Product Designs & Development - Dissertation Example

China as a country has for long maintained its culture of Confucianism and Socialism even in the business environment. Opponents of Confucianism however claim that it is responsible for the country’s backwardness in terms of development. China’s progressive growth has been a source of inspiration to the whole world with the country focusing on export-targeted production under active state direction. The process of product design ideally should dovetail with the other parts of the development process although it typically occurs at the beginning of the process. This study seeks to establish the relationship between Chinese culture, business product design and development process and business success with a focus on art and craft businesses. 1.0 Introduction Each and every product in business is offered with an intention of making profits as it fulfills the consumer’s need. As such, a well conceived product is bound to sell more, have wider reach, increase market share, improve profit margins and possibly carve out new opportunities for the business. In other words product design is a crucial element in the production or manufacture, and by extension marketing of physical products. A product should be designed to meet specific needs of the society with other factors taken into due consideration. There is therefore a correlation between product development, social culture and business success. China as a country has for long maintained its culture of Confucianism and Socialism even in the business environment. Confucianism demands submission to authority and near absolute obedience in every situation. This culture of course has its pros and cons when adopted in the business setup. While several independent surveys have been conducted concerning product development and people’s culture, none has been conducted to establish the relationship between the two. This study seeks to bridge this gap with focus on art and craft businesses in China. 1.2 Main Objectives 1. To establish the extents to which art and craft businesses in China engage in product design and development, and the implication of the engagement on product success in the market. 1.3 Specific objectives 1. To determine how widespread art and craft businesses engage in research and modern product development procedures. 2. To determine if any correlations exist between market research, product design and development, and product success in terms of market demand and profitability. 3. To establish the specific benefits and limitations Chinese cultures have on business systems and practices. 1.4 Scope and Limitations and Critical Assumptions This study will be limited to art and craft businesses within the borders of China and will hence preclude any businesses engaging in art and craft or DIY products outside the country. The study will also engage art and craft businesses randomly without considering whether they are duly registered with the responsible government organ. 2.0 Literature Review 2.1 Overview Culture and the Business Environment in China The Traditional culture in China has chiefly been Confucianism, a system ideally created by Confucius (Xinzhong, 2000). Confucianism has remained dominant in China for at least 2000 years and therefore has great influence over the social-economic structure and history of the country. The culture acknowledges that by nature, humans desire to live in other people’s company and hence advocates for living together in large family families. The culture generally establishes a relationship that involves one party having authority over the other except in the case of friends; ruler has authority over subject, father over son and so on (Xinzhong, 2000). Opponents of the culture however claim that it is responsible for the country’s backwardness in terms of development (Lee and Chow, 2003, pp26). China’s progressive growth has been a source of inspiration to the whole world as it continues to focus on export-targeted production under active state direction (Feuerwerker, Fairbank and Twitchett 1986, pp 65-68). China has practiced socialism since the early 20th century with a view of bringing to an end its citizens’ suffering and developing a democratic future in the country. Under the banner of socialism China achieved tremendous developments decades after it was nationally adopted (Hong, Chan and Chen, 2000, pp 54-57). However according to Burkett and Martin (2004, pp15-17) many economists and political scientists have stated that socialism in China has not achieved its primary goals. Further, they state that the market based reforms that were designed to reinvigorate socialism has actually worked in reverse and cost the people of China much more than was initially anticipated. 2.2 Product Development Processes The process of product development generally involves ideation, conceptual design, making of prototype, design for production and coordination of manufacturing processes (Steven and Karl, 2008, pp12-15). The product ultimately designed for production should meet or possibly exceed customer expectations economically without posing safety risks to consumers and the public (Cross, 2000, pp 25-26). This means that the production methods should be economical and efficient in operation offering advantages to both manufacturer and consumer. In order for a manufacturing organization to develop effective designs, it needs to carry out research with the intention of establishing the product’s market relevance. The research fills gaps and helps in understanding the consumer, contemporary consumer trends and the context under which the product will be used. Product design is an important part of the extensive process of product development irrespective of the method of production to be used and the volumes involved. The process of product design ideally should dovetail with the other parts of the development process although it typically occurs at the beginning of the process (Steven and Karl, 2008, pp18-21). The product design process can be quite elaborate, involving a series of several phases each of which contributes in building understanding and certainty as the development work continues to narrow. 2.3 Concept Design and Development Out of several possible alternative designs that can be used to solve a problem, the manufacturing organization through logical analysis narrows down to one best design. A typical design output could be in form of CAD layouts, sketches or proof of principle (PoP) models (Cross, 2000, pp60-62). These could also be given more detail accounting for influencing factors to arrive at more realistic forms such as foam models and renderings along with the 3D or 2D CAD work that describes the physical product as it should be. According to Cross (2000, pp65-67) this design stage is followed by the incorporation of ergonomic, technical, aesthetic and production factors in the design to ensure that the product meets the highest possible quality and functional standards. A final model defines what the product will be like in every way. Once the design work is complete, the organization uses the product specifications to make a prototype which is then tested extensively in readiness for production (Cross, 2000, pp70). The organization then sets up the machines, equipment and tooling necessary to accomplish production of the product. 