Management innovation in small enterprises of the Jaguari Valley – Brazil

Abstract

Many management practices which were valid until yesterday are not so today, and neither will they be tomorrow. Innovation cannot only be carried out in some areas of the enterprises; it should be done in all of them. The article presents the result of the research on Management Innovation in the Jaguari Valleys (RS) small enterprises. From the analysis of the results and based on the theoretical reference, the measures that favor the innovation, will be adopted, contributing to the competitiveness of these enterprises. The methodology consisted on a descriptive research of the enterprises of the secondary and tertiary sectors from the Brazilian Support Service Cadaster for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SEBRAE-RS) for 2000 and the bibliographical revision. The data were collected through a questionnaire. The results demonstrate that these enterprises adopt some practices of the Management Innovation: a protection of ideas, the recognition of collaborators as clients, incentive and help to innovation. There are still aspects that need to be improved: decision making, lack of rewards for creative ideas, nonexistence of critical mechanisms in communication and suggestions. So there arose, a new proposal to contribute in the way of implementing management knowledge, which will produce a new work plan.