Technology plays a critical role in disruptive innovation since more advanced products frequently create opportunities for the organization to succeed in the market. It is the standard business cycle where more established companies try to pursue sustaining innovations, allowing the rivals to disrupt the market by introducing new technologies ( Disruptive innovation, n.d., para. 2; Harvard Business Review, 2019). One of the notable examples is the establishment of FedEx, which proposed a more practical and functional way to deliver products and defined the concept of express mail (Mitzkus, 2022, para. 24). The company introduced this idea with the help of innovative technologies and creative thinking, showing the importance of these factors in disruptive innovation.
Nevertheless, there are multiple risks concerning disruptive innovation that might be costly for the organization. For instance, ethical issues, the possibility of financial loss, and the reluctance of employees to try innovative approaches are some of the common threats. Moreover, by definition, disruptive innovations do not satisfy the organizations current customers, aiming for a different niche in the market ( Disruptive innovation, n.d.). The company must carefully evaluate its rivals actions by assessing their strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities and estimate its comparative advantage to decide whether pursuing disruption is profitable in the short and long term (Amadeo, 2022). In summary, the greatest risk is that if the company commits to disruptive innovation, its customers might prefer the products of the organizations rivals that provide sustaining innovations.
Lastly, the government might try to restrict disruptive innovations due to their potential threats to peoples security and privacy. The most practical way to limit the effects of new technologies is by implementing regulatory policies that specifically address the problematic issues. One of the notable examples is the ban on Amazons cashless stores in Philadelphia in the United States at a legislative level (Muldoon, 2019). The state government was concerned with the inability of customers to pay with cash and blocked the stores because of its perceived inconvenience and forced cashless payments (Muldoon, 2019). As a result, the government has the capacity to restrict innovative technologies in case they present risks to certain population groups or disrupt the market significantly.
My topic is to evaluate the role of science and innovation in society. In turn, it is important to see how societies are different in their opinions of science and technological innovation and evaluate the impact of these differences. Firstly, it is critical to study the importance of science and innovation because the fields high influence the life of people by making it more convenient such as the usage of elevators (Nicoll and Zimring 111). In turn, it can reduce deaths from illnesses by inventing new medicines (Cook 102). Additionally, the negative impact is present, as the innovation pays great attention to the development of the weapons and other military aspects. In the end, the role of innovation and science cannot be ignored and underestimated, as it has a strong influence on the way of life of many individuals and makes it easier or more difficult in some cases.
In turn, it is also essential to study different views, as they can help see various opinions and ideas about innovation and science in the modern world. Nowadays, some people tend to think that innovation has to devote itself to the development of green policies (Chen 531). In turn, other members of society consider that innovation has a bad influence on our health and physical activities (Nicoll and Zimring 111). Lastly, some people pay attention only to the positive aspects of innovation and science. In the end, the different views help see the problem from dissimilar points and discover all sides of science and innovations. Furthermore, it also helps find a compromise and solution about the usage of the innovations and discoveries in the world.
Works Cited
Chen, Yu-Chan. The Driver of Green Innovation and Green Image: Green Core Competence. Journal of Business Ethics 81.3 (2008): 531-543. JSTOR. Web.
Cook, Harold. The History of Medicine and the Scientific Revolution. Isis 102.1 (2011): 102-108. JSTOR. Web.
Nicoll, Gayle, and Craig Zimring. Effect of Innovative Building Design on Physical Activity. Journal of Public Health Policy 30.1 (2009): 111-123. JSTOR. Web.
It is just a few people who can comfortably discuss the topic Diffusion of innovation . Not many have even ever heard of it. Yet to those who have had the chance to know a little about it, it is a topic that left them yearning to have some more of the information. This has been the case for everyone who reads the work of the great author of Diffusion of Innovation who still, theorized the whole idea.
Everett M. Rogers lives everyone who reads his work wondering how genius he could be to have seen such reality. According to Robinson, Diffusion of Innovation seeks to make clear how innovations are spread in a society (Robinson, 2009, p.1).
It also shows how other techniques and social organization principles are likely to spread along the same route (Rodgers 1995, p.5). Innovation, on the other hand, refers to ideas, ways or methods of doing things or a product that are considered new in a society.
Diffusion of innovation offers insights on the factors which could make innovations spread faster, importance of understanding the needs of the various user segments and also peer-peer conversations and peer networks (Robinson, 2009, p.1).
Depending on the degree of perception, relative advantage, simplicity and ease of use, observable results, trial ability and compatibility with existing values and practices and observable results, all these qualities contribute immensely to the success of spread of any innovation (Robinson, 2009, p.1-2).
The relative advantage is measured on the basis of tastes and preferences of the users while the compatibility with the existing values and practices is measured against past experiences and the values held by the users. On the other hand, simplicity and ease of use depends on the degree to which an innovation is perceived difficult to use.
Observable results refer to the efficiency of the innovation. Trial abilty refers to the ability of innovation to be tested (Robinson, 2009, p.1-2). However, Robinson argues that continuous improvement through reinventions is the key to spreading an innovation (Robinson, 2009, p.3).
Everett argues that peer-peer conversations help in spreading innovations even more than advertisements and other similar interventions that are used in marketing. He argues that conversations alone can spread adoption since they help in risk management and also take care of any uncertainties.
The graph above depicts a clear picture of how peer-peer communication becomes more influential in spreading an innovation and how mass communication becomes less influential over time.
To emphasize the need to understand the adopters, Rodgers categorized the adopters into five groups: innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority and laggards. He attached values or personalities to each group. These values were in consistence with his findings. The following graph is important in helping to clearly understand the concept different user segments. Rodgers viewed the innovators as learned personalities who were ready to take risks.
A summary of diffusion of innovation.
The society views them as the well connected (Rodgers, 1995, p.357). They spend a great deal of their time, energy and creativity on new ideas and gadgets (Robinson, 2009, p.5). They love talking about their new ideas and through this the diffusion of innovation begins.
The other group is the early adapters which entails local leaders, people of high social status or in general people of high prestige (Rodgers, 1995, p.357 & 358). They might of the same class with the rest of society, but they have more money or influence (Rodgers, 1995).
They like being ahead of the rest do not fear risks and certainly have the money to invest. Others, who are afraid of the risks and the uncertainties, watch if they succeed or fail. The new innovation becomes a new discussion in the public domain and then it spreads even more (Robinson, 2009). Early adapters are, however, few in number.
According to Rodgers, the next group early majority is less learned and less likely to be leaders, but is, however, likely to follow opinion leaders. They many just as the name suggests. Redesigning the innovation to maximize ease and simplicity can really help in getting them buy the innovation.
The late majority and laggards are more conservative, often poorer, lower status individuals (Rodgers, 1995, p.359) who may require peer influence to give in to the adoption. Cheaper innovations and increased familiarity with the new gadgets might be the only way to get them adopt the innovation(Robinson, 2009, p.8).
References
Erevett Rodgers (1995). Diffusion of innovation. Web.
Diffusion of innovation describes how a new idea, behavior, or item (an innovation) is disseminated to a population in a given period of time through specific avenues of communication (Rogers, 2003). Innovations are not always adopted even when they have obvious and clear-cut advantages and Rogers (2003) identifies four factors of diffusion: time, the social system, the innovation, and the communication channels.
For something to qualify as an innovation it does not have to be temporally recent as what matters is that people perceive it as new. An innovation therefore is that which is perceived as new regardless of its actual age. A communication channel refers to the course a message takes to get from a source to the receiver and examples are interpersonal communication and mass media.
Time is a factor when it comes to the rate of adoption of an innovation and it forms an imperative element in understanding diffusion of innovations. The social system can be viewed as people who jointly seek a common goal.
