B205a Exploring Innovation & Entrepreneurship

CREATING INNOVATION FOR COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE:
A PROCTOR & GAMBLE CASE STUDY
NAME:
STUDENT ID:
LECTURE:
INSTITUTION:

A Proctor & Gamble Case Study 2
Creating Innovation for Competitive Advantage
A Proctor & Gamble Case Study
Question 1: what is the importance of innovation for Proctor & Gamble, reference your
answer from the case study(200words)
Innovations are increasingly becoming important for the organization in today’s business
environments have become increasingly complex and volatile. Innovation helps organizations in
overcoming the shortcomings presents in their markets (Barrett, Davidson, Prabhu and Vargo
2015). Proctor and Gamble is a large firm with vast products making innovation a crucial factor
in its growth and development in its market. Through innovation, the firm is able to achieve an
innovative business model where they are the lead innovator in the market with over 2500
patents, gaining a competitive advantage over its rivals. Through innovation, Proctor and
Gamble is able to capture and nurture talent which will be essential for coming up with high-
quality new products to dominate the market and gaining a competitive advantage in the future.
This improves the product service delivery which is essential in ensuring consumer satisfaction
by adapting to their change in taste and preferences, therefore increasing consumer loyalty.
Innovation allows the development of tools that will monitor the performance of employee and
reward systems for exceptional employees which increases the overall productivity of the firm,
Nevertheless the management team at Proctor and Gamble is able to make effective decisions
which are speeded up through the availability of necessary and crucial information based on
research on the volatility of the business environment .

A Proctor & Gamble Case Study 3
Question 2: Assess the role of goals and objectives at Proctor & Gamble in promoting its
innovation capabilities and support your analysis with evidence from the case.
Having clear goals and objectives plays a major role in improving the innovation capabilities of a
firm. In the case of Proctor and Gamble, it creates a conducive working environment for the
employees at the firm. This creates a basis of strong relationship where individuals are able to
communicate with one another and air their grievances to the management without fear of
persecution. Additionally, goals and objective at Proctor and Gamble is vested in creating a
competitive advantage through product development.
The firm currently boasts to have over 2500 patents which have assisted the firm in dominating
the market easily. Nevertheless, the product development has contributed in the field of research,
a good example in regards to the case is the groundbreaking research undertaken by Dr. David
Francis where he focused upon the release of calcium ion which created very many opportunities
of the firm’s products service delivery such as toothpaste improvements. Moreover, the vision
which leads this research undertaken resulted in a leap from one area of chemistry to the other
leading to the discovery of a new class of compounds: bisphosphonates! which was a cornerstone
for success.
Employees productivity is crucial to the overall performance of the company in day to day
business activities which have to ultimately lead in achieving the goals and objectives of Proctor
and Gamble. Therefore, monitoring the performance of employees is crucial since it will identify
employees who are lagging behind and nurture their skills and talent through training programs
(Dereli 2015). Consumer loyalty and satisfaction is essential to the growth and development of
Proctor and Gamble. Through studying the business environment and consumer targets
demographic, the firm is able to identify gaps and changes to taste and preferences of consumers