Q 1: Innovate Or Not to Innovate? Discuss This Concept and Elaborate on the First Mover

Chapter 3

Q 1: Innovate or not to innovate? Discuss this concept and elaborate on the first mover issue (25 points)

= Q 1: The first concern for internal innovation planning is considering the basic question of whether the firm should innovate or not.

a- What factors favor innovation as a strategic activity? What are the possible obstacles to pursuing such a strategy?

b- Elaborate on the characteristics of being a first mover and explain its benefits and risks.

Factors for and against pursuing an innovation strategy:

Factors That Favor, Innovation: -

1. Greater control of the process and the outcomes
2. Greater understanding of the technology produced and how to apply it
3. Greater ability to potentially develop the next generation of technology
4. Greater profit potential as a first mover

• A first mover: is a firm that is first to market in some manner

• Being first often leads to competitive advantages, such as customer loyalty and brand recognition. These advantages can be difficult for competitors to match or overcome

• It was this factor that helped establish IBM's competitive advantage in computer mainframes for many years.

• Example of successful leader strategies: leader: amazon.de & follower: bookpool.com

• Example of successful follower strategies: leader: Yahoo & follower: Google

• In some settings, it can be more beneficial to be a follower in an industry. The first mover can spend many resources educating the market about the product. Additionally, the follower can learn from the mistakes of the first mover

• Typically, if not a first mover, then a fast follower, will perform best in an industry

Obstacles to pursuing this strategy (or Factors That Discourage Innovation): -

1. Time required for an internal development strategy is greater. If a new product is purchased, it is almost immediately available to the firm. However, if it is developed internally, it may take years to develop the new product.
2. There is a greater risk of failure to develop the right product at the right time.
3. Keeping a pipeline of new products is difficult at best. There is always the danger that another firm will enter the market first.

Therefore, there can be strong negative implications to pursuing an innovation strategy. Managers must clearly understand both the benefits and drawbacks to internal innovation as they move forward. This understanding requires not only technological understanding but also an understanding of the market and the customer.

Q 2: Explain briefly the following concepts: Restructuring, Reengineering, Process innovation, Applied research, RFID, First mover?

Restructuring: A major reorganization of a firm, caused by events such as: Information is not reaching the proper people to make timely decisions; this leads to slow decision making, Opportunities and threats are missed by the organization. And a disruption that has occurred in the firm's environment that has caused the firm extreme stress. The common activities of restructuring are reengineering and downsizing.

Reengineering: Reengineering requires fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of work processes. Often firms are using processes in the firm that were developed many years before and are no longer relevant. Reengineering requires the firm to think about each step in their work processes and why does the firm do things the way it does.

Process innovation; The purpose of process innovation is to increase the efficiencies or the effectiveness of an organization. Process innovations help to improve the output-to-input ratio of the firm. The most common actions that address process innovation are restructuring and reengineering. Restructuring is a major reorganization of a firm and it is commonly caused by events such as information is not reaching the proper people to make timely decisions; opportunities and threats are missed by the organization and a disruption has occurred in the firm's environment that has caused the firm extreme stress. Reengineering requires fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of work processes.

RFID; is a technology used mostly in the retail sector. It requires a small tag to be placed on each item at the manufacturer, allowing the product to be actively tracked from the time it leaves the manufacturer until it leaves the store.

Applied research: تعريفة موجود بحل السؤال الرابع

First mover: تعريفة موجود بحل السؤال الأول

السؤال التالي مو وايد متكرر بالامتحانات السابقة: -

Q 3: In order to help identify and better understand technology innovation, identify three recent innovations. Explain how the innovations used knowledge to apply tools, materials, processes, and techniques to come up with new solutions to problems.(25 marks)

• In 1975 Saturday Night Live did a parody on razor blades. The commercial came out shortly after the first two-bladed razor was introduced. In the parody, a new Triple Trac Razor – a razor with three blades because the consumer is gullible enough to believe what he sees on TV commercials – was introduced. In reality, the first three-blade razor was introduced in the 1990s. Currently, razors are selling with as many as five blades. Take a look at the industry and try to assess how much of the improvement is true innovation.

• Radio frequency identification (RFID) technology has led to numerous new products (E-ZPass highway toll collection system, ExxonMobil’s speedpass). Take a look at the technology and see if you can come up with additional potential uses for the technology. Be sure that you go beyond looking for additional uses for the products already developed.

Q 4: What are the different types of product innovations? And Which Type of Innovation Efforts Should a Firm Focus Upon? (25 points)

For most organizations, product innovations are the center of their research and development (R&D) efforts.

