Best Snacks Problem Solution - Essay Example

? Best Snacks Problem Solution Number January 29, Best Snacks Problem Solution Introduction The ability to initiate different plans and development, specifically in terms of innovation, is one which also requires various concepts and practices to be implemented. In the Best Snacks scenario, it is noted that the performance level for sale and products are continuing to decline. The ability to change this level of innovation is one which is based specifically on the ability to re-examine the management practices and the relationship to innovation which is associated with this. The concepts and practices that are related to this are inclusive of observations, strategies and implementation of new alternatives within the company. The plan is also based on beginning to alter the practices and policies for research and development while adding in training to begin altering the organizational culture. The ability to develop this particular plan for Best Snacks is one which then requires movement into the culture and production based approaches within the company. By strategically implementing this perspective, there will be the ability to look into total quality management alternatives. Describe the Situation Issue and Opportunity Identification 1. The first issue is with Best Snack moving below other competitors. It is now slipping past other competitors as well as smaller businesses that are moving forward with new innovations. 2. R& D is no longer performing to the same measures that it did, leaving the product development behind from past years. 3. Marketing methods with old and new products are not being implemented outside of the expectations from the past development. 4. The organizational culture is not inviting in as many new options for product development because of the stability of products that are already available. 1. The first opportunity is to begin working toward innovation through the organizational culture, allowing new options and development to be made available. 2. Ability to increase the capacity for creativity within the company, allowing new products to be developed. 3. More opportunities for employees to change their role while growing an alternative organizational culture. 4. Training and development that will lead to more of a return of investment. Stakeholder Perspectives and Ethical Dilemmas The stakeholder perspectives are currently standing in a strong position because Best Snack has been a leader in snacks for 150 years. This is combined with the strong standing which remains with the company in the current position. However, the danger is that the company is falling to other competitors. From the stakeholder perspective, this becomes a threat to getting a return on investment while having the same strength with the investments which they are making. To change this, communication, strategies and implementation to remain ahead of other competitors is required, specifically to begin changing the skills, innovations and products within the market. While Best Snack needs to incorporate the new innovations, the approach needs to be one which is low risk, specifically so stakeholders will continue to invest and see a profit margin. The ethical dilemmas which are associated with the current approach is based on the risks that are associated with the training, development and alterations with the current culture. Changing this too much or taking risks which are not consistent with the needs of the company can also lead to the wrong developments and initiatives and may create a lack of the right approach and investment to the current status. Making sure there is an approach that is consistent and which validates the changes and initiatives will also ensure that stakeholders and others have the right response while being clear of the changes being made. Frame the Right Problem The problem with Best Snack is based on the lack of innovation which is currently with the company, specifically because of the longer period of time that the same products have been developed. Instead of focusing on growth and development of the organizational culture, there are expectations of what has already been established with Best Snack. This is causing both the internal and external organization to not have the right framework for growth, innovation and development within the company while causing the competition to move ahead of Best Snack. The aspiration of the company is then to begin establishing a framework for growth and development that will assist with increased profitability and innovation. This will allow Best Snack to remain as a top competitor based on innovation and development while offering progression in the current organizational culture. Describe the End-State Vision The end – state vision of Best Snacks will be to remain ahead of the competitors and as a global leader of products and snacks. This will be led with more products and innovations that are available for the current market. This will be combined with an organizational culture which is led by innovation and a structure which offers employees and those working in relation to the company to have opportunities and development within the organization. Identify the Alternatives and Benchmarking Validation Issue: Best Snacks sales are declining because of a lack of innovation within the internal organization. Opportunity: Training and development can be used to offer more innovative features with the products while increasing different segment markets for the snacks. Alternative Solution: Work toward product features to be released within the company while setting goals that offers opportunities to employees to become a part of the process of innovation within the company while using training and development as an association with the company product development. Evaluate the Alternatives 1. Training and development. Employees can be trained to begin changing the organizational culture, specifically to present a different alternative to the product development and innovations. 2. R&D initiatives. Strategically implement new products with a different approach from R&D. This will define the competition, current demands from consumers and alternatives for various snack products. 3. Strategic marketing. The loss in earnings indicates that the marketing scheme is not as developed. Adding more innovation and creativity with current products may assist in altering the demand for products. 4. Incentive programs. Offer new alternatives for employees to work with innovation within a team, such as through the product development and marketing schemes in return for new incentives. Narrowed List of Alternatives The main alternative will be based on training and development. The training of employees changes the overall quality management within the organization. This alters the culture, specifically with the use of knowledge management to assist and guide those that are in the organization. This will also change the level of implementation and production that is associated with Best Snack. The alternative of training and development will be followed by R&D initiatives and strategic marketing. These are incorporated into the innovative development as well as the training and development that are a part of the needed innovation. Incorporating each of these will then provide new levels within the organizational culture and in terms of the development initiatives required within the company. Identify and Assess Risks The risk of R&D development is based on the difficulties of innovation that may be used. The innovation which is used with R&D incorporates a larger amount of spending for those that are creating various products. However, the risk from the return of the product increases because there is uncertainty of how this will work against competitors and with demands of consumers. The R&D development then requires evaluating both the risks and the incorporation of sustainability within the company (Ulku, 2004). The risks with the marketing management have the same association in terms of the expected response from the consumers and the expectations which are associated with this. New product development has a variety of risks with the marketing, specifically because the wrong message may be conveyed, not allowing the product to have the correct demand. Older products that have a new message may have the same difficulty, specifically because there needs to