Logitech as a Global Electronic Goods Producer - Assignment Example

?INNOVATION MANAGEMENT - LOGITECH introduction Logitech is a popular in the electronic goods industry. It has its expertise spread in merely most of the segments of electronics in today’s fast moving world of innovation and fast changing technology. It offers a range of products mainly in the field of security systems, multimedia and accessories of computers and note pads. Logitech is a global electronic goods producer and it is looking towards expansion. The company intends to develop a brand which aims at creating Smart Homes for their users. This can be done by connecting the devises like the heating system, cookers and fridges etc. over a home network for central control. It is also planning to this for remote reading of the water meters known as “Smart Metering solutions.” To accomplish this Logitech plans to acquire a small high technology firm with the relevant expertise in the new area. Logitech must be prepared to understand that acquiring a new company will have its own problems and issues which the company will have to face. This report presents the analysis the situation of Logitech that is planning to acquire a company in order to extend its product line. This report analyses the value creation of Logitech as it intends to acquire the company. The second part of the report presents the marketing analysis that also includes the external environment analysis of the company. PEST analysis has been used to analyze the external environment of the company. The third part of the report analyses how proper and appropriate innovation management can help the organization in making this change a successful one. The fourth part of the report discusses the role of strategic leadership and what role the leaders can play in formulating strategies and in making sure that the change is successful. Then the report leads to the conclusion. PART I - VALUE CREATION Existing Line Of Products Logitech is a very prominent name in the field of electronics. It has a variety of products to cherish its product line such as: Tablet Accessories From headphones to keyboards Mice & Keyboard Combos HD Webcams which outperform embedded cameras and enable face-to-face meetings Headsets compatible with PCs, Macs and most UC platforms. Multimedia speakers with a variety of range of sizes and styles. Presentation Devices Gaming & Security System Logitech’s product line consists of the following home monitoring and security items also bear a wide variety of product which are all top of the line. These consist of Master Systems Add-on Cameras Premium Services Accessories Bundle Builders Busted Videos Product Proposal Logitech is planning to extend its product line by entering the new sci-tech product arena. It plans to acquire a small high technology firm with the expertise in this area in order to do so. This decision will surely benefit the company a lot. Besides the endless benefits the company will have to consider that the costs of operations will increase. Logitech by acquiring such a company will take responsibility of the existing product line of the company too. Engaging with the new company will increase the responsibility of Logitech. This acquisition will show that Logitech will be the one responsible for that companies product decisions. If that company fails to deliver any sort of perfection in its own existing product line, Logitech name will also be on stake. Smart Metering Solution The acquisition of a whole new company is intended for the product line in which Logitech plans to penetrate. This is a new product to ensure complete solution from home related issues. This product will help measure the water consumption of the individuals of the house. This is a very important device because water has become a rare commodity these days. To ensure the least wastage of resources and the efficient monitoring of the usage of water, this device will prove to be very useful. Competitors There are already a few companies which are working and producing smart meters. These companies would prove to be the competitors of Logitech for the production of smart meter in the business. A few of the names are mentioned below, Siemens G4S Texas Instruments Schneider Echelon Trilliant Incorporation etc. There are many more names but the above mentioned will prove to be the biggest competitors of Logitech in the production of Smart Meters. Being a new entrant in the industry it will have to promote its product with the existing brand equity which it has. The competition would be tough and the difficulties to be faced would be quiet challenging. Logitech would have to strike the market with innovation and technological advancement in order to penetrate or enter the industry in the initial phase. Only innovation and thinking out of the box will make the product penetrate the market at such a stage. Product Description Logitech plans to connect the home systems via a connection interface requires state of the art technology in order to implement the plan itself. The acquisition of the new firm with high technology functions will benefit Logitech in developing the interface. This plan may require the need to apply the Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) to highlight operational efficiencies, enhancement of various services, the ability to support Time-Of-Use (TOU), pricing structure and control the demand of the whole program to ensure smooth functioning. Logitech’s Smart Metering Solution will support only the water meters to monitor and ensure minimum wastage of the water reserve. This act will also show efficiencies in the field of CSR. The meters system which will be applied in the residence of the individuals will be built using the state of the art technology. The meter will be modeled and equipped with factory installed systems of communication modules. The primary meter functions would include Meter Reading of the water consumption Usage of Profiling Billing will increase and the customers can be charged fairly according to their usage. Remote controlled meters for efficient usage. This interface will help monitor the usage of water in the whole house. It would be connected with the whole house to show the consumption of water in the whole house. Value Proposition Statement “Save water today, to ensure its availability tomorrow, because it is a precious commodity.” Description The value of the product is priceless. This is because the usage and the implementation of the product is very important in today’s age. Water is becoming a rare commodity. Many third