Responses-Innovation

Responses-Innovation

Responding to Antonette Desiervo

Hi Antoinette,

I agree with you that innovation helps resolve existing problems in the market. I am glad to learn that Proctor & Gamble (P&G) has included innovation in its strategy to address existing market problems. From the company, I now understand the four steps of innovation: identify an unattended market problem, create a solution through partnerships, develop, test, and refine the crafted solution, and finally, create the product that solves the problem as an innovation. I have learned that investing too much in innovation pays off, taking into account the significant amounts of funds set aside by P&G for innovation. However, I would like to know if there is a way that companies can engage in innovation without spending too much, as this could help small businesses with weak capital bases. In conclusion, I agree that innovating within existing systems is a more accessible and better way for organizations to undertake innovation.

Reference

Lee, S. M. (2018). Innovation: from small “i” to large “I.” International Journal of Quality Innovation, 4(1), 1-10.

Responding to Charles Baldwin

Hello Charles,

I am glad to be responding to your post on innovation. I agree with your assertion that innovation is better undertaken when it is incorporated into the existing processes within an organization. I also note that Target, the company you analyzed, focused its innovation on its business process and invested $5 billion to enhance its operations in 2022. However, is this innovation expensive, and what will happen to small and upcoming ventures with minimal financial capabilities? Also, what can be done to ensure big organizations cannot engage in innovation activities alone?

Moreover, I agree with you that ethics and morals can help shape innovation in a way that everyone accepts. Notably, this is so because ethics as moral ethics ensures that businesses do the right things (Lemoine et al., 2019). Thus, by ensuring innovation occurs in the direction of doing the right thing, most businesses will achieve the goal of zero emissions to the natural environment.                                                                                   

Reference

Lemoine, G. J., Hartnell, C. A., & Leroy, H. (2019). Taking stock of moral approaches to leadership: An integrative review of ethical, authentic, and servant leadership. Academy of Management Annals, 13(1), 148-187.

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Antonette Desiervo
Question No. 1
Proctor & Gamble’s innovation strategy is based on finding solutions to problems. The first step in this regard is to find the big problem in the market that is still not being met. Then, P&G looks for businesses as well as technology partners to help solve them in a structured manner. In the next phase, company resources and expertise are utilized in the right direction to develop, test, and refine the brands so that they achieve long-term success in a meaningful way. New brand scales are developed in the final phase, and their growth is focused on achieving their full potential. That is how P&G has achieved a long-term competitive advantage against its competitors by focusing on innovation in a structured manner.
Question No. 2
P&G’s growth is strategically based on its innovation model. That is the reason the company invests $2 billion annually in research and development, which is almost double that of its closest competitors. In addition, it puts $400 million each year into foundational consumer research to explore innovation opportunities (Brown et al., 2011, p5). Therefore, the company is following an incremental innovation approach to improve its existing products. A product portfolio mindset is promoted in the company to fulfill the internal and external stakeholder’s needs in a meaningful way. Portfolio optimization tools are used in this regard to add value and assess the relevant risk in the innovation process.
Question No. 3
Innovation is the only sustainable way to help corporate entities grow smoothly while conducting operations effectively. So I can add value to the existing innovation mechanism of the company by creating better value. It is considered easier than creating new value because it revolves around improving something that the company already has in its operational structure. This involves introducing a digital solution for getting customer feedback about products, specifically focusing on disruptive technology data analytics, which will help to improve the efficiency of the manufacturing process and product quality.
References
Brown, B., & Anthony, S. D. (2011). How P&G tripled its innovation success rate. Harvard Business Review, 89(6), 64-72. https://hbr.org/2011/06/how-pg-tripled-its-innovation-success-rate

Charles Baldwin
Target has been a leader in retail innovation for years and continues to set the standard for big box retailers. These innovations have been done incrementally, and many of the organization’s most recent innovations have been process-related and geared toward improving the communities they serve. Target announced its plan to invest up to $5 billion to continue scaling its operations in 2022. Target has invested in its physical stores, digital experiences, fulfillment capabilities, and supply chain capacity to differentiate its retail offering further and drive continued growth. Within 2022, Target has opened close to 30 stores, reaching more guests in new neighborhoods. The stores range in size from mid-size locations in dense suburban areas to small-format stores in larger cities. This flexibility has enabled Target to open stores of any size to meet community needs. Target’s ongoing technology investments fuel growing digital capabilities like Roundel, which optimizes advertising placements on Target.com to deliver a more relevant, personalized guest experience and create value for partners. Roundel drove more than $1 billion in value in 2021 and is expected to grow to over $2 billion in the next few years. In addition to technological advances, Target is building on the many ways it innovates through its stores and facilities to support the company’s sustainability strategy, Target Forward. The retailer has committed to achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions enterprise-wide by 2040, and since 2017, Target has already reduced its direct operations’ emissions by nearly 27%. One of the ways it intends to reach its net zero goal is through sourcing 100% of its electricity from renewable sources for its operations by 2030.

We greatly encounter moral and ethical issues in our day-to-day lives. Perhaps these two define the personality, attitudes, and behavior of a person. Ethics and morals relate to “right” and “wrong” conduct. While they are sometimes used interchangeably, they are different. Ethics is a branch of philosophy that deals with the principles of conduct of an individual or group. It works as a guiding principle to decide what is good or bad. They are the standards that govern the life of a person. Ethics is also known as moral philosophy. Some ethical principles are truthfulness, honesty, loyalty, respect, fairness, and integrity. Morals are the social, cultural, and religious beliefs or values of an individual or group that tell us what is right or wrong. They are the rules and standards made by the society or culture that are to be followed by us while deciding what is right. Some moral principles are not cheating, being loyal, being patient, always telling the truth, and being generous. In short, morals refer to an individual’s principles regarding right and wrong; at the same time, ethics are external standards that are provided by institutions, groups, or cultures to which an individual belongs.