The decision to take up an innovation usually involves five steps: knowledge, persuasion, decision, implementation, and confirmation. The knowledge stage is characterized by someone gaining initial information on what purpose the innovation serves and how it functions, albeit the information is sparse at this stage.
During the persuasion stage the person actively seeks information on the innovation and forms an independent opinion about the innovation. Rogers (2003) points out that persuasions are more affective than objective-they are based more on feelings than actual factual information. The decision stage marks the point at which someone decides whether or not to adopt an innovation for their own use.
In the implementation stage the person puts the innovation to actual practical use. Confirmation is the final stage and it involves the person making an evaluation of the decision to use the innovation. The stage is also marked by seeking of information that is of a bolstering nature in order to confirm their decision and keep using the innovation.
The success of an innovation is usually determined by five aspects: relative advantage, simplicity and ease of use, compatibility with existing values and practices, trialability and observability (Bennet and Bennet, 2003). Relative advantage is subjective to the users of an innovation and it is the perceived betterness of an innovation to its predecessor.
Simplicity and ease of use determine the rate of an innovations diffusion in the sense that innovations that are easy to understand and use are likely to have a faster rate of adoption. The extent to which an innovation is consistent with current needs and is significant to its users determines the innovations compatibility with existing values and practices.
An innovation that is highly relevant to the social system is likely to have a higher rate of diffusion. Trialabilty is the degree to which an innovation can be tested by the potential user before the user adopts it e.g. a car that can be taken for a test drive has more trialability than the car which cannot. Observability is basically how perceptible the results of an innovation are.
Each social system can be broken down to five categories: innovators, early adopter, late adopters, and laggards depending on how quickly each group chooses to adopt an innovation. Innovators are the quickest and laggards the slowest to adopt an innovation. The graph below is a representation of how the groups frequencies are broken down in a population.
Figure 1. Frequency distribution of a population according to rate of innovation adoption. This figure illustrates how the five categories of innovation adoption according to time are spread in a population.
References
Bennett, J., & Bennett, L. (2003). A Review of Factors that Influence the Diffusion of Innovation when Structuring a Faculty Training Program. Internet and Higher Education ,6, 53-63.
Rogers, E. M (2003). Diffusion of Innovations (5th ed.). New York: Free Press.
Technological innovation is the force that enables progress, moving society forward and ensuring the achievement of a wide variety of goals. Without research, development, and, ultimately, innovation, no society can function. Therefore, it is essential to ensure a constant flow of new technologies, develop existing areas, and create new ones. To implement this process, it is also necessary to collaborate the efforts of different parts of society both the private sector, consisting of personal businesses, and the public, represented in the form of state structures.
In the context of the study of the influence of the private and public sectors and technological innovations in them, the countries of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region are of particular interest. Most of these countries are traditionally highly dependent on oil exports, which account for 76 to 97 percent of their economies (Oukil, 2011). However, as practice shows, many states, including the UAE, are aware of developing other areas. States are striving to advance both the public and private sectors through various funding and business support programs. According to research, the UAE has been actively investing in the development of science, technology, and innovation in recent years, making these factors the main driving force of the economy (Hameed et al., 2016). However, research is needed to assess the success of such events and their impact on technological innovation.
Thus, this paper aims to explore technological innovation in the private and public sectors of the UAE. The study of the features of technological progress, the mutual influence of the two sectors, and a critical assessment and comparison of available methods and their results are the objectives of this paper. In addition, such research can highlight valuable strategies that can be applied in a broader context in other MENA countries or the development of entrepreneurship in general.
Literature Review
First of all, it is necessary to analyze the relevant literature on this topic, revealing the historical and current features of the interaction between the private and public sectors in the UAE. Traditionally, the private sector is usually much more developed due to competition (West & Lu, 2009). On the other hand, the public sector is a much more stable system.
However, more and more signs have recently been shown that collaborations and joint work of these two sectors can be effectively implemented in practice. A study by Salem and Jarrar (2010) investigates the shift from traditional to competitive government practices influenced by the New Public Management initiative. This paper examines digital technology, which is the key to modern technological innovation, as a link between the public and private sectors. As the analysis of the available securities shows, the transition to a more competitive regime of government work is rather difficult due to the increasing complexity of work and the decrease in trust (Salem & Jarrar, 2010). However, the spread of the Internet and widespread digitalization make it possible to address the constraints directly. For the two sectors to work together, thereby promoting and working on technological innovation, three levels of trust are needed: political, technological, and social (Salem & Jarrar, 2010). As the study shows, at the moment, a sufficient infrastructure has been created that allows the use of existing technological innovations for collaborations and joint work on new projects.
However, despite all the efforts, the UAE faces particular challenges. Despite the apparent shift of the state to an innovation-driven stage, there are areas in which the use of technology and collaboration between sectors is insufficient. First of all, as Ahmed and Alfakis (2013) study shows, there is a lack of investment in education. The R&D sector as a whole is underdeveloped, which is demonstrated by the available data and graphs, according to which the UAEs spending in this area is only 0.7% of GDP ( How much does your country invest in R&D, n.d.). It is recommended to pay more attention to collaborations with the private sector, bringing scientists and researchers together.
A significant drawback of previous studies is their date of creation. Given the pace of development of technological progress, a massive number of factors could have changed over 8-11 years, and assumptions about possible joint work may no longer be relevant. However, as a newer study from Almarri (2017) shows, public-private partnerships are still attractive. First of all, such interaction allows the transfer of skills and abilities of the private sector into the public sphere. Often, global innovation is driven by private companies that bring together the leading specialists and technologies. Despite the states leadership role, the goals of the private sector do not always correspond to the needs of the public sector (Rodrik, 2020). Therefore, such collaborations are necessary from the point of view of society. As Almarri (2017) writes, the number of public-private partnerships (PPPs) in the UAE is rapidly increasing, and prospects are being created to develop this direction in the future.
Finally, as practice shows, such methods and strategies implemented by the UAE government have positive results both for the private sector and society and the countrys state in the world as a whole. In 2018, the UAE ranked first among all Arab countries in the Global Innovation Index, showing significant success in the MENA region, and ranked 38th globally (Mohammed, 2019). This position reflects the technological changes that have taken place in all areas of the UAE. According to the study by Mohammed (2019), the main factors for the development of small and medium-sized enterprises were the positive attitude of the state towards innovation.
This concept was recognized as a critical factor, without which no technological, economic, or social development of the state is possible. The state actively participates in developing such enterprises, helping in the commercialization and advancement of their projects and their entry into the market (Mohammed, 2019). Such development has also become possible thanks to the competent use of available resources talented individuals and a positive attitude towards technology in general, especially among young people (Oukil, 2010). Thus, over ten years, the UAE government has adopted many essential changes towards the collaboration of the public and private sectors, leading to the further development of technological innovations in the country.
Critical Evaluation of Secondary Data
Assessing the development of the UAE in the field of technological innovation and collaborations between the private and public sectors can also be made by quantifying various parameters. Quantitative parameters, first of all, allow the most accurate and qualitative assessment of growth in a particular area. In this context, it is convenient to use various statistical analyzes and data compilations. For example, it was mentioned above that in 2018, the UAE ranked first among all Arab countries and 38th globally in the Global Innovation Index.
As statistics show, there has been a tendency toward an increase in the number of innovations in the UAE in recent years. At the same time, the country systematically takes more and more lines in the ranking every year. In 2019, the state moved up two positions in the world ranking, and in 2020 it took 34th place, finally entering the top 35 most innovative countries in the world ( The United Arab Emirates, n.d.). Compared to previous years, the values of Innovation Inputs (22) and Innovation Outputs (55) increased, signaling both an improvement in the environment for development in general and an increase in the number of final products. Moreover, the UAE has achieved tremendous success in the following three areas: creative outputs, human capital and research, and business sophistication, and has made significant progress in providing quality tertiary education ( The United Arab Emirates, n.d.). First of all, these data are consistent with those trends that were announced in the papers reviewed earlier and correlate with areas requiring attention.
