The end of my innovation journey

From the 10 tips I have found that are key in innovation there seems to be a variety of how a company can work in a way that it can gain competitive advantage.

I believe the encouragement of creativity is very important as this is where an idea will start and then develop. A leader who willl try increase the creativity of their staff may increase the good ideas that they come up with, potentially into a product or service that attracts a customer.

When I think of the word innovation I now think change. As to me it is a step in which you use facilities, resources and knowledge to try develop or produce an idea that customers will like. My blogs have talked many successful companies that have continually changed their products and services. As the world is becoming a more technically advanced companies will need to continue to develop their ideas, potentially faster and faster to attract customers as customer needs and wants will go on changing all the time. A company that wants to succeed will stay focussed on innovation and battle with competitors to continue to increase sales.

 

Tip 10: Never feeling that you've finished innovating

Customer needs and requirements are going to continue to change and your competitors will continue to influence market expectations. A innovative way to is to learn from past mistakes or other competitors mistakes and move on from it to develop an idea.

An idea may take time and patious is needed for this idea to form and be successful. This time may be to improve it or for a time for another idea to be able to become a successful idea.

There has been ongoing console Wars between Xbox and Sony plational each of these continuing to develop technology. They would learn from their own successes and failures and those of their compeitors to produce to best technology for the consumer they can.

This could be going through the "Venture model of Innovation" where changes are made of a product in response to a new or modified venture model. Technical advances are required to enable success and keep up with their competitors. 

McDonald's - Globally

The challenge that Global companies have is being innovative enough to use tried and tested products in different countries and cultures. Therefore even with a company that has standard products that it sells in a different country the products can also differ so that they would sell better in one particular country than another.


McDonald's is a Golbalised company that trades in 123 countries around the world, all countries have different foods that they prefer. McDonald's have added additional products to the menus in some countries to suit the local people and culture.


 Religion can be a possible factor that changes menus to attract the local people. "Hindus make up to 80 percent of Indians, killing cows and eating beef is against religious rules". Therefore in India there is no beef burgers on the menu, instead McDonald's include a variety of vegetarian options such as "McVeggie". 

"Hungary has the lowest cost of living and therefore has the cheapest Big Mac"  (Schnaubelt, 2002) McDonald's even change the price of products to suit the country, depending on economic wealth. This is innovative as they know if they put it at a similar price to a wealthier country less people may be able to afford it.




References

Madison, J. (2009, July 9). Mcdonalds menu items from around the world. Retrieved 1 15, 2012, from Food network humour: http://foodnetworkhumor.com/2009/07/mcdonalds-menu-items-from-around-the-world-40-pics/

Nasr, S. (n.d.). 10 Unusual Items from McDonald's international Menu. Retrieved 1 15, 2012, from How stuff works: http://money.howstuffworks.com/10-items-from-mcdonalds-international-menu5.htm

Schnaubelt, C. (2002, July). Global Arches: A Cultural Look at McDonald’s. Retrieved January 15, 2012, from murphylibrary.uwlax.edu: http://murphylibrary.uwlax.edu/digital/jur/2002/schnaubelt.pdf

(Nasr, 2011) 

Tip 9: If you want to be successful Globally be prepared to innovate within your standard way of doing things.

Many companies would like to be a globalised but to do this they would have to consider what the differences in customers are and what will attract them in these different countires. A focussed use of innovating will have to be used here for them to tap into these new markets and adapt to these different cultures.

"Globalisation is when a company grows to point that they trade in most parts of the world"
(Debab, 2011, p8-10).

To be trading all round the world shows a great sense of success and you can see how it would appeal to companies that already have power in the market they are in. Well known globalised companies such as Coca Cola, Tescos and McDonald's adapt in different cultures through innovation to gain sales.

One successful company Wal-Mart has shown how globalisation can work being top of the 500 most Global list. "Wal-Mart Stores maintains its perch atop the corporate ladder, taking the top spot on this year's Fortune's 500 and Global 500 lists, both for the second year in a row. " (DuBois) Walmart has stores all over the world in China, Canada , India, Japan, Brazil,UK and many more and these are a good example of how all stores do not look the same and do not even have the same names.

