Innovation in Heating Installation - Report Example

Student Name: Tutor: Title: Innovation Course: Innovation Mariner Mechanic, Inc. Introduction Mariner Mechanic Inc. is situated in San Diego, California and specializes in the radiant floor heating installation, solar thermal installation, and geo thermal cooling and heating. Mariner Mechanical assists the saving of thousands of dollars and protecting the environment with solar heating services, radiant floor heating services and geo thermal services. Mariner Mechanical, Inc has the necessary experience, expertise and track record of providing customer’s confidence in the utility and installation of solar thermal systems. The company was established in 1986 in San Diego (Sovacool & Drupady, 2013). Natural capitalism or use renewable energy is the direction to go in the world faced with decreasing fossils deposits and destruction of the environment but other energy sources. The first step towards a company journey towards natural capitalism it trying to reduce waste energy, water, materials and resources using production systems and employing other operations. Natural processes and materials have to be favored over the old methods. Natural capitalism refers to services and resources provided by nature. Creative and innovative process applied by Mariner Energy, Inc. Natural capitalism is a system involving four interlinking principles where environmental and business interest’s overlap, and which businesses can satisfy the needs of their customers, increases their profits while assisting in solving environmental problems concurrently. It involves change in the form of business transactions from occasionally selling and making things, to provision of continuous flow of value and service. The relationship between the service provider and the customer is changed so that aligned interests are attained as opposed to having contrary or contradictory interests (Hawken, Lovins & Lovins, 2010). Natural capitalism acknowledges the crucial interdependency between the use and production of human-made capital and the supply and maintenance of natural capital. The earth valuable resources have to be protected for people and business to exist. Mariner Mechanic Inc. provides solar power thermal as one of its products. Solar is renewable, affordable and clean. This abundant energy from the sun is captured to heat homes, institution or commercial properties domestic hot water, spa or pool heating, and space heating. Solar domestic hot water heating is an efficient way of applying the suns energy to save on the costs of energy. Extended federal tax credits for businesses and households assist in making these systems affordable and to be valued as a great investment. Solar cooling is attained by bringing hot solar heated water using parabolic trough type solar collectors or evacuated tube through an absorption chiller and distributed through the building using hydraulic air handlers and ducted air system. During winter, the hot water is pumped to radiant floor heating system or the air handlers avoiding the chiller. Consequently, the same solar infrastructure is used both for cooling and heating. Solar thermal has been effectively used for many years for spa and pool heating. These systems can be tied in domestic hot water heating in homes and large municipal and commercial pools. In a huge domestic and pool hot water application, a solar thermal system can drastically reduce energy costs and greatly offset carbon emissions (Dittmar, 2009). Solar thermal is safe and clean. Rising prices of energy, reliance on foreign energy resources, green house emissions and the need to improve air quality make solar thermal to be a proven reliable, safe, and efficient technology that will play as an important role in addressing the challenges witnessed. Solar thermal systems add value to a home, reduce carbon footprint and save money. The operation costs of the business will go down while a competitive advantage will be attained when solar systems are applied. The use innovation process on the business has improved the performance of the company in the local and global market. The company assists clients to create and maintain a healthy interior setting as well as reduce environmental impact. Advantages of using Mariner Mechanical Systems include cutting down utility bills, reduction of carbon footprint, increasing the value of property and earning LEED certification points. Mariner Mechanical Inc prides itself in the products that they integrate into world class system (Callway, 2012). The mission of the company in installation of systems is to achieve the highest efficiency as possible. The company strives at constantly improving technologies and they have partnered with reputable companies in the industry. The company has engaged in interactive demonstration to show customers how to use products manufactured by the company. Promotional discounts have been used to ensure customers have incentives to buy products from Mariner Mechanical Inc. Challenges faced by management on new product development and management systems Mariner Energy Inc. has experienced a share of its own challenges which have affected the development of new products and management systems. Increased competition in the market has been one of the greatest challenges that any company face in the energy sector. Increased competition has escalated advertising costs and