The need for enhanced development of the R&D sector was noted by the state, which led to an increase in the number of collaborations and the development of technologies. According to the Global Innovation Index report, the quantity of graduates in the fields of engineering and science, information and communication technologies is glowing in the UAE ( The United Arab Emirates, n.d.). This trend has been noticeable not only in recent years but also over the past decade.
According to the available statistics, the number of workers in the scientific and technical sphere has increased dramatically. While in 2006, there were only 60,026 people in Dubai, by 2016, this number had risen to 95,974 people ( United Arab Emirates number of employees, n.d.). This growth, which is almost a 50% increase in the number of employees over ten years, may indicate the successful implementation of government programs, as well as the transition from servicing the oil industry to the development of other areas. This data also correlates with the Global Innovation Index, according to which among the most successful companies in the UAE, in addition to the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, there are also the communications company Etisalat and the Emirates airline ( The United Arab Emirates, n.d.). Furthermore, according to the Forbes list, Etisalat is the most profitable company in the UAE, which indicates the development of technology in this country ( Top 50 companies in UAE, n.d.). Therefore, the presence of such companies on the high lines of the rating indirectly speaks of the development and further development of PPP initiatives.
This conclusion can be confirmed by analyzing federal sites. The public-private partnership guidelines are listed on the official portal of the UAE government, providing all the necessary information regarding this initiative. Moreover, the same page provides examples of companies already cooperating with the government through this program, as well as demonstrates areas in which assistance from the private sector is required ( Public-Private Partnership, 2019). The very existence of such tenders testifies to the success of this program. In addition, even the presence of some unsuccessful incidents at the start of the program, such as the failure with the Mafraq-Ghuweifat highway in 2011, does not slow down the development of this initiative (Foreman, 2020). Moreover, in Abu Dhabi, PPPs are being actively used to improve infrastructure performance, in particular, to replace streetlights. This area is being managed by the private sector, which is a positive sign for business. Thus, it can be noted that the interaction of the private and public sectors in the UAE is increasing every year, which allows implementing of more innovative projects and paying more attention to the development of new technologies.
Conclusion
Thus, technological innovation, present in both the public and private sectors, is essential to the modern Arab economy. Although the UAE still relies on the oil industry and the export of raw materials, the state is doing everything to change this situation. Technological progress and the introduction of innovations are associated with certain features and difficulties, primarily connected to a strong dependence on the oil industry. A successful outcome in such conditions cannot be achieved only through the efforts of private firms since this requires cooperation and joint efforts.
This approach is reflected in the interaction of the public and private sectors, regulated by the state through specially created committees and PPPs initiatives. As studies and modern statistics show, the UAE actively supports technicians and scientists, increasing the number of innovations and forming a knowledge-based economy. Although 10-15 years ago, there was a noticeable lag in the field of education and R&D, at the moment, the UAE has reached all the available forecasts. All this was achieved only because of the states active participation in societys life and the widespread use of high technologies.
The success demonstrated by the UAE is relevant not only for the MENA region but also for the management in general, as they present an excellent example of cooperation between the public and private sectors. Other governments can use the example of the UAE as a guide to action. In addition, similar methods can be implemented in entrepreneurship as a whole, being implemented on a smaller scale. Thus, the study successfully explored the interaction of the private and public sectors in the UAE as an example of using technological innovation to shape successful collaboration and further research. The discovered strategies and the results obtained are helpful in the context of a particular state and in the context of entrepreneurship in general.
Almarri, K. (2017). Perceptions of the attractive factors for adopting publicprivate partnerships in the UAE. International Journal of Construction Management, 19(1), 57-64. Web.
Mohammed, A. Q. (2019). Barriers and enablers of innovation in United Arab Emirates (UAE) small and medium enterprises (SMEs) sector. International Journal of Entrepreneurship, 23(3), 1-9.
With increased technology, individuals and businesses are increasingly using laptops for various personal and business functions. Laptops are electronic gadgets with a microprocessor that depends on power supply to function. Solar energy is freely available and can be tapped for charging laptops. However, this technology has not yet been embraced in Australia and at large the world. There are numerous advantages that can be derived from using solar charged laptops.
They are both monetary and efficiency based policies. After coming up with the first products, they will be show cased and samples given to corporate bodies for a trial. Entry strategy in the market will be approached from an executive and corporate point of view. As an entry strategy, the company will use customer-company relation whereby instead of a marketing strategy that targets a large population, it will start from small group, individual corporate bodies, and individuals.
A customer focused approach will be adopted to ensure that the needs of customers are always understood and met. Strengths of the company which include an increased population of enlightened people will be maximized as measures are put in place to mitigate and cope with dangers posed by its weak points. Environmental strengths will also help a great deal.
New Venture Development
Introduction
There is need for a reliable source of energy to power laptops. Laptops are rechargeable gadgets which if photo electronic batteries with charging chips are used, then solar energy can be used to charge them. This report discusses an innovation of solar charged laptops. It will also give an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses that the business is likely to get.
Direct Solar Charged Laptops
Technology is on the increase. Many people today are using laptops in their day to day activities. Laptops are electronic gadget, which must depend with a reliable source of electricity to be recharged. In Australia, there is power distribution in at least 80% of the population; however the power supply is not 100% reliable. On the other hand, there is need to use the garget in areas where electricity has not reached.
At times the need to work in far territories arises; most of these areas are without electricity for instance Africa and Caribbean countries where power supply is limited. Solar energy that is freely available in nature can be tapped and used as a source of power for laptops.
Solar Energy
This energy is gotten direct from the sun by use of solar panels; however a chip should be used when in laptops. This type of energy has been used for many years although some scientists have recently started to research on how it can be put into more use. These scientists discovered that, Solar panels can be used to convert the rays from the sun into electricity.
This can be done in two ways: one is called solar thermal applications where the sun is used to heat liquid or air. The second is called the photoelectric applications whereby photovoltaic cells are used to generate electricity directly from the solar energy (U.S Energy information Administration (EIA), n.d).
Solar energy is one of the cleanest sources of energy and has no harmful byproducts or threats. The major drawback of this type of energy is that it is very expensive to put up the solar panels and also to maintain them. To add to that the energy that is generated by these solar panels is not sufficient for large scale use.
What the product needs to incorporate is a self charging system, which is a matter of using chips that will assist in charging the laptops battery. When the battery is full, then it automatically switches itself.
The Opportunity
Technology is on the rise, there is a shift from the old office business where employees were required to report in offices to do their jobs, today home based working has taken preference. People are using desk tops, teleconferencing technology, and laptops for this noble task of serving their employer when at home.
Computers consume large amounts of power and with recession on course, any measure that aims at reducing home, office, and business expenditure is highly welcomed. When solar laptops are developed, there will be numerous benefits to the user as well as to the company they include;
Solar power is relatively cheap than electricity; this will reduce power bill budget and ensure productivity. If they are adopted by a company, they will reduce a proportion of electricity bill in trading profit and loss account. This will lead to an increased profits and money for expansion will be availed. Large amounts of revenue from business results in an increased government revenue through taxes. This will lead to developmental projects being implemented for the betterment of the country.
Australia has an all-roundthe-year sunlight which can be easily tapped by the laptops charging system and used efficiently. One will not need to stay in direct sunlight to charge the laptop but all will be needed is some sunlight penetrating where the laptop is.