3.0 Methodology       During research, it is important to choose and apply best methodologies that will reflect the true state of events in the field. This section is wholly dedicated to describing how the research will be conducted. Since the process of product design and development is quite elaborate and depends more on the product to be developed, this study will be limited to art and craft, and DIY consumer products in China.   A random sample of 50 businesses spread across China dealing with art and craft products will be used during the study as it is a worthy representative fraction of the total population of such businesses in the country. In order to compensate for possible cases where respondents fail to respond, extra 10 questionnaires will be sent bringing the total questionnaires to be sent to 60. Mailed questionnaires will be used primarily because they are cheaper and more convenient compared to personal interviews and online questionnaires considering the sample size involved. Respondents will consist of adult business owners or managers (at least 18 years in age). The primary data will be collected using mailed questionnaires which will be written both in English and Chinese to ensure that respondents clearly understand and answer as accurately as possible to questions asked. The study will require respondents to state their business location, and give brief descriptions of their business products. The respondent will further be required to state to what level his/her business goes through different stages of the design and development process when making new products or modifying existing ones to achieve best results in the market. This will generally be labeled as high, low or medium for ease of analysis. In view of the Chinese culture of Confucianism and socialism, the respondents will also be required to state specific benefits and limitations these widely adopted cultures have on their business systems and practices. The study is also expected to reveal the relationship that exists between the Chinese culture of Confucianism and socialism and success (or failure) of Chinese art and Craft businesses. Success level will have five value labels: extremely successful=1, highly successful=2, moderately successful=3, low success=4 and failing=5. Owing to the relatively complicated nature of the study and the number of respondents involved, the survey will be expected to run for a period of three months. 4.0 Work Schedule The following table outlines how the research will be conducted within the three month period. Table 1: Work Schedule S/No. Activity Time 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 Acquisition of Resources 2 Material preparation 3 Data collection 4 Data analysis 5 Report writing 6 Presentation/Submission of Report 5.0 Ethical Issues Several standards have been developed internationally to guide the performance of survey and research. These standards generally ensure that studies are practical enough to achieve their objectives without infringing on respondents (and other parties) rights while also putting into application only scientifically accepted methods. Respondents will in no way be compelled to participate in giving responses; participation will therefore be out of utmost good faith and free will. Respondents identities will remain secret in compliance with stringent identity protection research requirements. Since all respondents will be adult there will be no restriction related to seeking other peoples consent as it is normally required when dealing with minors. Further, the raw data will be kept secret and disclosure of any information regarding participating businesses absolutely forbidden. Generally the survey will conducted in line with internationally accepted procedures, methods and standards to ensure that it gives a truly representative picture of how art and craft businesses in China develop their products and how much success these products achieve in the market.  6.0 Expected Results A truly representative view of product design and development practices among art and craft businesses should be obtained from this survey. The survey is expected to accurately show how widespread art and craft businesses engage in research, idea conceptualization, prototyping, design for production and coordination of manufacturing processes. The survey will also reveal the impact of adopting an effective product development cycle in the market. The results will be tabulated as shown in the table below for easier analysis. Table 2: Data table S/N Design process level (1-3) Positive effects of Confucianism (1-5) Negative effects of Confucianism (1-5) Positive effects of Socialism (1-5) Negative effects of Socialism (1-5) Level of Business Success (1-5) 1 2 3 to 50 Data gathered from the survey will therefore be used to determine if there are any correlations between market research, product design and development, and product success in terms of market demand and profitability. The study is also expected to reveal the relationship that exists between the Chinese culture of Confucianism and socialism and success (or failure) of Chinese art and Craft businesses.       With all research activities done in compliance with internationally recognized standards, it is expected that the results will be viable for use as secondary data for other organizations seeking such data. The results will provide useful information that may help in developing a better culture in product design and development among Chinese businesses. References Cross N 2000 Engineering design methods strategies for product design McGrowHill Essentials of product design 2009 http://www.designcouncil.org.uk/en/About-Design/Design-Disciplines/Product-design/   Feuerwerker A Fairbank K and Twitchett C 1986 The history of China Illustrated edition Published by Cambridge University Press Hong N Chan M and Chen E 2000 The business environment in Hong Kong Oxford University Press USA Lee J and Chow R 2003 Market orientation and business performance in a Chinese business environment Journal of Business Research - Elsevier Paul Burkett and Martin Hart-Landsberg July-Aug 2004 China and Socialism Monthly review Vol 56-3 Steven Eppinger and Karl Ulrich 2008 Product Design and Development 4th edition Irwin McGrawHill Xinzhong Y 2000 An introduction to Confucianism Illustrated edition Published by Cambridge University Press Read More