be a link to the brand image which may be lost or there may be a reverse effect because of the changing trends within the market (Ogawa, Piller, 2006). Make the Decision The incorporation of training and development of employees and management for new product implementation is the final decision. This allows the other areas of innovation and development to be met while increasing the organizational culture and value which is associated with this. The benefits that are associated with training and development are directly related to total quality management in which the entire company and the external environment are benefitted. The benefits allow the culture to change and for innovation of products to begin to develop at a different level. This is combined with an understanding of the development options and assessment processes that are a part of the management. The result will be lower risk with the products while allowing innovation to become a main dynamic within the company (Aguinis, 2009). The ability to use training and development for the workforce culture and total quality management will further with the growth of the overall organization from a variety of levels. It is expected that the training and development will open communication to the goals and objectives of the organization. This communication with managers and employees will immediately affect the accuracy of the products developed as well as the associations which are a part of the organization. This will be furthered with the initiatives and development with how each of the employees is able to change the perspective and definition of the organization. This will immediately lead to more effective and substantial efforts of the development of products and the initiatives being understood within the company (Glass, 2007). Develop and Implement the Solution Deliverables: Training and development system for all employees, beginning process for new and innovative products Timeline: Training and development will be a continuous part of the process. Managers will first be considered as a way to begin developing new innovations while working with different leadership and skill sets while working with employees. This will be combined with ways to look into the innovations and development within the workforce. The timeline will be followed with the expectation to have new ideas, product innovations and development initiatives within the company that reflect the continuous change with innovation as the primary need in the workforce. Person in Charge: Currently, Sabrina McKay is in charge of implementing the main training and development. This will be followed by asking third parties to come in to assist with the training and development. This will be followed by the managerial staff being in charge of implementing new innovations while working within the structure to begin changing the dynamics within the workforce. Resources: The resources will be based on the use of third parties as well as the implementation through those that are already in managerial positions in the workforce. There will also be resources used in terms of knowledge exchange and implementation, such as through online resources, technology and information used with other corporations that compliment ideas of innovation (Collins, 2006). Evaluate the Results The results within the corporation will be evaluated by the enhanced performance from the external environment. It will be expected that there will be a growth of consumer response from the release of new innovations and products. It is also expected that revenue growth will be associated with this. The main association will be with the performance levels that increase among the internal environment. Surveys and evaluations will be given to different employees to note a difference in the dynamics of innovation of products and associations which are incorporated with this. The growth within the company will be furthered with the noted benefits from both the internal environment and the performance measures that are associated with the organization (Noe, 2002). Conclusion The ability to begin changing and altering a corporation begins with altering the quality management within the organization. When looking at Best Snack, it is noted that there need to be specific changes within the organization to begin operating differently. While the particular corporation has held a strong stance within the community for a long period of time, the need to change with the current needs has not been met causing the performance and revenue of the company to move to lower amounts. The reasoning with this is linked directly to the lack of innovation of products, which is allowing competitors and others to begin moving further ahead than Best Snack in revenue and performance. To change this, Best Snack is required to begin looking at alternatives within the internal environment, including associations with innovation and development. Using training and development as the main area of growth is one which will impact the growth of the company, amount of innovation offered and the options for development against competitors. References Aguinis, H. (2009). “Benefits of Training and Development for Individuals and Teams, Organizations, and Society.” Annual Review of Psychology 37 (2). Collins, CJ. (2006). “Knowledge Exchange and Combination: The Role of Human Resource Practices in the Performance of High – Technology Firms.” The Academy of Management Review 37 (4). Glass, A. (2007). “Understanding Differences for Competitive Success.” Industrial and Commercial Training 57 (3). Noe, RA. (2002). Employee Training and Development UK: Routledge. Ogawa S, FT Piller. (2006). “Reducing the Risks of Product Development.” MIT Sloan Management Review 37 (2). Ulku, H. (2004). R&D Innovation and Economic Growth: An Empirical Analysis. UK: Routledge. Table 1 Issues and Opportunities Identification Issues Opportunities Reference to Specific Course Concept Discounting of the urgency of the situation Creating an urgency to change Several of the managers believe that things are really OK. This is consistent with some of the “cognitive biases” (Jones, 2004, p. 385) that make it difficult for organizations to change. Not working toward innovation Creating opportunities for innovation Managers have recognized that products are not being developed as they were in the past, leading to managers and employees not developing the right concepts to keep ahead of the competition. R&D lack of development and initiative New innovations and products R&D used to be ahead of the company with several innovations every year. However, this has stopped in recent years. Table 2 Stakeholder Perspectives and Ethical Dilemmas Stakeholder Groups With Competing Values List: Group X versus Group Y The Interests, Rights, and Values of Each Group The Ethical Dilemma Based on the Competing Values Internal vs. external stakeholders Interest of growth in corporation v. finding the best investment Level of commitment to the company and ability to move forward with the company with this commitment Table 3 Analysis of Alternative Solutions Table 4 Risk Assessment and Mitigation Alternative Risks and Probability Consequence and Severity Mitigation Techniques and Strategies R&D Development Wrong innovation Wrong recognition stakeholders Inability to release product, loss of revenue training strategies development w/ management Marketing Development wrong target market inability to offer correct products Loss of revenue training strategies research Table 5 Pros and Cons of Alternative Solutions Alternative Pros Cons R&D Development More innovation Growth of culture Large risks Loss of revenue Marketing Development More innovation Recognition of products already in marketplace Loss of revenue Not meeting right goals No innovation Table 6 Optimal Solution Implementation Plan Action Item Deliverable Timeline Who is Responsible? Training and development research 2 weeks Sabrina Training and development of managers 6 weeks TBD Innovative product development 4 weeks Managers Evaluation 1 week (ongoing) Sabrina Changes to training and development & second training 6 weeks TBD Table 7 Evaluation of Results End-State Goals Metrics Target New innovation products Performance and revenue Employees and consumers Organizational culture enhanced Surveys of employees Employees and managers Ahead of competition Performance and revenue Employees and consumers Read More