Managing the Innovation - Philips Lighting - Case Study Example

A REPORT ASSESSING THE MANAGEMENT OF INNOVATION IN THE PHILIPS LIGHTING NAME INSTITUTION DATE Introduction This report is based on a case study that is about the management of innovation in the Philips lighting company. Any company has to be innovative in some way if it is to stay in business and continue making profits for a long time. Managing innovation processes properly is a survival imperative that is employed by most companies that are continually making profits. Philips lighting had to change the ways in which it delivered its products and services and come up with new ways that were attractive to its consumers if it was to reduce the risk of being left behind and incurring losses as a result. It had also to be innovative in order to bring new products and services to the markets that were going to attract new consumers. The company has come a long way in its innovativeness. Initially, it was set up to produce light bulbs but has now evolved into a whole new different level of producing different products and services through innovation. Through innovation, the company has managed to create an internationally recognized brand name that is active in many different fields for example in the health care field where it launched the X-ray tubes, it is also concerned with consumer lifestyle, lighting, the compact cassette and compact disc production and lastly but more recently, the introduction of its own Ambilight TV to the market. Philips lighting, as a company, has been in business for more than 100 years and its brand name is still growing due to its deep understanding of innovation. The company has engaged itself with a program that is directed towards rejuvenating all its brands in order to bring them up to the standards that will be more appreciated by the consumers of its products. This report will highlight the process and the programs which the company has put in place in order to rejuvenate its products. In this report, we seek to analyze and examine the journey that Philips lighting has gone through since it was first established in 1891, the way the company works, the composition of the teams that are behind its trends of innovation, the business outcome from its innovation activities and lastly, we will report on the key lessons that support corporate entrepreneurs to effectively introduce radical innovation in their organizations or companies. Analysis of Philips lighting and its management of innovation Joe Tidd & John Bessant in their Book Managing Innovation, conclude that a shared vision, leadership and the will to innovate are some of the key components of an innovative organization. There has to be some commitment and a shared sense of purpose from the top management committee of any organization if any form of innovation is to take place. This happens to be the main reason why the manager of the central lighting Development Lab of the Philips lighting company held an innovation work shop which was attended by all the group managers of the Philips lighting company in December 2000. He held the workshop because he was driven by a desire of trying to boost the innovative effectiveness of the company’s staff. By the time the work shop had come to an end, the members had come up with a conclusion that the desired growth could only be achieved through doing what the organization was doing better that it was doing it. As a result of this workshop, in the following year (2001), the Chief Technology officer of the lambs business begun some programs that set off some activities which were meant for discovery purposes in order to speed up learning opportunities which could help in shaping a platform for the future. The activities included: a) The creation of a new vision team in the central lighting Development which constituted an equal male and female representation. The role of the team was to inspire members of the organization by making use of lectures and through holding workshops within the organization. The team was also supposed to carry out an extensive research from books the team bore fruits to the organization through the invention of the Ambilight TV. b) The setting up of a project of manufacturing the headlights of automobiles. The project comprised a combination of the Dialog Decision Process (DDP) and a Philips design of innovation process which is based on socio-cultural insights. c) The establishment of a Philips Lighting New Business Creation Group which was made up of four senior managers and one lateral thinker. The group was charged with a task of asking relevant questions which were to challenge the assumptions that were made. The group was also meant to provide the environment for business development. The establishment of the vision team and business creation group was playing in line with the key individual component of the innovative organization. The individuals in the teams were capable of solving any problems that they came across that were in line with innovation (Tidd & Bessant 2009). By the end of 2002, the above activities were concluded and termed as successful. They led to the formation of a new business atmosphere with a new theme of Atmosphere provider. The Atmosphere provider was all about empowering people to become their own light designers. New business projects were also created as a result and a list of new ideas for business were drafted down to foster new business creation. The atmosphere provider program It was launched in July 2003 and lasted for a period of two and half years. It was mainly meant to create a desire for innovation, to create an environment for the innovation & growth opportunities, begin the creation of a related patent portfolio, explore towards new business proposition and to initiate the setting up of an atmosphere provider network with a shared vision, creativity, cross-functional and discipline perspectives which could embrace the required new way of working. The program was made up by a team of four individuals. As time went by, the number increased and a lighting designer, a market researcher, a marketing specialist and other individuals from the company were in co-operated into the team. The team members who came from outside the company brought with them an external customer orientation and extensive networking from the outside world as stipulated in the components of the innovative organization (Tidd & Bessant 2009). By the end of 2005, the Atmosphere provider group had achieved considerable success which was measured through the success of activities that it had been involved in. a) 3 