world countries are deprived of this basic facility whereas in the urban areas the people are not self responsive and do not use this commodity efficiently. This is the reason why this product is very important. To implement this technology Logitech will require actions from the government to induce certain laws which would help increase the usage of this product. PART II- MANAGERIAL PLANNING AND GOALS The goal of the company is to enter the market with a new product. With the new product, the idea is to increase the existing line of products. This product would require an acquisition of a whole new firm which has the expertise of producing such technology products. The management plans to expand in such a way that a whole new arena for a central home controlling system can be made. PEST Analysis The PEST Analysis of a company shows the importance of analyzing the factors which can prove to be a hurdle for the product itself. It is an analysis of a product and its chances of stability on a macro-economic level. The components of the PEST Analysis are Political Economical Social Technological Advancement Description Of The PEST analysis POLITICAL The Smart Meter System is not a new product. It has been built by many companies for the enhancement of the efficient measurement of electricity. Logitech plans to make an accessory to measure the consumption of water within the house. This meter would be beneficial for those households who are self motivated to secure water and who can take social responsibility very seriously. The political influence in this segment is much lesser because this issue has not been given that much heed yet. This product can be promoted by the help of WWF or the WHO so that the importance of the product can be highlighted to ensure minimum usage of water. This product can be promoted for use where there is severe shortage of water. By this the people can be charged with the amount they consume. ECONOMICAL Economic factor helps in analyzing the economic factors associated with the product and that can influence the product. This product can be used in places where there is a lot of water drought, those governments which charge very heavily on its people for the consumption or this can be a home controlling device to ensure that all the resources are being utilized efficiently. SOCIAL This product has high social concerns. This product has a target market of those people who are socially responsible and plan to efficiently use the resources as a commodity of importance. The smart meters have been in a lot of controversies before. This is because some have been challenged as being inappropriate for home usage and some have problems of emitting harmful radiations. Logitech will have to keep it in mind that their Smart Meter is free from such controversies and that it is does not prove to be harmful for its users. TECHNOLOGICAL This product in itself is a new technology. It is an innovation in the field and it requires assistance of a separate firm to be made.. The new technology can be used to market this product. However, the company will have threats in the long run with the advancement in technology, as a new substitute product may be invented. PART 3 - INNOVATION MANAGEMENT Innovation management as the name explains is the process of managing the innovation of a product and makes it the key basis for promoting that product to the desired audience (Ojasalo, 2008). Innovation management is an area designed to allow managers and the engineers to work hands in hands with each other and develop a mutual understanding to achieve the goals and objectives of the company (Afuah, 2003) . Innovation management guides the users to respond to the internal and the external opportunities available for the company. Innovation management teaches the art of analyzing ideas of employees of the company and using those ideas to bring in evolutionary changes (Tidd, 2001). The staff must be constantly acknowledged for the work they produce. This is the key to success for innovation management. A good innovation can ensure the growth of the company. An innovative product which the company has can ensure the growth and profit maximization of the company (Goffin, & Mitchell, 2005). The engineers of the product are the ones that come up with the innovative product and the managers of the company need to ensure that the product is suitable enough to generate the required return. The integration of business and technology together can ignite innovation. Technology and its constant advancement is what drive the innovation process. To capitalize the technology available and to bring out the creative energy of the organization, the process should be combined with the marketing and the business insights combined together. The top management of a company views the integration of business and innovation combined together as crucial to innovation (Goffin, & Mitchell, 2005). Innovation is very important these days but yet marketing the innovation and managing it are very important factors as well. If an idea is good and innovative but the management is weak and they fail to deliver the idea then the innovation itself does not make a big difference (Afuah, 2003). Only a few companies understand this and really are able to succeed in doing so. Innovation is more than the mere use of technology. Technology today actually leads to innovation. Innovation management is the essence of the success of a new idea. It is gaining popularity day by day and it will surely become a common practice for all the companies in the future. Integrating Staff After all successful acquisitions the company has to face a few major challenges. The first is to integrate the existing staff. When Logitech will acquire the new technology firm it will have to create a channel of communication amongst the existing and the new staff of the company. This is important to remove the barriers of communication amongst the staff (Storey, 2000). After acquiring the staff of the acquirer company, the situation is often confused regarding how things will proceed. If such questions of the employees are left unanswered it turns out into losses for the company and the confidence of the employees is left shattered and eroded (Harryson, 2000). The whole process may take about 90 days or more to stabilize the environment. An integration manager must be appointed to resolve the queries of the employees. Then the policies and procedures set should be understood to understand the behavior to which the employees are accustomed (Storey, 2000). It is important to communicate the new