Team Performance and Structure of Samsung - Assignment Example

Team Performance and Structure of Samsung Introduction This assignment is based on a comparative study between two teams in relation to the various practices that they incorporate in their respective new product development process and comparison amongst their innovation culture. This assignment encompasses all the critical elements such as the organizational performance, structure, innovation and creativity involved during the process of new product development. This report also sets the concept of benchmarking that is set by a company so as to evaluate its performance with that of other organizations. This trend of benchmarking helps a company to analyze the present performance and set targets so as to improve upon the performance level. Hence this report would be encompassing all the good practices that is incorporated in both the teams, effective problem handling supported by various theoretical frameworks. Introducing Teams and Structures The team consisted of five members with the aim to design a product that would reflect sustainable health innovation. The team was called as Health Assistant and the product that they were designing was a Smart Watch with various functions and services. The product was based on two major concepts advanced technology and tackling the health issues of all the age groups. Amongst the team members of Health Assistant, two were product designers; one was in charge of analyzing various risks and setting strategies, and two were performing their roles as market researchers so as to analyze the target customers and the market trends. The team was of five members so it can be stated that such a small team do not require any specific leader but there existed a need as identified by the team members so that they are able to successfully achieve their goals (Conway and Steward, 2009).The formal structure that was introduced in the team followed a democratic leadership style, where one of the market researchers were selected as the team leader so as to just finalize on decisions while incorporating all the ideas from the team members. This approach also eliminated any form of conflicts in the team as all the team members received equal opportunity to share their innovative ideas. The company that has been chosen as a benchmark for the team is Samsung a well known brand in the technology industry. The company has been able to set high standards in the consumer market by analyzing the actual demand of the customers and then satisfying that with the appropriate launch of technology either in the form of smartphones, tablets or even health care wristbands. The company was founded in the year 1938 as one of the trading company in South Korea by Lee Byung-chul (Bruce and Bessant, 2002).However the product line of the company as gone through major changes and the major source of income for the income is its production of semiconductors and mobile phones. The company is ranked amongst the 10 most innovative companies across the globe. The growth of the company is only because of designing innovative products that more of customer friendly and even is customer centric (Duncan, 2002).The extended product line of the company encompasses of consumer electronics, chemicals, medical equipment, apparel, precision instruments, electronic components, telecommunications equipment and semiconductors (Allen, 2006). As per the product line of the company each of the product has to undergo a different process of designing and manufacturing but the departments involved for handling such products remains the same though the company has several subsidiaries for each of these products. The departments majorly comprise of board members, R&D team, sales team, marketing team and a team of risk analysts. The case study – Samsung Selection process of Samsung case study The major reason behind selecting the case company for the study was to compare the dynamics and culture of the team Health Assistant with that of Samsung. The team had conducted an extensive research by using databases such as Times 100 Business case studies and Design Council case studies. The initial step of the team members was however not the right measure as they were looking for an organization with the same product but the focus should have been on an organization that manages innovative practices in the system (Richter, 2012).Hence Samsung was finally selected on the basis of its innovative culture and structure that supports such an innovation. The team was able to relate its goal with that of the singular vision of the company which stated that “to be the leader in the movement of digital convergence.” The major focus of the company has always been since 70 years to provide a new direction to imaginative thinking. The company believes in developing such a technology in the present scenario so that it is able to address the future challenges (Tielmann, 2010). Samsung enriches the lives of people by offering the best of technological solutions so as to be a trusted leader in the market and also to create new market spaces for its products. Benchmarking The story of innovation of Samsung is supposedly a benchmark for all the new companies who want to set a mark in the industry. The company has been able to change the innovative ideas into real time models so that it drives in profit for the company. The company through its continuous innovative practices has been able to create a sustainable growth in the market. Samsung for the initial years of its invention has been customer focus in terms of finding possible solutions to the needs of the customers. The market research team of the company does not only gather information in relation to understanding the trend of the market but also collects the required data so as to analyze whether the customers are satisfied with their product functions and services. The company believes that its profitability and growth has been only because of its team of creative employees. The company does not encourage any form of formal or rigid structures in the system but enhances more of flexibility in the system (Henry, 2011).It motivates its employees to come forward with innovative ideas and strategies and gives all its researchers liberty to work according to their ideas maximum of time. The