sales and promotion costs. This has made the company to deal with products or projects that it can deliver on without failing to meet the expectations of the customers. The management has to have support from all departments of the business in an effort to come up with renewable energy (Ferrey, 2006). There is always the financial challenge in development of new products. Pursuing different projects at the same time is costly for the company and can lead to derailment or mismatch of the needs of the customer in the market. There is no a clear cut course of how new products are pursued and mostly seemed to be through trial and error hence posing the risk of developing substandard products. Using reliable means of production and employed competent employees has tried to help the management to focus on the goal of existence of the company. Coordinating of different department in order to achieve the same goal in product development is a challenge in the management systems. Vigilance and communication are important ingredients towards ensuring that everything remains on course towards achieving the high quality products for the company. The company has to also attract highly competitive top workers with required experience. It is the duty the company to provide competitive salaries and wages in order to maintain low workers turnover. This challenge is compounded by the need to earn a profit that will sustain the operations of the company. Innovation strategies have been improved by the challenges encountered in effort to produce renewable energy (Callway, 2012). Any challenge that come up leads to development of better ways of dealing with other huddles that may come in the way. Problems make the people involved to be more aggressive and come up with other formidable strategies that stand the test of time. Balancing the budget amid fears shrinking economy has made it hard for the company to accomplish its set goals in new product development. Financial challenges cannot be ignored. The markets that are still recovering from the global economic crisis cannot sustain the clientele of the company. New ideas response to changing needs of environmentally aware customer base A road map for natural capitalism business strategies created around the radically productive use of natural resources is able to solve numerous environmental problems at a profit. The ability of the earth to sustain life and economic activity is threatened in the manner in which vast flow of resources are extracted, processed, and disposed (Henry, 2006). Many industries focus on exploitable resources of the ecosystems of the earth and overlook other services that the systems provide for free. Ecosystem services and resources both come from the earth and even from the same biological systems. Customers are appreciating the need to use products that conserve the environment due to the awareness of carbon emissions destruction. They have appreciated the role of solar energy products produced by Mariner Mechanical Inc. the hard economic times have also contributed to consumers looking for energy-conserving products. Increased bills call for energy serving products to be used in homes. The global financial crisis has made people to be aware about their expenditure and use their hard-earned savings in the right places. The customers what energy that will be renewable at a cheaper cost as compared to un-renewable energy (Sovacool & Drupady, 2013). Customer awareness of environmental friendly products has increased the market for the company and given it a competitive advantage over the rest. The customer base is become more and more informed each day and demanding improved products with high quality and efficiency. The customers have realized that there are affordable options of supplying building’s energy requirements with affordable systems while reducing energy consumption through energy efficiency measures. Impact of the process of innovation on the corporate culture and business development Companies which are leaders in sustainable, social and good governance policies possess 25% higher stock value as compared to less sustainable competitors, there is a business case for behaving in ways which are more responsible to the people and the planet. Natural resource constraints, climate change, rapid development in emerging economies, and other factors cause unprecedented in the business world. The corporate culture of the company has been enhanced through collaboration in new product development (Callway, 2012). Focus on customer service through excellent development of products has been the defining goal of the company corporate culture. Innovation has increased provision of variety and sophisticated products by the company. Production of energy saving products has boosted the competitive advantage of the company. Other competitors who use fossil fuels are faced with the challenge of looking for alternative sources after depletion of the original deposits. Working together for the purpose of achieving business goals has enhanced corporation among departments of the company. The corporate culture of the company boosts the ideals and beliefs that enhance the achievement of the mission and vision of the company (Dittmar, 2009). Hard work, commitment and proficiency define the process that workers go through before they come up with finished products that meet customers’ expectations. Personal