Execution Feasibility
Management Team Company SWOT / TOWS analysis
Strengths
The strength of this company will undoubtedly be engineered by its internal managerial mechanisms. In order to have a competitive edge in selling its product and services, it will be advisable for the company to take advantage of its ability to compete favorably with equal players in the market. A strategic marketing plan is the only way out.
Through this arrangement, the company will be able to adopt different modalities and outreach programs of reaching out to its consumers. In a market mostly controlled by the efficiency and the affordability of the products as well as quality, it will be an open strength for the company to explore more on innovations. In retrospect, strategic marketing plan should be in a position to explicitly document the various channels that can be used by the company to allocate more resources towards improving quality (Livingston, 2008).
Weaknesses
These refer to stumbling blocks that may deter the company from progressing towards a particular direction. One of the weaknesses is attitude that customers have upon new things introduced in the market. Laptops are expensive commodities which no one would be willing to have a try and test method. When discussing the concept of strategic market planning, we discover that resources are vital for an organization to effect significant changes.
Another area of inevitable weakness is an expansion plan, which entails diversifying the level of the company activities. This may take different forms. A critical look at geographical expansion depicts a glaring possibility of other stringent market uncertainties. Right at the onset, strategic planning will demand strategic resources, both human and financial, to make any significant move.
Besides, implementation of the proposed market research will require mutual consent from all the affected divisions in the company. This will not only consume time as decisions are being made, but a lot of uncertainties abound especially on the verdict of the company.
Opportunities and Threats
Opportunities for the company are dependent on both the internal and external assessment criteria of the companys profile of operation. Similar to the weaknesses discussed above, the company can still optimize on the various opportunities available to bring about sustainable growth through effective competition.
Some of the underlying opportunities for this company in regard to the macro environment are the diversification of its activities. The company may opt to not only run on large scale, but also produce variety of products. This concept of variety may be approached from different angles like micro lendings via collaboration with local banks.
In striking for the right opportunities, the company will have to analyze its main market rival. The strategies being employed by the competitor should be critically assessed and evaluated for necessary counter action. In addition, the general plan of the competitor in a bid to control the market is a vital toolkit which this company can use to estimate the competitive edge of the market.
Sustainable Competitive Advantage
To have a sustainable competitive advantage, there is need to improve the products with time. The company will have a research and development team which will be mandated to survey the market and advice the management on measures to take to ensure that it remains competitive. Another way is the use of appropriate advertising and marketing strategies.
Promotions are done in the effort to either introduce a new product or increase the market segment. To engage in a promotion, the first thing to understand is the availability of the target customers. Where are they likely to be found? Are they free in the mornings, is it in the afternoon? After realizing their availability and the fact that they can give you time to sell your products, and then know the age of the market.
If the promotion is for the introduction of a new product, then a lot should be invested in assuring the client of better quality than that offered by the competitor. The existence of opinion leaders should be evaluated. The customers are likely to follow the opinion leaders in making their decisions. The existence of groups in the society and their matching lifestyles can also be of great use.
The way the consumers react is that they will follow the others. Investment should be made in this. If the promotion is for an already existing product in the market, the approach should be from the angle that we are thanking our customers. If the customer feels appreciated and recognized he will develop loyalty and influence others to follow his way.
Environmental Analysis What Trends Have Created This Opportunity?
Australian and the world population are on the rise where the numbers of youths who are enlightened is increasingly high. On the other side, office spaces are becoming limited and an existence of briefcase companies on the rise. These people however need to communicate with each other and do business. One of the ways of doing this is the use of laptops.
On its side laptops will need to be charged, the technology of solar changing can be the solution to this. It is cheap to use and efficient clean technology. According to United Nations, (1998) the world is continuously facing an increased population. The numbers of youth and young families, who are continuously adopting modern lifestyle, are on the rise. As a result there is increased demand for laptops.
Diagram 1 population treads in the world.
Australian population is also on the rise, according to Australian bureau of Statistics, (2010) it stands at 22,431,468. The population is mostly concentrated among the young; these are people who are below the age of fifty years. The following population structure portrays this fact;
Diagram 2 population structures in Australia.
Changing world trends- today the world is changing into a global village where more and more companies are trading with each other internationally. Signatures are now made electronically, though advertisement as well as marketing. This calls for managers and executives to be armed with a laptop at any one particular time so as they can conduct their businesses well. The need for laptops thus increases with time.
The world today is crying following the effects that global warming has on the economies. So far nothing has been implemented to tap the benefits that can accrue from global warming, use of sunlight for charging is one of the ways that can be derived from global warming. This however does not mean that global warming should be encouraged.
Market Analysis and Feasibility
Identification of Customer
A customer is the backbone of a company; the main decision that a marketing manager should make is on a companys market segment. A market segment is a homogenous subset of the main market, which share similar characteristics, which make it demand similar goods. A segment is also stimulated by similar innovations. After developing a marketing segment the next step is to develop mechanisms that will enable him sell in the target market.
One of the ways to enter in the target market is marketing mix. In our case the target customers will be executives, managers, and business people for a start but the segment will be extended to general population.
To reach the market the marketing team will employ a customer relation trading where they are likely to approach potential customers and introduce their products. The company appreciates that the success of the products is based on the quality given by the products, thus the aim will be to make the product of as high quality as possible.
Value Proposition and Compelling Need to Buy
The positioning statement with be, Solar laptops, for all your daily needs .
Pricing Strategy
The price of a commodity is an element of total cost plus a profit margin. When a target market has been established, there is need to determine the price that the target customer will afford comfortably. A marketer should be aware of the consumer trends and their potential.
The social class that the product is targeted will influence the price of the products. The price parameter can be approached from the actual product price or the possibility that the product can be divided into smaller parts, not necessarily cheap, but the need for this is to enhance affordability. From a broader point of view the market can be divided into three sections; the high class, the middle class, and the lower class. The product target customer will be executives and corporate bodies.
Competitive Analysis market forces (Porter 5 Forces) and competitor comparison
Porters Five Forces Strategy Analysis
In 1980, Porter developed a structure for analyzing the nature and extent of competition within an industry. His argument was that, in every industry, there are at least five competitive forces which establish the nature of competition within that industry. These five forces are discussed below:
Buyers Bargaining Power
Buyers have the ability to determine which products will move first and which will not. It is through buyers that a company realizes its competitive advantage in the market. For a long time, buyers in Australia are using HP and Dell products. This is because of efficiency of these products. Customers are pushing the need for quality efficient goods.
Supplies Bargaining Power
The company needs to employ goods strategies to ensure that customers are aware of the existence of the products; it is by doing this that it can influence and enter the competitive laptop business. When quality products are well known by the customers, they are likely to be more accepted. Sales team should ensure that it makes the best targets and market segmentation.
Competitive Rivalry in the industry
Within an industry, there are businesses which compete with one another for the available market share. These businesses either specialize in the production of similar products or differentiated products. In laptops, there are a number of international companies who specialize in their production; they include Dell, HP, and Toshiba among others. One of the ways of ensuring that the company enters the market is to offer something different from what these competitors are offering this will be solar charged laptops.
Threat of New Entrants
The threat of new entrants to an industry such as the electronic depends on the number of entry barriers available. The higher the entry barriers, the fewer the number of competitors will be in the industry. These barriers include: capital costs of entry, legal constraints; access to distributing channels among others.
Threat of Substitutes
A substitute product is a product that meets the same needs as those met by a product produced by the industry. The extent of the threat from a particular substitute will depend upon two factors; namely, willingness of buyers to switch to substitute products and the degree to which the value and performance of the substitute can compete with the industrys product (Duening, Hisrich & Lechter, 2009).
Technical Feasibility
Product or Service Design, Production and Distribution
The laptop will not take a particular special shape than others although it is expected to have a chip on the front after opening it that will be the charging system.
