The Responsibility for Operation Optimize - Case Study Example

Section1 1a. Kelly i. I am the only ity on product engineering and no one else knows how things are done. ii. It needs a major overhaul including huge investments in time, effort and money to deliver Operation Optimize. iii. Operation Optimize cannot be delivered completely within the stipulated time frame due to shortage of staff as a result of layoffs. iv. The existing staff cannot be made to work any longer than they are already working v. Operation Optimize is something far fetched and complex. vi. Products require a lot of time to perfect. It is only then that they become such a success in the market. You need to be right the first time. 1b. Pat i. The responsibility for Operation Optimize lies completely on my shoulders, and somehow I have to make this work out. ii. Having Operation Optimize delivered by August will propel AcuScan Inc. towards the path to success. Any delays will no longer serve the purpose. iii. It is possible to develop a prototype of the Operation Optimize by August and further iterations in the pipeline. iv. Kelly is being difficult and unreasonable. v. Operation Optimize can be managed without the in-house product engineers. vi. Operation Optimize will only require minimal changes to the existing retinal scanner to be in place. vii. Operation Optimize has great potential and will be a huge success with retailers. viii. The programmers at AcuScan Inc. are the best and can work with a stringent budget and shrinking timelines to deliver the finest. 1c. Cliff i. New product development is the only path to prosperity for AcuScan Inc. now. ii. My human resource is creative and able enough to deliver such an innovation. iii. A new product can be developed in the presence of huge budget constraints. 1d. Chris i. A retail scanner has huge potential and will be a roaring success thereby allowing AcuScan Inc. to regain its former position in the market. ii. Kelly holds the reins to the product engineering department and Pat will have to work with him to set things in order. iii. A new product can be developed in the presence of huge budget constraints. 2a. Cliff O'Connor Cliff believes that new product development is the only way that AcuScan Inc. can regain its lost glory and become profitable once again. He believes that budgetary cuts are important. He is confident that a new product can be delivered despite budgetary cuts. 2b. Pat Lambert Pat believes that the retail version of the original AcuScan scanner will be a big hit. If not the perfect version, a prototype can be developed by August, to which further changes can be made. If this deadline is not met, the competitor will launch their product before AcuScan Inc. and grab the market share. The features are slight changes to the original AcuScan and need additional databases and modifications to make Operation Optimize possible. Kelly is making things difficult because on talking to one of the engineers Pat discovered that such a new product is very much possible to me made within the stipulated time and existing resources. 2c. Kelly Thomas Kelly initially thought that the new product requires minor alterations to the existing. However, later he discovered that the new product is too much of an innovation on the existing one and would require a lot of time and effort. Kelly believes that others don't understand the mechanics of product engineering and what goes into making a new product. In this time frame, with the existing workforce he can only deliver a certain feature of the product and not the entire product itself. 2d. Chris Martinas Chris like Cliff believes that the retail version of the scanner will position AcuScan on a path to success and regain its leadership position in the technology landscape. He believes that product engineering is Kelly's domain and only when Kelly and Pat both work together, would it be possible that the new product comes into being. 3a. Cliff Cliff's argument is logical as well as emotional in nature. He understands that innovation in the dynamic landscape of technology is a must for any organization to do well. However, the technology must be something infallible and outstanding so that people take notice of it. Given the budget and time constraints; Cliff has failed to realize how such an innovation will be delivered in the most foolproof manner possible. This is because people are risk-averse by nature; you need to give them something workable and perfect for them to start using it. 3b. Pat Lambert Pat Lambert's argument seems sound. She wants a new product in the market within the stipulated time and he knows how to go about it. A new retail scanner will be something like just what the doctor ordered for AcuScan Inc. She believes that a prototype can be delivered and further iterations made later. This is what most companies do with technological innovations. She is getting emotional about hiring a third party to do the product innovation for AcuScan Inc. She is however, unreasonable about being able to deliver Operation Optimize in time despite shortage of manpower. 3c. Kelly Thomas Kelly Thomas' argument doesn't seem very sound. Although it is understood that there is a shortage of labor force, but a member of Kelly's team believes that such a product can be handled. His arguments are highly emotional in nature, whereby he does not let an opportunity go by to belittle Pat on her knowledge of product engineering. It almost seems as if he is trying to protect his status quo. Also, I think that delivering a prototype would require the same amount of effort as delivering a perfect one-feature product. 