Diffusion of Innovations in Apple Incorporated - Essay Example

?Functional Objective The core competence of the organization is based on the aspect of design and technology development to provide value addition to the products. Hence one of the important functional objectives for Apple Inc is diffusion of innovations. Diffusion of Innovations involves the extent to which the aspect of inducing innovations has penetrated within th entire culture and the workforce of the organization. what is diffusion of innovations?. This is also important considering the fact that innovations are the basis for product development and innovations. It is also essential to ensure proper diffusion of innovation so that every employee tries to innovate the business process of the organization so as to generate greater value for the products and the customers. Diffusion of innovations would also help in improving the core focus of the organization that would help it to sustain itself in the competitive and turbulent business environment. Techniques for Improvement In order to achieve diffusion of innovation in the organization, Apple must adopt a strategy that tends to integrate the different functionalities of the organization. This would also include aligning its organization culture and structure so as to bring about greater diffusion of innovation in the organization. A flat organizational structure with greater functional independence would go about towards generating innovations and would also reduce barriers of communications that would help bring about diffusion of innovations. A ‘zootechnical’ form of innovation which includes use of technology to integrate the organizational culture and the aspect of innovation could be adopted by the organization (Manrique et al, 2000, p.107). In addition the organizational culture must also implement an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) (what is ERP?) that would help it to integrate its different functional units that would help in better coordination and information sharing which would enable better diffusion of innovation in the organization. Apple must also incorporate the ‘Kaizen’ philosophy in the organization. Kaizen philosophy calls for a continuous improvement in the business process by inducing in a process of continuous learning. Adopting this philosophy would help the organization to achieve its objectives by enhancing the learning curve of the employees as well as the organization. This is important as innovations are largely based on learning and knowledge and enhancement of the learning curve can actually go about a long way in inducing employees to indulge in continuous improvement as employees would continuously develop new ideas for the betterment of the business. This in turn would lead to innovations which is the core competence of the firm. The importance of Kaizen philosophy is that it tends to include the organizational culture by helping the organization to continuously improve its culture that leads to innovation (Christensen, Betz & Stein, 2007, p.68). JIT and SPC The Just in Time approach is a part of the philosophy of operational excellence. The Just in Time approach envisages a situation in which organizations keep a minimum stock of inventory with them and stock minimal volume of goods. This helps in reducing the inventory carrying costs for a company as only a bare minimum inventory is stocked. This technique has been successfully employed by organizations like Dell and Toyota to derive competitive advantage. The implementation of Just in Time requires a close synchronisation with the suppliers of the organization. It has also been observed that incorporating a Just in Time approach would help foster a better relationship with the organization and the suppliers (Pride & Ferrell, 2010, p.329). is the whole paragraph from this reference? Organizational Issue : a little more detail is needed here. What happens due to this organisational issue. What affect does it have on the organisation? The main issue faced by Apple is with regards to the aspect of promoting innovations and its subsequent diffusion into the entire organization. This is important considering the fact that innovations form the core competence of the organization. In order to ensure continuous innovations the organization must seek to induce certain operational goals that would seek to induce innovations and also to promote its diffusion into the organization so as to maintain sustainability. The importance of diffusion of innovations assumes significance as it is essential that every element of the organization is affected by the process of innovations that would help make it sustainable. Hence diffusion of importance is quite essential for Apple to maintain profitability and sustainability. Task 2: Plan and implement operational plans Operational Change: Increase this part a bit if possible. Just another small paragraph about how the operational change will help. As a part of the operational change Apple Inc would adopt and implement the Kaizen Philosophy in the organization. Adoption of this philosophy would help in enhancement of the learning curve which would help the firm to achieve its objective of diffusion of innovation as it envisages continuous learning. It would also help in aligning and inducing greater coordination and control among the different functional units of the organization that would help foster a spirit of innovation which is the core competence of the firm. The implementation of the Kaizen philosophy would motivate the employees to promote better thinking so as to develop new ideas that would ultimately help in development of new products as well as value addition to the product line. This would ensure entry barriers for the new players and would help beat the competition within the existing players thus determining competitive advantage. Objectives The analysis of the business processes of Apple Inc provides an idea of the area of opportunity as well as strengths of the organization. The organization also faces the challenge of inducing continuous innovations and its diffusion into the organization. In order to take care of this challenge the organization can implement the Kaizen philosophy in the organization as a part of an operational change in the organization. As a part of implementing kaizen in the organization a set of goals for Apple Inc are stated below: Enhance the budget for training and development by 20 percent in the next 3 years. Adopting the Just in Time approach within next 3 years. Reducing defects by approximately 90 percent in the next 2 years. Primary study for initiating and implementation of Statistical process control by the next 5 years. SMART Objectives SMART is an acronym for Specific, Measurable, Agreeable, Realistic and Time Frame. It is a tool that is used to analyse the business objectives of an organization. Specific Specific implies that the objectives that are designed in a manner that they are very clear in nature and are easily understood by any person associated with the organization (Williams, 2004, p.41). The objectives designed above are highly specific as they are very clear in the areas to be achieved by the organization. Measurable Measurable implies that the objectives can be easily quantified and that they are non ambiguous in nature (Williams, 2004, p.41). The analysis of the objectives of Apple Inc reveals a specific percentage term associated with them which make them easily quantifiable enabling easy measurement. Agreeable The objectives designed by an organization must be essentially approved by all the stakeholders of the organization. Apple Inc’s strategies and objectives are always framed after proper consultations and approvals by the major stakeholders that ensure better implementation. Realistic Realistic implies that the objectives of the organization are backed by an effective availability of resources both material as well as human to meet the needs of the organization. Apple Inc has a well trained workforce that can easily achieve the goals set by the organization. A strong balance sheet also reflects the realistic nature of the objectives set above. Time Frame The objectives are stated to be largely effective only when they have a time frame associated with them. Each of the objectives of Apple Inc have a specific time frame associated with them that makes them highly time bound which ensures proper feedbacks and evaluation with regards to the achievement of the objectives. Bibliography: Apple. (2010). Supplier Responsibility. [Pdf]. Available at: http://images.apple.com/supplierresponsibility/pdf/Apple_SR_2010_Progress_Report.pdf [Accessed on April 25, 2011]. Christensen, E.H, Betz, K.M.C & Stein, M.S. (2007). The certified quality process analyst handbook. ASQ Quality Press. Doty, L.A. (1996). Statistical process control. Industrial Press Inc. Freedman, R.D. & Vohr, J. (1998). APPLE COMPUTER, INC. [Pdf]. Available at: http://www.stern.nyu.edu/mgt/private_file/mo/rfreedma_ca/apple.pdf [Accessed on April 23, 2011]. 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