The types of innovation efforts found in the R&D process include: -

1. Basic Research: Pure Research and Development: Basic research involves the creation of new knowledge. Basic research is fundamentally risky, but it has the potential to provide great rewards such as leading to new products.
   Academic institutions and government agencies, typically focus on basic research because value creation for these entities is not determined by monetary profit.
   To illustrate, consider the investigation of laser physics. This area was developed from work by Albert Einstein
2. Applied Research: New Product Development: Applied research utilizes the new knowledge developed by the basic research to create new products. The purpose of applied research is to add value to the firm and its customers in the marketplace. The risks of applying the innovations from this type of research are less than those in basic research. Basic research established the foundation with principles of laser physics, but the applications that have emerged from that technology are numerous and familiar to many—laser printers, compact discs, laser lightshow, and solar energy.
3. Systems Integration: Product Improvement: Systems integration is aimed at supporting improvements in established products or opening new markets with an existing product. This type of integration has low risks and rewards associated with it. This third type of R&D is the most incremental in nature. This process has led for example to better laser printers and more spectacular light shows. Many firms call this type of innovation tweaking because it involves adjusting existing knowledge to increase the firm’s leverage.

Which Type of Innovation Efforts Should a Firm Focus Upon?

Which of the three types of research is best for an organization to pursue?

The firm should match the type of research it wishes to pursue to its needs and capabilities. One of the key elements in making such a determination is what the firm's competitors are doing. This analysis of strategic position, what is occurring in the industry now and what will occur in the industry in the future, is aided by closely monitoring the competition.

One means to quickly identify the position of the firm and its competitors is a strategic group map. A firm does not compete against everyone in its industry. Instead, it competes against some firms more directly than it does against others.

Q 5: What’s the purpose of process innovation and does it help the organization?

The purpose of process innovation is to increase the efficiencies and effectiveness of an organization. Changes in processes require the organization and individuals to adapt to the innovations and this can lead to opposition in the organization. However if applied properly process innovation can offer the organization and its personnel opportunities to improve the value of the organization and to continue the organization’s viability. It also improves the ratio of output-to –input.

Q 6: Explain the two main activities that address process innovations?

Innovation is the process of turning opportunity into new ideas and putting these into widely used practice. The most common actions that address process innovation are: -

1) Restructuring

• A major reorganization of a firm is often referred to as restructuring

• A major reevaluation is commonly caused by events such as:

1. Information is not reaching the proper people to make timely decisions; this leads to slow decision making.
2. Opportunities and threats are missed by the organization.
3. A disruption has occurred in the firm's environment that has caused the firm extreme stress

• The most common restructuring activity in today's organizations is downsizing and reengineering. Downsizing is a type of restructuring that occurs when a firm either sells some of its units or lays off employees

• Many firms that downsize have experienced negative results. Survivors of the downsizing often feel overworked and are uncertain if they might be laid off next. As a result, the expected Financial benefits of the restructuring are often not met.

• The planning for and the goals of downsizing should be extensive and clear.

2) Reengineering; Reengineering requires fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of work processes.

• Often firms are using processes in the firm that were developed many years before and are no longer relevant.

• Reengineering requires the firm to think about each step in their work processes and why does the firm do things the way it does.

• Bennis and Mische state that reengineering has five specific goals:

1. increasing productivity
2. optimizing value to shareholders
3. achieving quantum results
4. consolidating functions
5. eliminating unnecessary levels and work

• In pursuing reengineering firms gather a diverse group of individuals from the firm.

• They focus on what their customers obtain from them and why the customers want it. The organization then works backward from that initial point and examines each activity that is part of the production of the good or service.

• The firm should try to eliminate any activity that no longer provides value to the customers' desired outcome.

Chapter 4:هالجابتر رح يجي منه سؤال الكيس ستدي وشارحته بأخر صفحة

هالجابتر كله يتكلم عن 4 مواضيع مهمة بتنفيذ الاستراتيجية, وكل موضوع يتدرج تحته عدة نقاط. انا رح احط الجابتر كله بالترتيب وأي شي اجا عليه سؤال بالامتحانات السابقة رح اكتب السؤال قبلة, والسؤال التالي طالب تعاريف المواضيع الأربعة بس لحالهم.

Q 1: In its innovation strategy, a firm needs to address four critical issues necessary for implementing this strategy.

a- Name these elements (8 marks)

b- Briefly explain each element (17 marks)

a- The four elements of implementation in innovation are:

(1) Leadership (2) Engagement (3) Extension (4) Alignment

b- Leadership: There is typically a team of key leaders who guide the firm and play a pivotal role in its success. The leaders of successful innovative companies ensure that there is a culture of collaboration, and cross-functional initiatives. Two areas are of particular concern in seeking to ensure there is such collaboration. These are the skill mix of the leadership team and the actions typically taken by the leaders.

