did not survive and trace where it stopped. Make your culture claim about that point, naming who decides and what they are rewarded for. Students often lose marks by calling routine upgrades innovative or by describing culture in general terms, such as risk-averse, without a mechanism. In replies, offer a different explanation or ask for evidence. Keep company details general enough to protect your employer. If you want a custom sample post on your own organization's innovations, send us the list of changes.
Get a WMBA 6020 Week 1 example written to your instructions
Paste in what your classroom posted for Week 1, prompt and rubric both, and a written sample lands in 24-48h with nothing owed on the first one. Say which organization you will write about and whether your section fixes the type taxonomy. The blocker in your workplace is not the one on this page, so take the shape and find yours.
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WMBA 6020 Week 1 questions, answered
Where can I find a free WMBA 6020 Week 1 sample paper?
The full innovation types discussion post for a title insurer, with two replies, is available here.
How are the six changes sorted?
Four incremental, such as electronic deed recording, and two adjacent, remote notarization and lien searches for solar firms.
Which genuinely new idea was proposed?
A homeowner alert for fraudulent deed and mortgage filings, which never reached a pilot.
Where does the culture stop new ideas?
At review by underwriting counsel, whose performance is judged by claims avoided.
What does March's argument add?
Organizations tend to favor exploiting known work over exploration because its returns are surer and sooner.