ASDA which is a very well known store for affordable weekly shops in the UK is under Walmart mangement. "In June 1999, Asda was acquired by Walmart and has grown into Britain’s second largest supermarket". They have gained success after been taken over by Walmart as they have had the money to change the market to attract more customers. This shows how a company can adapt their brands to suit the market in different countries through advertising, name, colour, font, and the lifestyle choice they choose.

In the Uk

In Japan

Another thing to consider when a company is Global is if a country is of similar wealth or culture could learn from the products they have used and become successful and try it out in a different country. This could be done for a short period of time to see if it attracts attention and if is it does could become something that is sold all the time. For example Asda could sell products that have been best sellers in America's Wallmart stores to see if they would be successful here.

There are some negatives for a company to aim to be globalised as it quite expensive to change aspects of companies to achieve success in different parts of the world. Trying to chase the market could lead to bankrupcy.  A company would need to do a lot of background research on a country they were considering selling to so that they understood customer needs and knew how to attract their potentional customers.




 References


Debab, N 2011, ‘Globalization and Privatization: Two Faces One Coin’, International Research Journal Of Finance & Economics, 74, pp. 7-29, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 13 December 2011.

DuBois, S. (n.d.). CCN Money - Global 500. Retrieved 1 12, 2012, from Fortune Magazine: http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/global500/2011/snapshots/2255.html

Walmart. (n.d.). Retrieved 1 12, 2012, from Wamart Corporate: http://walmartstores.com/

Tip 8. Get a clear, short Supply chain - then use it

As there is a current reccession business' are working extra hard to look at every aspect of their business and see if they can improve it in a innovative way to gain competitive advantage. The suppy chain is how an organisation achieves a supply of products and facilities the company needs.

“The supply chain is the collection of activities that connect suppliers to end users, forming a chain of events. Value-added operations supply end customers, and this relationship is repeated with suppliers and their suppliers.” (Basem El Haik, 2005)

Companies will want to look at how they can cut costs and save time in their production lines. Using different technlogy and different ways to try save time.

The size of a supply chain varies from business to business, however each of these firms will strive to decrease the size of their supply chain making it as small and clear-cut as possible. In this way they are better able to manage their supply chain and keep down their costs and work with their suppliers to improve response times. They are also better able to form close relationships and work with their suppliers to innovate. Companies that have large supply chains can find it difficult to gain control over large numbers of suppliers missing out on cost savings and potential innovation.

Amazon.com is a successful company with a supply chain difficult for competitors to compete with. Using the facilities they have well and keep there customers happy.

 “As Amazon offers same-day, second-day and other fulfillment options, it competes with bricks-and-mortar companies more and more," says Serguei Netessine, professor of operations and information management at Wharton. (Knowledge@Wharton, 2009)

"Using drop shipping, Amazon also has real-time links to manufacturers, which ship goods directly to consumers on the internet-company's behalf.  "Amazon keeps the most popular products in inventory, but uses a mix of techniques to deliver goods," Netessine notes. This gives Amazon an advantage that its rivals find hard to replicate." (Knowledge@Wharton, 2009)

References

(2005). In D. M. Basem El Haik, Service design for six sigma: a roadmap of excellence (pp. 380-381). Wiley Publishers.

Knowledge@Wharton. (2009, 11 11). Fit for the Holidays: Amazon Is Shaping Up and Shipping Out. Retrieved 1 12, 2012, from Mananging Technology: http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=2382

Tip 7: Consider Synergy

Synergy can be useful in innovating as it could be that innovative step to work with another company that could gain competitive advantage. If a company was looking into the development of a product having other companies contribute to ideas and costs could benefit them and produce a better product that if they had done development work just themselves.

