Innovation and its Importance to Employees of 4com PLC

Innovation

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
Task 1...............................................................................................................................................1
P1Innovation and its importance to employees of 4com plc:.....................................................1
P2 4com plc vision,
leadership, culture
and teamwork can
shaping innovation.....................................................................................................................2
Task 2...............................................................................................................................................3
P3 4Ps of innovation and the use of the innovation funnel for shaping idea's in employee's.....3
P4: Explaining the process of developing frugal innovation in 4com........................................5
Task 3...............................................................................................................................................6
P5 Importance of the commercial funnel and the application of New Product Development....6
P6 Innovation building case for 4com plc including way of access fund...................................7
TASK 4............................................................................................................................................8
P7 Different tools for developing, retaining and protecting intellectual property......................8
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
Innovation is very vital for companies to survive and grow in the market. It provides
them an edge over their competitors and ensures that they are differentiated from everyone else.
Innovation is simply a new idea, device or method. Basically it implies to execution of an idea
which has never been used practically. It is a improved form of existing product and services. It
is simply considered as an activity which adds value to an existing product. Innovation is not
limited to research and development labs but it is something which is spread across organisation.
This report is based on 4com plc which is one of the most innovative company in the field of
telecom. But it also have some issues in understanding and implementing the concept itself
(Adam, 2014). That is why a reference case of Apple Inc. and virgin group is used who are
market leaders when it comes to innovation.
Task 1
P1Innovation and its importance to employees of 4com plc:
Innovation enhances differentiation of company products and services from its
competitors. It aids organisation in improving the quality and apply something which was till
now not used by anyone in market (Bastalich, 2010). It is as stated, a process of evolving new
idea's in meeting demands of customers in market. It includes various activities such as, utilising
specific idea's, information and imagination is used for designing new products and services.
People often get confused in companies between innovation and invention. These two
terms are entirely different as they are used for different situations and scenario. The difference
is stated below:
Basis Innovation Invention
Definition It refers to the execution of idea
which has never been used by
anyone. Also if they improve a
existing subject and use it then it is
considered as innovation.
It refers to the occurrence of an
idea which results in creation of
something new.
What is it Implementation of new or improved
form of idea
Creation of something new.
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Skills needed Good knowledge about their field Scientific skills
4Com plc is operating in the field of telecom which is heavily diversified and congested
sector. There are many existing and new entrants in the market who pose a threat to the
company. This is why it is much more important for them to be innovative while producing any
new service or goods. Apple Inc. is the best example which used innovation to improve the
image and profitability of its company. They introduced I pod which was much smaller in size
and stored numerous songs (Chun, Chung, and Bang, 2015). This product came into market
when there were different type of music players which were huge in size and were not as per the
desired quality. This small change assisted Apple in achieving a competitive advantage over its
competitor which is still there.
There are many benefits of innovation to 4com plc and its employee's. Such as
For Employees
 It increases their critical thinking and problem solving skills
 They are able to increase their efficiency and effectiveness level
 They gain new capabilities which aids in career development
For Organisation
 Profitability and margins increase exponentially
 Assists in satisfying customer needs and wants
 Provides product differentiation in market which boost its image.
As mentioned above, these are only few benefits which are there when innovation is
supported by management and company. 4Com plc has to ensure that all their activities and
approaches are aligned with innovation that will enable them in achieving competitive advantage
with business alignment.
P2 4com plc vision,
leadership, culture
and teamwork can
shaping innovation
Innovation should be integrated into the basic business idea as to ensure that it is not left
out. It needs to be used as a tool which will assist company in achieving its long term goals. The
managers and leaders in organisation have to guide employee's for enabling them to use
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