3d. Chris Martinas Chris Martinas' argument also seems slightly unsound. He does want a complete product by August but is not willing to look into the arguments of Pat and Kelly. He has told Pat to get the Operation Optimize underway, but has pointed out that only Kelly holds the reins to product engineering department. He wants a change but is not willing to go through the required steps for a change. If Pat is in charge of the project she should be given a free hand in dealing with engineering rather than being reminded that Kelly is the boss. 4. Fallacious Arguments i. Pat is a marketing person; therefore she does not know anything about product engineering and development, specifically what it takes to get a product to the market. (Kelly) ii. Kelly holds the reins to the product engineering department because of seniority and experience.( Chris) iii. That the new product development requires a major overhaul in existing technology. (Kelly) iv. An excellent new product can only be created if there is a lot of time at hand.(Kelly) v. I can work through the problem myself and deliver Operation Optimize single handedly.( Pat) 1. Conclusions: a. Miscommunication between different departments exists in the organization b. The organization lacks a strategic direction and plan; therefore it is only doing firefighting for now. It can be classified as a type III company which is reactive to changes in environment. c. It lacks a visionary leader who can foresee changes taking place in the market and manage things accordingly. d. The company is very slow at innovation. In a fast paced technological landscape such an approach has been its major weakness. 2a. Both Pat and Kelly are not willing to give each other a chance in their communication. There was a problem in communication between Pat and Kelly when Pat shared her product idea with him. According to Pat he promised it will not be a problem at first but went back on his words. Kelly denies ever promising anything in the first place. Secondly, there's a lack of openness in communication whereby both sides are not willing to understand each other's opinions. Thirdly, it is clear that communication among Chris, Kelly and Pat is at fault. Kelly and Pat need mediation from Chris to reach a decision, which Chris is not willing to give. It's as if he just does not want to get involved. 2b. The Company has been very complacent. It has reacted to the changes taking place in the environment such as reduced sales and market share by cutting down on the labor force and other expenses. It has managed by crisis and has a completely firefighting approach to things. This we can say with surety because only after two years of decreasing profits, did it realize that it needs to do something if it wants to compete in the market. 2c. It is evident from Cliff's memo that he lacks the vision that a leader should possess. He has no idea of where to go and how. Only when profitability declined for a long time; did he think of doing something new for the company. As a leader he should have foreseen that iscanner cannot remain the market leader for ten years, and would soon become a commodity instead continuous innovation was needed. 2d. the company has not introduced any new products in the last 10 years. In the technological industry such an approach is suicide because new products are being introduced everyday. 3. The major problem of the company is this that they have a strategic block. This is because their past successes have made them ignorant of the changing dynamics of the market. They are so full of their successful innovation that they just do not want to let go. The company as a whole is resistant to change, they lack a vision and direction as to what they want to be and how. This is evident in Kelly's dialogue as well as the way the company works. 4. Solution I propose that: a. The company can put greater emphasis on innovation which would result in new products being manufactured. Likewise, it can also tap into new markets, which include; untapped global markets. Make the organization innovation centric which would lend the company flexibility and creativity. b.The employees develop a strategic plan for the company. The management should sit together and develop a vision and mission for the company. It would therefore have a direction to undertake when carrying out its operations. c. It could focus on developing a distinct image for its products in the minds of the consumer to induce brand loyalty. 5.a Strengths: Innovation is the key to success especially in a technological landscape A culture of innovation will foster a dynamic working environment giving way to creativity and learning Weaknesses A shift towards innovation will challenge status quo and will be difficult to bring about As evident from the case the company is resistant to change, therefore a lot of factors would need to be addressed to give way to innovation 5.b. Strength A vision and mission statement will give direction to the organization which is currently being run in a very reactive and ad hoc manner. Weakness This option cannot be implemented in isolation. It needs to be implemented in conjunction with another alternative. This is because the company needs to plan as well as act now! 5.c. Strengths A strong market positioning means that customers will buy the product even if other cheaper, better alternatives are available. It will create long term brand loyalty which will automatically add value to the company and allow it to carry out premium pricing. Weaknesses In the technological arena, brand loyalty is limited. People in general do not want to buy outdated products. 