commitment is required in new product development since long hours of research and development are dedicated to the work of the company; this calls for personal sacrifice. Financial, economic and political risks in development of environmental sensitive products The business world cannot be devoid of political, economic, and financial risks. The global financial crisis that rocked the whole world greatly affected the market of the company’s products. The economy shrank and people did not have money to spend on other products like solar panels. The grave economic conditions did not permit expansion of renewable products and growth of the company’s profits. Hard economic times have made development of environmental sensitive products to be challenging due to increased costs. Production and operation costs have surged upwards (Madrigal & Stoft, 2012). There is a lot of consultations and researches that need to be done before the development of a new product, the processes are tedious, time consuming but necessary to ensure the right is done. Terrorism and extremists has affected the operations of the company from the political perspective. Since the America war Terrorism commenced, many enemies have emerged posing the risk of retaliatory attacks even in America. Political ideological differences have affected the marketable of the company’s products in some parts of the world. International trade and globalization is largely affected by political affiliations and ideologies. Recommendations Mariner Mechanical Inc has to continue investing in research and development with the goal of creating new products for the market. Renewable energy sources are attractive but increased competition in the field calls for a vigorous sales and promotion strategy has to be formulated with the aim of increasing the market share of the company. The company has to keep pace with the changing trends in the market. Resource allocation is a challenge in the height of difficult economic times. The company has to do adequate research before launching a product in the market to avoid huge losses and a backlash from other competitors. The company has to invest highly in high quality products that offer the most efficiency when used. Communication between departments has to be enhanced in the company to propel good planning and strategizing (Lokey, 2012). In the hard economic times the company has to address the challenge of resource allocation and concentrate on projects that bring growth as well as expansion to the company. A strategic plan outlining the long term objective of the company should be in line with the changing needs of the customers. The company has to come up with several units of research and development and employ top geoscientist with the aim of developing the current products. Energy needs and challenges cannot be dealt with easily and a lot of dedication and commitment is required. Invention and innovation has to be incorporated as a guiding principle of the corporate culture of the company. Conclusion Natural capitalism or renewable energy sources demand has been on the rise following consumer awareness on environmental friendly products. Mariner Mechanical Inc is one of the companies that are involved in production of renewable energy products. Innovative process of new product development improves the performance and enhances the efficiency of a company. Conservation of resources has to be a priority in the strategic planning. The long run performance of any company is determined on the manner in which it uses its resources. Resource allocation proves to be a great challenge to many companies in the wake of energy crisis. Despite the slowdown in the economy, renewable energy products are beginning to pick up as people look for alternative ways of saving and ensuring maximum utility. Natural capitalism is the way to go if companies look forward to actively participating in environmental protection and conservation. The top management has to focus on both short term profitability goals and long term sustainability goals. Energy deposits from fossils are diminishing and renewable energy sources like solar will richly assist in providing alternative sources. Despite many challenges that face renewable energy sources development, there is chance to focus on products that are environmentally friendly and affordable. References Henry, J., 2006, Creative Management and Development, SAGE, London. Hawken, P., Lovins, A.B. & Lovins, L.H, 2010, Natural capitalism, Earthscan, New York. Lokey, E., 2012, Renewable Energy Project Development Under the Clean Development Mechanism: A Guide for Latin America, Routledge, New York. Callway, R., 2012, Governance for Sustainable Development: A Foundation for the Future, Routledge, New York. Madrigal, M. & Stoft, S., 2012, Transmission Expansion for Renewable Energy Scale-Up: Emerging Lessons and Recommendations, World Bank Publications, New York. Sovacool, B.K. & Drupady, I.M., 2013, Energy Access Poverty and Development the Governance of Small-Scale Renewable Energy in Developing Asia, Ashgate Publishing, Ltd, Melbourne. Dittmar, C., 2009, Barriers and Drivers for the Deployment of Renewable Energy Technology in Developing Countries: Case Study: Deployment of Solar Water Pumps in Ghana, GRIN Verlag, London. Ferrey, S., 2006, Renewable power in developing countries: winning the war on global warming, PennWell Books, Sydney. Read More