company had received few years back the “Best Korean Company Employment Award”, and in order to encourage their employees to come forward with innovative ideas they give incentives as well as appraisals. The company had also taken up the initiative of launching Samsung Proud People Awards and its 20th anniversary in 2012 this award was given to the top 10 performers of the company (Jeppesen and Molin, 2003).This indicates that the company down the line has encouraged creativity and innovative ideas and believes it to form the pillars for the success of the company. However the company had to face a lot of challenges as there were other players present in the market duplicating their technology and selling at .lower prices which greatly affected the level of profitability for the company (Füller, Matzler and Hoppe, 2008).Even there were issues in terms of delayed supply of products in the market that too some extent had raised questions on the quality of the products that the company was offering. Samsung was able to mitigate such challenges by adopting the phenomenon of Just In Time approach and Six Sigma. These two approaches were greatly implemented in the production process and had no relation with that of its research labs. The innovation process of the company remained unaffected the only focus was on improving the production process and to deliver the desired quality to its customers. Best Practices Employees encouraged to share their ideas Incentives offered to those who come up with innovative ideas beneficial for the company Outstanding performance of employees are awarded by Samsung Proud People Awards Innovative organizational culture following affinitive style of leadership The top down approach that is followed by the company enables the technological innovation to take place at the highest level or rather the leadership level and then trickle down to the bottom level of the organization. All of the members of the organization are involved in the innovation process. The four major innovative platforms for the company is its exceptional technology, global infrastructure, quality gateway at each stage of production, and adoption of innovative practice and culture. The innovative capabilities of the company has sustained only because of their strategy to work together with its customers (Franke and Piller, 2004).The company believes that their designs should be such that it can cater any future challenges. As per the company analysis the majority percentage of revenue that is generated by the company is from the electronics sector. The new technological innovations of the company is only supported by effective communication, but also through the leadership style that it follows, upgrades its goal so as to remain at pace with the industry and motivates its workforce and managers to succeed towards the set goal. Analysis of Team Performance and Structure Team Health Assistant The team was able to work along well simply because of the fact that the team comprised of members who possessed the same kind of goals towards the new product development. All the team members contributed equally towards the final decision that was made in respect of the project that was undertaken. The team had a clear distinction amongst the responsibilities of the team members where all of the members took active role in fulfilling their share of responsibilities (Doole and Lowe, 2008).It had been very comfortable for the team to work along simply because they belonged to the same course and was able to communicate well amongst themselves. The group had made few mistakes in the NPD process but this do not give rise to any form of conflict that is very common in the storming stage of group formation. Improvements based on Framework The team was able to design a very beneficial device that was convenient in terms of carrying as well as using. The target customers that were chosen for the product was not very specific in terms of purchasing capacity and lifestyle as reflected through the online survey. The age group above 45 was totally ignored which was not suitable for the product smart watch to gain its presence in the market. The VALS framework was later incorporated in the study so as to analyze the values, attitudes and lifestyles of the consumer market segment that would have an impact on the purchasing capacity of the product (Handlechner, 2008).Through this framework STP of the new product development process became more prominent. Comparative analysis of the team performance and structure of Samsung The culture of an organization represents the behaviours and relationships that are established within an organization which in turn enhances the passion to think out of the box and to set high standards. The innovation process that is cultivated within an organization demands for a balanced approach in terms of investments, risk and technology. This kind of approach motivates the workforce to come up with various innovative ideas and simultaneously helps in mitigating the probable risks that would hinder the operations of the organization (Spulber, 2007).This kind of culture was prevalent in the team as they had the flexibility to incorporate innovative ideas in the process but also at the same time they were practical enough about the risks that existed. In order to handle such risks the team even assigned one of its members to analyze such risks and develop strategies so as to discard such risk from the system (Perkins and Shortland, 2006).The most important factor for the success of Samsung was its highly efficient research and development department. The path of its innovation was set forth by the R&D team. There even comes up a question of funds that lacked in the case of the Health Assistant team as a result they were not able to execute extensive research and much of the facts was based on secondary research. Since the team was based more on social interactions this contributed towards innovation which was not the scenario in case of Samsung as it was not a small team but a large organization following formal and hierarchical structures (Annacchino, 2003).The team on the other hand can be considered to an embedded organization where all of the members were a boundary spanner. The team members always went out of their designated responsibilities so that there is no