message amongst the employees and try to implement the norms of the old company as slowly as possible. Creating teams by combining the employees of both the companies are also important in ensuring success in such a situation (Hidalgo, & Albors, 2008). As far as the integration of Logitech is concerned it can apply the same process to the newly acquired company. It can establish a combination of the workforce of the new company with the new one. The technical staff of the new company would remain at the same place because it belongs to a completely new field of business. To make this decision more fruitful the company should use the staff of both the firms to communicate value and rebrand the company. The newly acquired staff should be dealt with empathy and compassion. The essence of this process is to remove communication barriers. PART 4- STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP The vision and the direction which the company follows are provided by the strategic leadership. Change is inevitable and to deal with change and manage the ambiguity associated with the change strategic leadership is required. The strategic leadership provides a sense of direction and helps build a sense of ownership for the upcoming change (Yukl, 1989). The strategic leadership undertakes the vision of the company and set some desired goals for the organization. Then these same sets of strategic goals are delivered to the staff and they are motivated to make these goals their own. A visionary leader is future oriented and is more of a risk taker and they seek out for risky venture especially when the rewards are high (House, et al. 2004). The strategic leadership plays a very important role for an organization (Gilmore, 2003). Logitech is on the phase of acquiring a new firm for expansion and entering into extending its product line. In order to do so the management of Logitech must formulate certain goals that how company’s leadership will be beneficial for the acquired firm. It is important to identify the benefits that the new firm will get after it is acquired by Logitech. Moreover, whether the acquired company share the same level of Brand equity which Logitech possesses or will it only be linked to Logitech with the name of the Smart Metering Solutions. The leadership of the company must work out a short term and long term plans for the goals which the company needs to attain. In addition to this, the company must also see that the acquired company is structured on the right path. Short term goals The short term goal of Logitech after acquisition must be to Manage the staff efficiently Deliver the values of the company to the newly acquired human resource Communicate with the new staff Show them the benefits of being connected to Logitech Focus on the development of the new product Check out the feasibility of the new product Try to structure the goals for the marketing of the product Make the acquired staff of the new firm adapt to the norms of Strategic leadership has a crucial role in the success of the organization. When the organizations are going through change, then the role of leaders is immense. Leaders are the ones that can lead from the front and make sure that the questions in the minds of the employees are answered. It is important for the leaders to manage and formulate strategies (Young, & Norris, 1988). One of the strategies to reduce such issues is to communicate the reasons and benefits of the change not only to the organization but to every member or stakeholder of the organization. It is not only that the employees of the organization that are satisfied but the other stakeholders are also satisfied as they can also influence the organization and its actions (House, et al. 2004). Strategic leadership can reduce the threats that employees or stakeholders are facing. By communicating and showing the benefits, the leaders can play a critical role in making the change a successful one (Storey, 2000). Communication skills along with the ability to convince others can be the make and break situation between making the change a success or a failure (Young, & Norris, 1988) Conclusion Logitech aims to increase its product range and in order to do so, the company plans to acquire another company. Acquiring another company is a challenging task as it increases the pressure on not only the management to manage things, but on the employees as well as other stakeholders. Managing of such situation is critical in order to make the change successful. In this regard, the role of leader is very critical as by communicating with all the important members including employees, and other stakeholders, the leader can make sure that every member of the organization understand the situation and understand the reasons for the change. Once the leader is able to communicate appropriately the change and its benefits to every stakeholder, then it will lead to a successful change. However if the leader is not able to do so, then it may increase the chaos and thus lead to failure. References Afuah, A. (2003). Innovation management: strategies, implementation and profits. Gilmore, T. N. (2003). Making a Leadership Change: How Organizations and Leaders Can Handle Leadership Transitions Sucessfully. Authors Choice Press. Goffin, K., & Mitchell, R. (2005). Innovation management. London: Palgrave Macmillan. Harryson, S. (2000). Managing know-who based companies: a multinetworked approach to knowledge and innovation management. London: Edward Elgar. Hidalgo, A., & Albors, J. (2008). Innovation management techniques and tools: a review from theory and practice. R&d Management, vol. 38, no. 2, pp. 113-127. House, R. J., Hanges, P. J., Javidan, M., Dorfman, P. W., & Gupta, V. (2004).Culture, leadership, and organizations. London: Sage. Ojasalo, J. (2008). Management of innovation networks: a case study of different approaches. European Journal of Innovation Management, vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 51-86. Storey, J. (2000). The management of innovation problem. International Journal of Innovation Management, vol. 4, no. 03, pp. 347-369. Tidd, J. (2001). Innovation management in context: environment, organization and performance. International Journal of Management Reviews, vol. 3, no. 3, pp. 169-183. Tushman, M. L., & Moore, W. L. (1982). Readings in the Management of Innovation. Boston, MA: Pitman. Young, F. E., & Norris, J. A. (1988). Leadership change and action planning: A case study. Public Administration Review, pp. 564-570. Yukl, G. A. (1989). Leadership in organizations. Pearson Education India. Read More