Distribution Channels and Logistics
When a company is developing a product, there is a need that the product is supposed to fulfill. The trend that the customers follow at one given point is a change to the product that gives them a higher utility. When the product is developed, the team should always invest in offering something extra to the consumer.
In computers development there is need to give specifications that it has over and above the ones existing in the market. If the target customers are aware of the component, the campaigns should target the customers with a lot of emphasis with the components used. On the other hand, if the customers are not much interested in the components, the focus should be the outcome that the product will give.
The marketing campaigns should explain to the customer what benefit he will derive from using the new developed laptops than the others. What does the target customers expect, what are they likely to be moved by? What is the age of the target customer?
Effort should be made to ensure that the product is portrayed to give the impression of superiority. The language on the product packaging should be targeted at the desired group age. If the prices have reduced and are lower than the market prices, it is important to include them on the package.
In all the marketing of the products whether they are target to the high class, middle class, low class, the old and the youth, the marketer should assure the customers of the availability of the products at all times. Understanding the target market segment cannot be overlooked (Antil, 2008).
Operations plan
Execution Feasibility
Sustainable Competitive Advantage
To have a long lasting competitive advantage, the company will continuously improve the quality of its products. There will be research and development team which will be mandated with the task of advising the company on the developments that require making. All policies developed will be aimed at satisfying the customer and will be responsive to customers need.
Financial Feasibility
Projected Income, Start-Up and Operational Costs
The income of the company is expected to come from the sale of laptops, there will be also repairs section that will offer after sales service and also will offer repairs to external customers with both solar laptops and electric charged laptops;
Starting Capital, is the amount required to put up the facility in operation. When making the initial budget, there is need to consider costs that are incurred before the company breaks even;
The following is the projected incomes and operational cost for the initial year;
Name of translation
Expected Amount (in Us. Dollar)
Capital
300,000,000
Expected sales of first year
120,000,000
Purchases
60,0000,000
Operational costs
60,0000,000
Taxation costs
0.00
Salaries and marketing expenses
10,000,0000
Net profit
(10,000,000)
Operational cost include costs that are incurred in normal operation of the business, they include depreciation, electricity, medical expenses, and transport. This amount includes all expenses except salaries and distribution expenses.
Capital budgeting is ensuring that the finances available for various long term developments are utilized in the most efficient way. In our case we have a budget of $ 300million that should be used to establish a medical facility. This money can be divided into two
Capital good purchase.
Operational expenses.
Break-even, Cash Projections and Return on Investment
Break even, is the point where a business expenses and income gotten from a business is equal; at this point revenue derived from a business is equal to costs incurred in production
At Breakeven point then
Cost = revenue
That is Revenue Cost =zero
Profits are only realized when revenue exceeds cost.
It is expected that from the second year, the company will surpass its costs. This is the time that profits will be realized. Cash projections for the next five years is as follows.
Expected sales
Expected profit
Year 1
120,000,000
(10,000,000)
Year 2
200,000,000
34,000.000
Year 3
220,000,000
36,000,000
Year 4
253,000,000
40,000,000
Year 5
267,000,000
50,000,000
The projected cash flow is expected to increase with increase in sales as well as efficiency. There will be increased campaigns to ensure that there is awareness and derive a competitive advantage.
Resource Plan and Time Schedules
The finances to start the business will come from a loan facility that will be procured from standard chartered bank. In the loan policy there is a six months grace period and the loan term is three years.
Financial loan
300,000,000
Interest rate
16% inclusive
Repayment period
3 years
Grace period
6 months
Yearly Installments
1,335,708
Financing institution
Standard Chartered Bank
Time Schedules
Starting up a new business is taking a risk; however if the decision is well thought there are numerous benefits that come up with investing in business. Before one set to start there are short and long terms parameters that he should consider to ensure that there will be continuity in the business.
The future is unpredictable and so even the smallest details about something should be interpolated before starting up. From the above study; it has come clear to me that entrepreneurship is all about how well one can understand the future and plan on it. It involves a process of analyzing risks associated in a certain area and working in full recognition of their presence. All mitigation factors should be put in place before the business is started (Ebbena & Johnson, 2006).
Activities will fall in a chronological way where there will be what to be done first and what follows. The first thing is to seek for location of the factory; we aim to have a different place for the factory and for displaying things. On the other hand, our sales team will be busy distributing the goods to various markets all over the world.
When all infrastructures are set, then the next step is to start operating. Operating will start when all staffs are set aboard. It will be appreciated that a company with properly shaped psychological contracts embraces a system that allows employees to air their views to the higher leadership.
A company requires both physical and human resources for its operations. Human resources are the greatest asset that an organization can have; without it no business transaction can take place. It ensures that the business is run in the right way, and thus determines the current as well as the future state of the business.
Great leaders or managers are those that can combine available strengths and weaknesses for the good of the organization. How well the human resources are sourced, developed, and retained in the organization is the work of management (Avery, 2004).
Key Risks and Mitigation Strategies
This is the uncertainty on to whether the kind of business that the company has engaged in will be of success. This is in both existing business (when they want to extend their business to other areas) and a start up business. When investing in some kind of a business there is the initial and subsequent running expenses.
In a business environment the proceeds from the business should cover all this and there remain a portion that is the profit of the investor. This is not always the case and one may invest and then only losses are accruing from the investment; the risk that the firm will have to undertake is that of possibility that the business leads into a loss. On the other side, this is a normal situation that must be faced in business. The most important thing is to do a good study of the market situation before you invest.
Risk Mitigation Strategies
Risk Transfer
This is the transfer of risk to an insurance body. The contract provides that in consideration of a certain periodically paid premium then the insurance will mitigate the client. It works in a way that the businessman remains at the original position before the loss occurred. The amount of premium paid is proportional to the possibility of a loss and the value of the loss.
However, it is important to realize that the risk holder is the insured but the insurance company only comes in as a litigator of the loss. There are those properties that by law are required to be insured. This includes motor vehicles. There is a risk that can be associated with this method of mitigating loss; this is when the insuring company cannot be relied upon.
There are some insurance companies that assume risks that they cannot handle. To avoid this, a company should ensure that it engages into an insurance contract with a company with good financial strength. Another way that this can be done is by insuring the same risk with more than one insurance company (Borodzicz, 2005).
Exit Strategy (if appropriate)
It is not always the case that a business set up will be successful, there are times that it may fail; when starting a business this should be taken into consideration. Business dynamics cannot be predicted with a 100% certainty. If the trend fails to favor a business, then the business is more likely not to meet its obligation. It may be a failure in the market, change of fashion, calamities or negative goodwill created; they may hinder continuity of a business (Shane, 2003). To cater for this eventuality there is need to have an exit plan. Mitigating any loss that is likely to result from loss of business is one of the common ways to have an exit strategy that will not hurt the entrepreneur.
Concluding Recommendation
Laptops are gadgets whose use is on the rise in the recent changing world of technology. They use electric power to operate; solar energy is freely available energy source which can be tapped to charge laptops. This is a new invention that has not been implemented in the world.
A customer is the backbone of a company; the main decision that a marketing manager should make is on a companys market segment. One of the ways to enter in the target market is marketing mix. The 4Ps represent Price, product/service, promotion, and place. The aim of the marketing mix is that for effective marketing then products should be available to the target customer at the right price and the right place.
Reference List
Anctil, E. 2008, Marketing and Advertising the Intangible. ASHE Higher Education Report, 34(2), 31-47. Retrieved from Academic Search Complete database.
Australian Bureau of Statistics. 2010, Australias Population Web.
Avery, G. C. 2004, Understanding leadership: Paradigms and cases. London: SAGE Publications.
Borodzicz, E. 2005. Risk, Crisis and Security Management. New York: Wiley.