Engagement: The central question in engagement is how to get the various entities in an organization moving in the same direction. Culture is the pivotal element in determining the level of engagement within the organization. The leaders of an organization should create an internal environment that allows individuals to believe they are part of a system that will allow innovation; that is, they are actively engaged in the firm.

Extension: it is concerned with firms having sufficient knowledge of product and market competencies so new ideas lead to action through a filter of experience. Extension requires an organizational memory so that lessons learned in the past can be used in the future. There are three key actions that can help generate extensions: Knowledge sharing within the organization, Monitoring competencies and Looking for new opportunities.

Alignment: represents a fit among the systems within the firm as they support the firm's strategy and a fit with the firm's external environment. there are two key activities that are necessary for alignment: Tie Rewards and Incentives to the Achievement of Goals, and Organizational Structure

هاي بداية الجابتر, بكتب المواضيع الأربعة بالترتيب واي سؤال سابق فيهم رح اضيفه, الحبن اول موضوع: -

The organization needs to address four critical issues necessary for implementing an innovation strategy which are:

1) Leadership: there is typically a team of key leaders who guide the firm and play a pivotal role in its success. The leaders of successful innovative companies ensure that there is a culture of collaboration, and cross-functional initiatives. Two areas are of particular concern in seeking to ensure there is such collaboration. These are the skill mix of the leadership team and the actions typically taken by the leaders.

1. Skill Mix: innovation is accomplished most often by a team of individuals with different skills. To illustrate, Microsoft is now one of the world's leading companies. However, the founding team that created Microsoft involved more than just Bill Gates; it also involved many other individuals including Paul Alien. Bill Gates is typically most associated with the external marketing efforts of the firm, and Alien was, the internal technologist. It took both of them, and many others, for the firm to be successful. The leader of a firm must build an innovation network with four steps:

Connect and link individuals: the leader must find groups of people who have different skills and approaches, link them together, and define the general goals for the group

Set boundaries and engage: As the group is formed, the leader's skill set should include the setting of targets of success, a timeframe, and engage the members in the task quickly

Support and govern: The leader's skill set must include the allocation of resources so that success is possible. Actions here include defining administrative support, and key information inputs

Manage and track: Establishing performance criteria for individual and group successes is a key leader role

النقطة الثانية من ال Leadership الي اهيا Leadership Actions كان جاي عليها السؤال التالي: -

Q 2: There is typically a team of key leaders who guide the firm and play a pivotal role in its success. What are the three leadership actions that successful innovation leaders pursue? (25 marks)

1. Leadership Actions: there are three leadership actions that successful innovation leaders pursue: -

First, Create a Supportive Environment: leaders must clearly indicate the firm's direction; leaders then support efforts that move the firm in that direction

If support systems are to work there must be coordination and integration between the leader and the various units and actions of the organization. So firms need to:

1. Avoid paralysis of analysis

2. Delegate effectively

Too often, technology firms can be paralyzed by analysis

There is a tendency by managers to generate an ever-increasing amount of analysis to justify their actions. Managers need to make judgments when it comes to technology. Typically, perfect information or clear answers are not available. Instead, the manager should obtain a reasonable amount of information and make a decision.

When launching a new product Microsoft wants that product to be free of errors. However, the firm cannot assure buyers that there are absolutely no problems. At some stage, the firm has to put the product on the market or else consumers will replace Microsoft's product with a competitor. Thus, Microsoft ultimately must act and address any problems in a new product release through the use of online updates for those who have purchased the product.

The leader also needs to delegate effectively: managers cannot micromanage each and every project in the organization. The organization is not getting the leadership it needs from the manager, the manager is not developing leadership skills, and the employees are not getting the growth opportunities they need. Instead, the leader needs to empower subordinates to act. However, when delegating that authority, the leader needs to indicate clear support, which includes the indication that the organization will accept failure.

The leader should monitor the process, but trust employees. This will allow employees to learn from their experiences

Second, Create Mechanisms for Innovation: two special programs may be restructuring and reengineering. A better understanding of who does what for the organization should emerge from restructuring and reengineering efforts. For many organizations, it is difficult to establish the type of knowledge-exchange atmosphere that encourages the questioning and openness needed to promote innovation, since politics and power have significant influence on the process of idea exchange. However, policies can be established to help encourage such interactions. It is the leaders of the organization who determine whether these policies are more than words on paper.

Third, Allocate Ample Resources to Critical Activities: there must be adequate money, people, and other resources to allow the trial and error if the innovation strategy is to be successful. The leadership must realize that experimentation, risk taking, and difference of perceptions should not be viewed as frightening but rather as opportunities.

الموضوع الثاني الي اهوا Engagement كان جاي عليه سؤال كمان مع النقاط الي مدرجة تحته: -

Q 3: What are the problems facing engagement? And how we can overcome such problems? (25 marks)