foundation documents were published and more than 1800 people involved globally b) Concepts were contributed to the homeland Lab as a result for the purpose of corporate research exhibition in 2004&2005 c) It raised the standards of alliance preparation at Philips lighting d) It brought attention to additional technology focus points for example Light Man, Connectivity, Light & Fragrance scientific research. Think the lighting Future Project In this project, 32 individuals were invited to attend two workshops. They were picked from different innovation backgrounds and from different lighting businesses. They brought with them different ideas from their areas of specialization and the ideas were exchanged for the benefit of the project. Together they created a creative environment. The created environment fostered a positive approach to creative ideas which were supported by relevant motivation systems set up by the team. This was in accordance with the components of the innovative organization (Tidd & Bessant 2009). The team was structured and challenged to think from different geographical contexts in order to identify the different needs of those regions for example, America, China and India. These geographical regions were regarded as markets for the Philips products. The advantages and disadvantages that the company had in these regions were discussed and solutions were drafted down for implementation. The team also came up with an atmosphere Provider theme map which was reflecting on the different dimensions of the people, technology and businesses. As a result of this three other projects were initiated which included: a) Use of Flexible Ambience in shops i.e. use of light in an existing application area b) Light Embedded in Furniture i.e. use of light in a new application area. This was to be achieved through creation of alliances with furniture companies. It was deemed as important because furniture has always been used for the creation of a given atmosphere. c) Light and Fragrance which was initiated and based on the idea that environmental perception is achieved through the use of different sensory experiences. Concept demonstrators They were part of the innovation process. They had the ‘seeing is believing’ effect. The concept was also available for the senior management of the company to see, experience and play with. On the consumers, the concept had tremendous effect which was advantageous to the innovation process of the company. Most people had to ask questions based on the lighting whereby they wanted to see the light bulbs. The concept had to be explained to the people through making them to be part of the story by removing the light-bulb mindset from them. The people were meant to understand the impact that light had on the well being of the human being thereby enabling them to further understand the theme of Atmosphere Provider. Visualizations They were an integral part of the innovation process. They formed an important communication tool which proved to be useful as it built new tools on known tools. During the innovation process, special attention was directed towards team building, diversity and towards trustful co-operation between different functions and hierarchical levels. This move was necessary if the ever growing number of outside players who were not part of the innovation team were to be engaged. Diversity It was necessary for the innovation process in order to avoid a replication or drawing on explorations of what was already going on in the organization. As a result of trying to avoid the replication of ideas in the innovation process, the team members were recruited from different diverse backgrounds. People who were willing to take high risks for the sake of innovation were brought in through recruitment. Their openness to learn was also a factor that was considered in recruiting the members of the innovation teams. Recruiting members form a diversified back ground proved successful when creative conflicts emerged due to the growing competition from their teams. Even though the facilitation of the Think the Lighting Future was a smooth one in many ways, there were some challenges that faced it which could not have been avoided. For example: a) The team members came from diverse backgrounds with different personal and professional experiences and expectations. It was therefore difficult to bring them all to the same understanding in the innovation process. The use of visualizations was helpful in the whole processes. b) Developing and using the appropriate language was a difficult thing. Communication between the members of TTLF and the senior managers of Philips was a daunting one. c) Maintaining understanding in the innovation process within the TTLF project was also a daunting task. Conclusion TTLF and Atmosphere Provider programs were successful activities that had been put in place to turn around the lighting business in the early years of 2000 by the Philips lighting company. Through its innovativeness, the lighting company has strengthened its position in the future of the lighting industry through the expansion of its activities and by taking advantages of new opportunities that are discovered through its innovativeness. The launch of the Ambi-Light TV and Living colors which were developed in the course of its innovation campaign, have put the company on strongholds of the lighting business. Other different innovations within the company also took place successfully. For example, the innovation projects explored areas like dynamic lighting in retailing, light embedded in furniture and links of lighting to other senses such as smell with much success. The team spirit that was employed by the Philips lighting company through involving other individuals from within the company and from outside the company were important in the seeing the whole process through with desirable out comes. It is through effective team working and involvement of people in innovation teams who have different and diverse backgrounds that the improvement activity in a company becomes successful (Tidd & Bessant 2009). Philips lighting came up with different products for example the Ambi-Light TV due to creation of teams of individuals with different and diverse backgrounds. The individuals brought in different ideas that were drawn from their diverse backgrounds and experiences that they had concerning the lighting market. The ideas were drawn together and different products were improved as a result and new ones were invented as a result. References Tidd J & Bessant J. 2009. Managing-innovation. John Wiley & Sons. Read More