Duening, N., Hisrich, D., Lechter, A. 2009, Technology Entrepreneurship. New York, Academic Press.
Ebbena, J.; Johnson, A. 2006, Bootstrapping in small firms: An empirical analysis of change over time , Journal of Business Venturing, Volume 21, Issue 6, Pages 851-865.
Livingston, J. 2008, Founders at work: stories of startups early days, Berkeley, CA: Apress; New York.
Shane, S. 2003, A General Theory of Entrepreneurship: the Individual-Opportunity Nexus. New York, Edward Elgar.
U.S. Department of Energy n. d, Energy Sources. Washington, DC 20585. Web.
United Nations 1998, Australian Bureau of Statistics Web.
Human beings are social animals and once they have met their physiological and safety needs, they develop a great desire to meet their social needs. The reason behind this is that they develop a need to interact with others including friends who give them a sense of belonging (Maslow, 2002). This paper looks at communication as a social need and how technological inventions have addressed it over time.
Notable inventions and innovations in communication
The social process would never be complete without communication, which plays a fundamental role in all social interactions. It is indeed a basic need that influences the information society and has come a long way technologically to where it is now. Going back to the history of communication, it is amazing what inventions have done. The prehistoric means of communication included the use of horns and drums to pass information from one person to another. A Roman Emperor by the name of Tiberius made a debut in verbal communication by inventing a heliograph in the 37AD. This method involved the use of mirrors to deliver messages from one location to another.
In 1793, Claude Chappe invented a telegraph line that could be used to deliver messages over a long distance. Charles Wheatstone invented a microphone in 1821, a gadget that could reproduce sound and it was composed of a primitive soundbox. The first-ever electric telegraph was discovered in 1831 by Joseph Henry and this was followed closely by a modification done by Samuel Morse in 1843. This electric telegraph could send telegraphic messages over a long distance. The fax machine was invented by Alexander Bain in the same year (Bellis, 1997).
The Pony Express was birthed in 1861 in the US with the primary goal of delivering mail and in the same breath, Coleman Sellers invented a Kinematoscope. This machine had the capability of flashing still images on a screen. The modern typewriter saw its way into the inventions doing their rounds in communication in 1867 in America. Thomas Edison invented a mimeograph in 1876, it acted as an office copier, and around the same time, Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone. Bell was able to transmit vocal sounds from one point to another and this is what came to be widely known as the telephone.
The phonograph that is a recording tool was invented in 1877 by Thomas Edison who used a wax cylinder to carry out this task. High-speed photography came to be in the same year courtesy of Edward Muybridge who was able to capture fast pictures in motion. The gramophone was invented in 1887 by Emile Berliner and its work was to record messages that would be played repeatedly. The Kodak film camera was invented in 1888 by George Eastman and in 1889; an automatic telephone exchange was invented by one Almon Strowger. New inventions and innovations on existing ones continued being experienced and in 1894, wireless telegraphy had been greatly improved by Guglielmo Marconi.
The first-ever answering machines for telephones made a debut in 1898 and 1899, people were now able to store data courtesy of Valdemar Poulsen. He invented magnetic recordings that could capture messages for later use. Through this medium, music and other forms of data could be recorded on tapes and disks. The same year saw the inventions of loudspeakers that magnified recorded and live sounds. Guglielmo Marconi made another key invention that enabled the transmission of radio signals across the Atlantic Ocean. Comic books were invented in 1904 and they became a regular series. The radio and the telephone amplifications got better in 1906 courtesy of Lee Deforest who invented an electronic amplifying tube.
In 1910, Thomas Edison invented the very first talking motion picture and in 1914 saw the first telephone calls that could be received across the continent. An iconoscope found its way into the communications scene courtesy of one Vladimir Kosma in 1923. Several inventions happened in 1927 when CBS was founded and England received the first-ever television broadcast. In addition, two radio networks were started by NBC, and The Jazz Singer talking motion picture was released by Warner Brothers. The United States received its first television broadcast in 1930 and the same year saw radio grow to great lengths (Bellis, 1997).
Around this time, people were only able to watch live television broadcasts but in 1938, taping and editing of these broadcasts were made possible and people were able to watch scheduled broadcasts by1939. Information Science was birthed in 1944 when computers came into use in the public service. Computers such as the Harvard Mark I were used in government offices. A transistor was invented in 1948 and records that could play for longer were invented in the same year. In 1951, computers were sold for commercial purposes, photocopiers debuted in 1958 courtesy of Chester Carlson, and integrated circuits were invented. The internet era was not too far from here and in 1969, the first internet, known as ARPANET was started.
The computer floppy disks and the microprocessor were invented in 1971. Pay-TV service was invented by HBO in 1972 and 1976, the home computer by Apple was invented. Mobile phones were first used in Japan in 1979 and a Sony Walkman was invented in 1980. In 1981, the first-ever IBM personal computers as well as laptops were sold. The Time Magazine recognized computers as Man of the Year in 1983 and in the same year, the United States embraced the use of a cellular network. The Apple Macintosh was invented in 1984 and in 1985, cellular telephones could be used in cars and CD-ROMs in computers. In 1994, the American government sought internet control as the WWW converted communications to light speed (Bellis, 1997).
Communication Technology Timeline
Year Invention
1450 Daily newspaper 1455 Gutenberg printing press 1861 Pony Express mail delivery 1867 Typewriter 1877 High speed photography moving pictures 1888 Roll film camera 1889 Telephone 1898 Answering machine 1904 Comic book 1910 Talking motion pictures 1923 Television 1944 Government use of computers (Age of information science begins) 1945 0% televisions in households 1951 First commercial computer 1954 MIT introduces computer graphics 1966 Fax machine 1969 ARPNET first internet 1970 95% television household penetration 1972 Pong video game 1974 Intel First computer chip 1975 Microsoft 1976 Apple II 1979 Pac man video (Japan) 1979 Cell phone network (Japan) 1980 Microsoft DOS operating system 1980 Sony Walkman 1981 IBM PC 1981 Computer mouse 1983 Cell phone network (USA) 1983 Time Magazine names computer as Man of the Year 1984 Macintosh 1985 Microsoft 1 1991 World Wide Web begins 1994 First Blog 1995 AOL, CompuServe, Prodigy dialup internet service 1995 Amazon.com 1995 eBay 1997 blog term coined 1999 Google 1999 MySpace 2001 Wikipedia 2002 Flicker 2003 Second Life 2004 Face Book 2005 YouTube (Trent, 2009).
Future of communication
Researchers are still at work developing devices that will make a mark in future communication devices. The trends are becoming more complex with time and we can only look forward to a telecommunications wonderland full of possibilities. As inventions and innovations continue in the science world, we are looking at smaller and more functional cell phones that can be used even on planes, high broadband speeds, and seamless Wi-Fi networks among others. In addition, we are looking at ultimate efficiency, ease of use, affordability, and availability of these gadgets to more users. The future of the communications industry will therefore be one flooded with wireless data pipelines that will be at everyones disposal (Derene, 2011).
How these technological inventions have shaped modern society
Conclusion
Technological inventions in communication have brought about a great impact and it is hard to imagine life without computers, the internet, and cell phones among others. Communication has been made easier and people are now able to send and receive messages instantly anywhere in the globe. This has been attributed to the growth of world economies since business transactions and interactions have been made much easier (Day, 2001). With these massive transformations, we can only expect mind-blowing technological transformations in the near future.
References
Bellis, M. (1997).The history of communication. Communication Inventions Journal, 4(1), 1-13.
Day, R.E. (2001). The modern invention of information: Discourse, History, and Power. USA: Library of Congress Publication Data.
Derene, G. (2011). Coolest communication devices of the future. Forbes Communications, 1(2), 1-4.