“Obtaining synergy may well imply the sharing of knowledge and other resources between divisions or business units, possibly attempting to disseminate best practice.” (John Thompson, 2010)

There are advantages to synergy but there can also be negatives to. A key advantage when synergy takes place could be the exchanging of information between the two companies which enables them get a new product to their customers faster. This could be because of shared knowledge about the process of making a new product as well as about the potentil product itself. 

How achieving synergy can be very time consuming. Spending time learning about the processes of two companies not only one. I feel working to achieve synergy is probably worthwhile if both companies can see an advantage. Another problem with syngery is that  working together may not actually work and not come out with a good product. Both companies then loose money and don't get any new customers.

Negative Synergy is often described as dysynergy or the “2+2=3” effect as the combination of two companies are not suited and do not come out with a successful outcome. 

 “when synergy is not an important consideration and hence synergy advantages of expansion over diversification are not important” (Ansoff, 2011)

Synergy is used in business all the time and companies will combine to try to get more customers. Sainsburys and Shell have now got a joint fuel and convenience store operation. This Operation has shown sucess in 100 Shell locations that are now operating with Sainsburys local stores.

"Sir Peter Davis, Chief Executive of Sainsbury's, said: "The Sainsbury's Local format is a great success -- measured by sales per square foot, 11 of the top 20 performing stores in the company are Locals, and three of these are located on Shell forecourts."  (Whitehead, 2003)


The comment above  is a very positive one about the synergy of  Shell and Sainsbury's operation. IT is a good example of how two companies can work together successfully.

References

Ansoff. (2011). In S. Karenfort, Synergy in Mergers & Acquisitions: The Role of Business Relatedness (pp. 15-24). Books on Demand.

John Thompson, F. M. (2010). In F. M. John Thompson, Strategic Management 6th edition (pp. 74-76). Thomas Rennie.

Whitehead, J. (2003, 6 2). Sainsburys's and Shell expand forecourt joint venture. Retrieved 1 11, 2012, from Brand Republic : http://www.brandrepublic.com/news/181627/

Innovative organisational culture - finding gaps

The McKinsey 7S model provides a checklist of 7 areas that need to be in place to ensure a culture exists for example an innovative culture.  From this checklist a company can  decide what needs to improved from these different parts. For example Skills of some of the staff may be weaker than needed so this means that they would need some extra training to deliver tasks.

 I believe this is an innovative way of indentifying what needs to be developed in the company. Although it doesn't tell you information that the company wouldn't know, just shows it in a different way which might help with ideas. They would need to look into Knowledge Managment to get the information.

An exam board, the Council for Awards in Childcare and Education used the 7S model to identify gaps in its culture. It wanted to become Market Oriented and used the 7S model to document its strengths and weaknesses and develop a plan of change.

Case study : (CACHE, 2010)

Tip 6 Get your corporate culture right

The culture in an organisation is made up of things such as environment, atmosphere, processes, rewards, hierarchy and behaviours.


"The culture of an organisation refers to the unique configuration of norms, values, beliefs and way of behaving that characterises the manner in which groups and individuals collaborate to get things done." (Eldridge and Crombie, 1974)


The culture of an organisation needs to support innovation for this to be successful. Culture is a very difficult thing to change and needs time to establish. If there isn't a positive innnovation culture then employees will not engage in innovation activities and will be less willing to get involved and take risks.


Values and norms underpin culture and for an innovative culture there need to be values around teamwork, the importance of new ideas and delivery of new products and services to customers. The values and norms influence how an organisation is oriented and its focus.


Johnson and Scholes develop the Culture Web to provide a model of capturing elements of culture. They used the culture web to capture elements of existing culture and future and to develop plans to help change from one to another. For example, for the NHS and in banks. It would be possible to use the web to map an innovative culture and develop a plan to close any gaps.

(Schloes, 1997)
  
I believe that a company should develop a culture that encourages the sharing of knowledge and to collaborate and promote team work. A possible way of doing this could be through Knowledge Management. Sharing knowledge is vital so that an organisation can function and gain expertise. Knowledge Managment can increase change and help improve and develop products and add value.