6. I would propose innovation as the solution to the problem. A commitment to innovation and valuing creativity will reduce the organization's resistance to change and challenge the status quo. It will also allow it to consider things in a realistic perspective. Therefore innovation must be institutionalized in the company with an open culture and a separate product development department which works with the engineering department to develop new products continuously. Change and flexibility should become a part of the company's culture. However, there should not be just lip service to change management; in fact such a practice must be executed. Section 2 Executive Summary This case refers to the current situation of AcuScan Inc. It has held a dominant position in the technological landscape for a number of years due to its iScanner. However, sales and market shares have started declining due to the coming in of competitors and the product becoming a commodity. Therefore it has been decided that a new product must be introduced to regain lost sales and occupy the same dominant position in the technological market. This document highlights and critically analyzes the current situation of AcuScan Inc., details the problems it is facing and gives recommendations for improvement. The situation is such that AcuScan Inc. is faced with declining profitability as a result of which it fired a huge amount of its workforce last year. This year it plans to reduce budget by 15% for all departments. Alongside, it plans to launch a new product in the market in order to regain its lost glory. The marketing and product development heads come up with a product; the retail scanner. It is the retail version of the iScanner. It will allow retailers to track consumer movements and choices and have access to a database with all their information. The retail iScanner must be launched in August if it is to beat the competition in reaching the market. The product development VP; Chris asked the marketing head Pat and product engineering representative; Kelly to work on this new product despite budgetary constraints. Earlier, Kelly had agreed that making such a product would not be a problem in the stipulated time. However, later he refused to accept that he had made any such promises. He said that such a product cannot be developed by August because of shortage of labor due to the layoffs last year. Secondly; with the current operations going on as before there would be no time to make the new product. (It must be brought to notice that existent operations are unprofitable anyways and there would be no harm in reducing them and concentrating on the new product instead). Pat requested to make at least a prototype for August. However, Kelly insisted that only one feature can be worked upon at one time and therefore Pat should pick a feature and the engineering team will work on just that. Pat therefore decided that she would rather outsource the development of the product and only market it herself. Other than that Kelly believes that since Pat is from marketing, she doesn't know anything about product development and engineering. 'Chris says I have to work with Kelly, because Kelly is the expert on the iScanner and the one who holds the real reins to the department. Kelly's been here so long, the programmers are in awe'.(Pat's notes) This indicates that Pat needs to agree with Kelly on whatever he does in order to get things done. Thirdly, Pat asked someone in Kelly's team if such a thing can be done and he pointed out that it would not be a problem to come up with a new product in this time. It seems as if Kelly is highly uninterested in the new product and wants things to continue going on as before. I believe that what the company lacks is a sense of direction and a vision. The company has always done firefighting to protect its sales and is continuing to do so. Every time there is a problem they react, rather than ever foreseeing the problem and trying to mould things accordingly. I think that the reason why Kelly is not cooperating with Pat is because it is a challenge to his status quo. He is very resistant to change and does not understand the value of product innovation and marketing. On the other hand, even Chris is not willing to mediate between Kelly and Pat for fear of changing how things are done in the company. Everyone, excluding Pat is resistant to change which is not a good sign for any company, especially a company operating in the technological landscape where innovations are creativity are a must. They want a new product but they are not willing to change existing paradigms in order to reach their goal. I think that it needs concrete steps to bring this organization out of trouble. First of all a vision and strategic direction for the company should be established. This will require commitment from senior management and contribution from all employees. Secondly, the company must recognize that change is the only constant factor in an organization. They should welcome change to make the organization flexible and able to respond quickly to changed taking place in the market. The steps which it should undertake immediately is giving Pat the authority for this operation. She should be in a position to tell Kelly to cut down on existing operations and deliver Operation Optimize within the stipulated time. Other than that a separate department for innovation must be established and new ideas must be encouraged in the company. People who do not fit into the new, open and flexible culture should not remain with the organization anymore. Read More