Maslow, A. (2002). Maslows Hierarchy of needs. Internet Center for Management and Business Administration Inc, 6(1), 2.
Trent, C. (2009). Communication Technology Timeline. Web.
Innovation is essential to the success of many modern companies, especially those that operate in highly competitive markets. Technological innovation, in particular, is the primary reason behind the rapid growth of humankinds capabilities throughout the 20th century. As such, knowledge of the patterns for the creation and adoption of new ideas is essential for both company managers and researchers. This essay investigates the primary frameworks in modern technological innovation.
Types of Innovation
Innovation can be differentiated based on its applicability and overall influence on the technological field. Shmerling (2013) distinguishes two primary types based on these parameters: evolutionary and revolutionary advancement.
The former takes existing technology and improves its parameters, such as performance or production cost. The latter introduces a new approach that is generally incompatible with current products but has the potential to outperform them, making investment an attractive proposition in the long term. Both are essential to technological advancement, as one allows an approach to reach its limits while the other introduces concepts that enable new products to exceed those limitations.
The two categories combine to form the overall tendency of technological progress. When a new technology is introduced, it will typically lack the refinement necessary to outperform older approaches comprehensively. Therefore, it will have to capitalize on its existing advantages while research is in progress. The improvements will eventually increase the innovations capabilities to a point where the other approach will become obsolete and disappear from the market. However, there is an upper limit to the potential of the new technology, as well. As such, once the now-mainstream product achieves its best possible performance, it will stagnate until another revolutionary idea grows to a point where it can replace the now-obsolete method.
Main Innovation Patterns
The advent of the Internet and the global interconnectivity associated with it have introduced a variety of innovation patterns based on the massive amounts of information and processing power available. Powell, Gann, and Guo (2015) distinguish five primary types: product augmentation, technology disappearance, cooperation between companies, data trading, and turning internal routines into marketable products. While it should be noted that some of these approaches might not apply to every technological field, they provide a comprehensive overview of the IT industry.
Product augmentation is synonymous to evolutionary advancement, involving the collection of new data and performance improvements. Technology disappearance, in turn, reflects revolutionary progress and the phasing out of obsolete ideas. Cooperation between companies enables the creation of benefits based on the synergies between different products without significant improvements to the processes.
Data trading is mostly endemic to the field of big data, where enterprises can sell each other data in a raw or analyzed fashion with both participants benefitting as a result. Lastly, large companies typically create products for internal use that simplify or automate tedious or complicated routines, and at times these tools can be of interest to consumers after polish and reorientation are applied.
Conclusion
Technological innovation is central to the rapid advancement of humanitys capabilities. Traditional types of progress include evolutionary and revolutionary improvements, which form the standard technology life cycle. However, modern technologies such as the Internet allow for considerably closer and easier cooperation between diverse and distant companies. As such, new patterns, such as cooperation, data trading, and transformation of internal tools into products, have come into existence. It is possible that further changes in the field will introduce new opportunities for innovation, and so businesses should stay at the forefront of progress to succeed.
The article analyzed in this paper is Exploring the alignment between service strategy and service innovation by Lightfoot and Gebauer. It investigates innovation service misalignment with related strategies, which limits new service releases and access to business opportunities in the capital goods sector. The authors central thesis is that reconfiguring service innovation determinants so that they are aligned with strategic goals could result in revenue gains.
The study used a qualitative, multi-case approach to explore service innovation-strategy fit of 12 firms (case studies) from Western Europe. Qualitative data were collected through interviews of 80 people and internal reports. Data analysis involved the pattern-matching logic and inductive reasoning to identify company-relate, process-related, and result-related determinants, e.g., innovation culture, service quality, and market competitiveness, and their strategy alignments. The findings suggest that achieving service strategies-determinants fit is not easy and innovation success is realized only with particular determinant schemes.
Critical Evaluation
Research Question
The article sought to answer the question; in what ways are service innovations aligned with strategic choices of capital goods producers? This research question seems right given that its purpose was to examine strategy-innovation alignment in service delivery. It fits with the other articles reviewed that show that specific configurations of service innovation factors translate into profitability. Previous studies examine this topic from different perspectives. While some scholars consider service innovations an efficient approach to providing customized solutions, others regard it as fundamental to the success of capital goods. Nevertheless, sparse research on how to adopt critical innovation factors hinders innovation-strategy alignment. The article sought to fill this knowledge gap by considering the different ways these determinants could be aligned with strategic choices to achieve business goals. However, it should have considered studies on retail service innovation to gain insights into their critical success factors and strategies.
Problem and Methods
The methods selected were largely appropriate for exploring the research problem. Investigating innovation determinants-strategy alignment would require a subjective dataset from people involved in innovation projects. The authors collected interview (qualitative) data from 80 interviewees drawn from R&D, marketing, and product/service departments. Interviewing allowed them to triangulate secondary data and validate constructs during the research process. The sampling strategy also matched the study problem; it ensured that only people working in innovation projects of 12 firms were recruited. However, the use of qualitative data from a few case studies makes the innovation-strategy alignments less generalizable across industries. A mixed-methods design would have allowed a more comprehensive inquiry and helped evaluate specific configurations quantitatively.
Reporting of the Findings
Overall, the study results are reported in a consistent and clear format. The specific determinants and innovation-strategy configurations identified from the qualitative data are presented in three separate sections: after-sale service, customer-support service, and development partners. Direct quotes from the interviews are included to support the findings. The authors include a table summarizing the key findings of their research. The article overlooked the demographic profile of the participants. The interviewees characteristics, including age, gender, position in the organization, and experience level are missing. Nevertheless, the article acknowledges and explains some of the studys limitations. It identifies limited external validity attributed to qualitative data, emphasis on three service strategic options, and a small range of determinants as the main design weaknesses of the research.
Logic and Support for Claims
Overall, the article presents a logical argument about the alignments between innovation determinants and service strategic choices. It aggregates success variables into three paradigms (themes) and explains how they fit with specific strategies. It cites verbatim quotes from the respondents to support its claims. For example, when giving the reason for the inclusion of consumer value (success factor) in customer-support services, the authors include a convincing statement from a managerial interviewee on customers willingness to pay for optimized capital goods. However, quantitative data would have given strong and compelling support for the claims. One fallacy noted is the attribution of existing service strategies entirely to innovations. Other service-related functions, such as information technology, could also influence strategic choices of firms.
Personal Opinion
The articles findings suggest an effective service strategy involves considerations for innovation and reconfigurations of its determinants. Their presentation is logical and clear. I agree with most of these findings. First, the finding that configurations of innovation variables vary with strategic choices is consistent with critical success factors that are context-specific. Therefore, the determinants for after-sales service must be different from those of customer support. Second, innovation success must only come from specific configurations. Ordinarily, firms must leverage on R&D to provide unique services or products to acquire competitive advantages in the industry. Thus, a right mix of service innovation determinants is critical to successful R&D efforts. However, I do not agree with the argument that similarity in the variables is due to the different theoretical frameworks in this area. I would attribute it to knowledge diffusion across different functions, organizations, and sectors due to the pressure to innovate and remain competitive.
Contribution to Knowledge and Implications
In my estimation, the article adds to the literature on service innovation by describing its determinants that are used in three strategies: after-sale, customer-support, and development partner services. It specifies the characteristics of each variable. Thus, firms can adopt these determinants in formal innovation processes to realize strategic gains. The article also contributes to theory development by establishing some differences in innovation success factors aligned with each service strategy. This finding challenges current theories on service innovation.
The study has significant practical implications for managerial decisions and strategic choices. First, in selecting a service strategy, firms must look at innovation and reconfigure related success factors for optimal results. Second, when changing a strategic alternative, organizations must reframe the determinants, as they differ between strategies. Thus, a firm moving to customer-support from after-sale service will need to include new factors in its service innovation project. The aim is to achieve an optimized innovation-strategy alignment that is critical to business success.