 "Knowledge management is a conscious strategy for moving the right knowledge to the right people at the right time to assist sharing and enabling the information to be translated into action to improve the organisational performance." (O'Dell & Grayson 1997)

A benifit of knowledge management is that it can be resused and recyced in the future and be used in different contexts if it is stored in a database by the company.  The most common approuch to knowledge management is codification strategy which is used for explicit information, codified and then recorded for future use and ease to access.

Although there can be challeneges as the data will need to be in a format that people can understand. e.g  people will need to learn how to use the database. Another could be that information may be overloaded and not simple as it can be in many different forms internet,e-mail and hard to track. Knowledge management is key to innovation as the people in the company are what make innovation work. The people need to knowledge to do this  

A culture i looked at from a  business case is Schneider Electrics. They are an automated electrics company that operates around the world. They are proud to have a different culture and try to stay competitive. There Reseach and development percentage is 5% which is high for an automation company like themselves. They

are a focused, well-managed, growth-orientated, global corporation,diverse company and encourage company focus to gain results.

"Every 3 years the company organizes around a growth and productivity initiative that drives the behavior and objectives of all groups and divisions for the following 3 years. We are just starting the 4th such program that I am aware of. This one is a 4 year program as opposed to the previous 3 year programs. As this is the 4th generation of this type of program the company is becoming more efficient and more organized around developing and implementing goals and objectives. It is well organized and it strongly drives focused behavior and results." (Schenider Electric)

 

References

Schloes, J. and Scholes K. (1997). Exploring Corporate Strategy. Prentice Hall Europe.

(n.d.). Retrieved January 20, 2012, from Schenider Electric: http://www.schneider-electric.com/site/home/index.cfm/uk/

Tip 5: Ensure your leaders are innovation focused

Think of innovation and Richard Branson is one of the first names that comes to mind. To me he is a real example of someone who has led his organisation through innovation after innovation. Examples include Virgin Airlines, where they provided a different customer experience from any other, Virgin Money, where it's all about online investing and Virgin Trains, where he brought an airline type experience to day to day travel. By leading from the front Richard Branson has driven a culture of innovation across his companies.

Richard Branson, chairman of Virgin Group, talks about innovative ideas "Very often, innovative ideas are not received well by their own generation and must wait for the next generation to be fully accepted". 

 There is nodoubt that a leader's attitude towards innovation will provide a big influence on how an organisation works, what processes it uses and how it approaches innovation to gain competitive advantage. Leaders can drive innovation through setting goals, rewarding ideas, asking for suggestions, investing in training and even rewarding learning from failure.

There is evidence though that different types of leadership are needed to support innovation in different types of organisations.What is appropriate in a school might not be appropriate in a large multinational organisation such as Apple. Also, different types of leadership style might also be needed at different stages of the innovation process.

".... in the early stages of innovation a more directive, authoritive leadership style characterised the early stages of innovation and this was appreciated by all participants as it inspired them with confidence in the leader." 

(Morrison, 2002)

(Swanson)

Is Innovation all to do with creativity? I believe that creativity is key in a company and a leader needs to encourage this and welcome this. I agree with Kelly Swonson that creativity has a big impact of how people innovate but I think there is another factors to consider. Although I do think regular patterns of reinforcing creativity in a company will help the idea process and a positive corporate culture. Swanson said that innovation is the "art of creating", to me innovation can be a range of things, not just creating, it also has to be about focus on gaining competitive advantage and understanding what is going to make customers buy anything new. Creativity for creativity's sake will not lead to innovation. 

References

Morrison, K. (2002). In School Leadership and Compexity Theory (p. 81). Routled Farmer.

Richard Branson, chairman of Virgin Group, talks about innovative ideas: “](n.d.). Retrieved 1 3, 2012, from VitoDiBari.com: http://www.vitodibari.com/en/richard-branson-chairman-virgin-group-talks-innovative-ideas-innovative-ideas-received-generation-wait-generation-fully-accepted.html

Swanson, K. (Director). Creativity is the Path to Innovation (http://www.kellyswanson.net) [Motion Picture].