such loophole in the entire development process which was a major advantage of the team. However such an advantage cannot be explored by Samsung because of their organization’s size and different rules and regulations. Analysis of the NPD process “Health Assistant (H-A)” NPD Process According to John Rockefeller, if a person wants to succeed then the best way is through forging new paths then to set plans on the borrowed ones. This was the major philosophy that was followed by the team and in order to develop its new product which was based on the Trend Funnel Model. The group formation is vital element in the innovation process and it was based on the model that is proposed by Bruce Tuckman which clearly states the four stages of group formation that is Forming, Storming, Norming and Performing. This was the most appropriate measures to enhance the level of creative thinking as well as give equal attention to the ideas shared by other team members. The six stages of the Funnel Model that was used in the new product development process is described below- Macro and Micro Trend The trend states that more people are living longer due to organic food consumption and spreading awareness about environmental protection and also evolution of innovative medical technology. Key trend drivers Demographics – presence of three social classes, death ratio different in 3rd world countries in comparison to the developed countries, and more number of people are living for longer period. Perception changing – people are becoming health conscious, changes in the eating habit pattern and measures for environmental protection. New knowledge – technological development in medical field, organic food consumption and new form of technology to enrich lives of people. Consumer Profile Geographical area- United Kingdom Age- 22 to 55 years of age Male and Female Health conscious Income level belonging to middle class, upper class and working class Technology savvy Educational level – graduates from colleges, universities and high school Currently existing products Medicines, gymnasium, magnetic shoe pads and various such devices so as to improve upon the health conditions Trend affected by the environment Such devices and other alternatives contributes towards air and water pollution resulting into acid rains, respiratory problems and global warming New Products Product designed is a H-A Smart watch with the functionality of voice system, internet connection, detects time, heart rate monitor, measures calorie, has a USB flash disk and a 3D Pedometer. The first service that this device offers is that if one enters the calorie and weight it gives the required suggestion for balancing the diet. It gives the convenience to measure blood pressure without the need to carry the traditional instrument, it can monitor and measure the heartbeat of unborn child, gives the advantage to contact the hospital and police in times of emergency, and health news can also be received by the user on a daily basis. NPD Process: NPD Process of Samsung The organization has a diverse range of products and each of the new products that is developed by the company follows the same hierarchical process as described below- Comparative analysis of the NPD Process The first step of the NPD process of Samsung is of brainstorming where new ideas are generated from within the team. On the contrary the first step of the team was to analyze the micro and macro trends of the environment so as to design a product. While the company analyzed the needs of the customers to provide a solution, the team was more focused on exploration of advanced technology. Samsung performs extensive research before and eve after developing any new product but the same mechanism is not identified within the team (Barclay, Dann and Holroyd, 2010).On basis of the S-curve model it can be stated that Samsung adopts all the measures so as to incorporate flexibility for further development in the products designed in the future but the team do not exhibit any such techniques and do not consider any such future outcomes (Fuller, 2011).The aim of the project undertaken that is H-A Smart Watch is more in accordance with the present scenario of health problems. The S-curve model is given below- (Source: Chesbrough, 2003) Strategies The team Health Assistant was very small in comparison to the size and structure of one of the most renowned companies Samsung. There are two forms of organization that exist in the world one are functional and the other is creative by nature. The team operated more on social interactions and did not possess such hierarchical forms (Monczka, 2000).On the other hand the company had a more defined and formal structure so as to carry on their business operations. It can be thus stated that Samsung fits into kinds of organization that is being creative as well as functional (Kumar and Phrommathed, 2006).The team was more of creative by nature with all the five members sharing their innovative ideas to develop the product. Samsung has adopted an innovation strategy that is based on extensive research and is also market and customer focused. Conclusion The new product development process that was undertaken by the team was based on health innovation that is sustainable. The new product that is Smart Watch is based on the creative thought process of the team members. Samsung as well as the team Health Assistant are both creative by nature and adopt innovative strategies that could meet the hidden demand of the customers, but they differ from each other in terms of culture and practices that they implement. References Allen, M. 2006. Analysing the Organizational Environment. UK: Select Knowledge Limited. Annacchino, M. A. 2003. New Product Development: From Initial Idea to Product Management. USA: Butterworth-Heinemann. Barclay, I., Dann, Z., and Holroyd, P. 2010. New Product Development. Great Britain: Routledge. Bruce, M., and Bessant, J. 2002. Design in Business Strategic Innovation through Design. UK: Prentice Hall Chesbrough, H. 2003. Open Innovation: The New Imperative for Creating and Profiting from Technology. Boston: Harvard Business School Press. Conway, S., and Steward, F. 2009. Managing and Shaping Innovation. UK: Oxford University Press Doole, I., and Lowe, R. 2008. 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