Suggestions to Improve the Research
The article relied on qualitative (interview) data to determine service innovation determinants for different strategies. Concerning research design, I would suggest a mixed-methods approach to obtain quantitative data that would help assess the innovation-strategy alignments identified from subjective themes and achieve external validity. A semi-structured questionnaire with validated measures and items can be used in data collection. The present study sampled 80 individuals working in innovation projects. While these participants have hands-on experience of service innovation, they may not know all determinants. I would suggest a larger, more diverse sample that includes employees, customers, and experts to obtain high-quality data. Further, a stratified random sampling of case studies drawn from multiple service sectors and locations can give results that can be generalized to many settings.
Morality has been discussed and defined for a very long time and there have been many philosophers and thinkers who offered their understanding of the moral laws and regulations. Both individuals and societies govern themselves according to rules and laws of morality, ethics and more specifically, virtue, which play an important role in the lives of people and nations.
Machiavelli has written a lot about virtue and how it is related to the government and more particularly, to a single ruler. The character qualities that a person has are important to themselves and the people who they are in charge of. Machiavelli looks at virtue from a different side, creating an innovative look on what it means to have a virtue in regards to other people, societies and ruling.
In his book titled The Prince , Machiavelli examines what virtue is when compared to different peoplepolitical rulers, soldiers and army leaders. His view is thought to be innovative and different because he describes things that not many people think about (Mansfield 3).
Not a lot of philosophers have discussed the specific details that Machiavelli looks at. It is almost that he is very negative in his understanding and examination of virtue. What makes him stand out among other thinkers and philosophers is the he makes morality seem immoral. He is often criticized as being very negative but other people say that he is being truthful and that the real world is very different from standards of kindness and love, things that people usually talk about.
Machiavelli wrote about this a long time ago and so, many people of the modern world are surprised that very unwanted and hidden things of the present world, he mentions and openly describes in his writings. One way to think of virtue as an innovation is when judging by the time he was writing in. Many people have not concerned themselves with the deeper personal and public qualities of the relationship between people of high authority and citizens or society in general.
It was the time when people had laws that were not as liberal and human as they are today, and anyone who had a different world view was in danger of being killed or imprisoned. Also, in Machiavellis time, virtue could be seen as an innovation because peoples harsh, strict and strong nature was thought to be more important than kindness, honesty and sensitivity. In the modern times, virtue can be thought of as a lost innovation because the business world and the politics are more centered on making money.
The society has become very greedy and power hungry because the possibilities and control are now greater and more global, so moral rules, ethics and kindness are thought of rarely and by few people. But in order to better understand what Machiavelli meant, his works must be closely analyzed.
In The Prince Machiavelli talks about how virtue can sometimes be unwanted. He states that anyone in a position of authority or political power cannot be successful if they do things according to morality, honesty or virtue. For rulers and anyone with a lot of power, there are very many opportunities to steal and deceive.
They are surrounded by others who are corrupt and do not hesitate to lie and become more powerful. Greed and own interests will always be stronger than the public good or happiness of another individual. So, Machiavelli says that anyone who has virtue and other good qualities will become like the rest, who are greedy and selfish (Mansfield 21).
One reason is that a person who is morally good will be surrounded by all the negative influences and luxury and because an individual is not strong to fight against the majority, they will become the same. It can either happen because they are weak and alone, so they cannot go against a large number of people. Or it might happen because they have never seen so many benefits and opportunities and they like it, the rich lifestyle and power. Of course, it could also happen in case they are threatened by others and are forced to be the same.
The best way for someone to act in such a situation, would be to make it look like they are like the rest but in reality, continue doing good deeds and selfless acts. But unfortunately, Machiavelli argues that anyone who wants to keep their position of power and most people do, they cannot be kind because it will be seen as a weakness and they will lose all their power and authority. This will lead to them being poor and hated by others and no one wants for this to happen.
It is possible to see that people in the past almost had no choice but to become like the rest and have negative qualities. Machiavelli can be said to be innovative because he describes the real world and the truths most people want to hide or pretend that they are not there. It is a very fresh and different way of thinking and writing because Machiavelli is not afraid to gain enemies or people who will criticize his views.
He wants the readers and people to know the true matter of things and because of this, he creates a very unique connection with those people who read his works. Any intellectual writings are supposed to make the reader think and continue the thoughts and concepts that the author writes about.
It is obvious that Machiavelli makes a clear connection between a persons individual beliefs and characteristics and their own views of themselves, as a ruler of a society or people who are under his command or authority. But he also mentions a more personal side, the way someone thinks of themselves in private and how they chose to be in their life. This can be seen when Machiavelli talks about faith and how a person must possess qualities that can quickly adapt to the changing surrounding environment.
People are mostly civilized beings and kindness and morality are welcomed. But sometimes, there are situations where a person must cover up and forget their good side and become like the rest (Skinner 60). Presently, people often use the saying that if you live with the wolves, you must behave like them in order to survive. Even if someone is good in their heart, sometimes the circumstances force the person to act badly.
A clearer link can be seen when Machiavelli talks about the ends and the means. His view is that sometimes there are things that must be done necessarily for the greater good. Even if they are considered evil or unacceptable by most, a person has to overcome the negative reputation and do what is necessary. It is almost as if they are making a sacrifice of their own reputation and wellbeing for others.
From one perspective it is possible to see as unacceptable because someone who is morally correct and virtuous will never commit an act that is wrong and immoral. Even if no one knows about this, a person will stay true to themselves and not do the bad deed. But Machiavelli states that it is better to do several seemingly wrong acts and hurt a few people, than to stay correct and moral the whole time and cause more problems to the greater number of people.
This comes out of a personal strength and virtue, when looking at how far a person is prepared to go. Here, virtue can be defined as action versus inaction. If a person must punish someone and make an example of it or create a reputation of strength and respect, so that others will fear, then it would be better than being inactive in their kindness and letting a whole nation down, by allowing an enemy to think that the ruler is weak and thus, leading to an attack and causing there to be more victims.
The fact that virtue is such a changing concept that it can mean several things in different situations makes the person in charge of that situation responsible. It is for everyone to decide how they must behave and it must be aligned with their inner self and moral rules and laws ((Skinner 86).
Overall, it is easy to see that Machiavelli wanted people to understand that there are very many perspectives in the world and their number greatly increases when a persons position in society changes. For example, someone who is the head of a family, they are in charge of providing food and shelter and other much needed things for the family.
They maybe have to be strict with the children and so, virtue will be defined by action, strictness towards raising the children and showing them the true ways of the world. For someone who is in charge of a country or nation, virtue could be sacrifices of personal wellbeing for the greater good of the majority of people. It is interesting that the changing quality of virtue stays new and different throughout time.
Even though Machiavelli was writing so many years ago, the qualities and conditions that he described still raise questions and discussions today. This does not mean that the rules and laws of morality, ethics and kindness change over time. Something that is morally correct will always be the same: hurting someone for no reason, being greedy and selfish will always be wrong.
The modern world has created more opportunities for people to be morally correct and have great amounts of virtue towards others and the self. The laws, liberal treatment and development of civilization has made it is easier for virtue to exist and be rewarded. It would be difficult for Machiavelli to predict such big changes to society but he will always stay right in the fact that it is possible for evil to leak through and take advantage, even of most virtuous and moral people.
Works Cited
Mansfield, Harvey. Machiavellis Virtue. Chicago, United States: University of Chicago Press, 1998. Print.
Skinner, Quentin. Machiavelli: The Prince. New York, United States: Cambridge University Press, 1988. Print.
