Innovation Project

This project examines the concept of innovation in the context of Softwire Limited, a software development company. It explores key aspects of innovation, including its definition, importance, and the role of organizational vision, leadership, culture, and teamwork. The project also delves into the 4P's of innovation, frugal innovation, commercial funnel, and new product development. It concludes with a discussion of tools for protecting and retaining knowledge and intellectual property rights.

INNOVATION

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
P1: Defining innovation and its importance in comparison to Intervention...............................1
P2: Significance of organisational vision, leadership, culture and and teamwork in innovation
.....................................................................................................................................................3
TASK 2 ...........................................................................................................................................4
P3: 4P's of Innovation and uses of funnel in examining and shaping innovative ideas..............4
P4: Developing frugal innovations and its usage........................................................................5
TASK 3 ...........................................................................................................................................6
P5: Significance of commercial funeral and application of NPD for commercialisation and
innovation....................................................................................................................................6
...................................................................................................................................................7
P6: Innovation Business Case.....................................................................................................8
TASK 4............................................................................................................................................9
P7: Various tools that the organisation should use in developing , protecting and retaining
knowledge and intellectual property rights.................................................................................9
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES .............................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
Innovation is the process of transforming the existing products of the company by
launching new features in them according to the requirements of the customers. The innovation
in the products and services increases the level of satisfaction of the customers and also increases
the customer base and profitability of the company.( Abou-Ras, Kirchartz, and Rau, 2016)
Basically innovation is the process when the company modifies its products and increases its
value in the market. The current assignment is based on softwire company which deals in
providing software and consultancy services in UK. This project includes 4P's of innovation, use
of funnel , role of mission and tools used in the protection of data from the competitors.
TASK 1
P1: Defining innovation and its importance in comparison to Intervention
Innovation: Innovation implies an process which is undertaken by the company in order
to transform the products and services of the company such that they become more effective and
efficient and provides more satisfaction to the customers. This is the application of new ideas to
the products and other sections of the organisation to meet the demands of the customer and
other stakeholders such that company can build a strong and better image in the industry and the
competitive market.
Softwire is small sized company that is engaged in software services and consultancy
services to some of the leading brands in U.K. There is a need for the expansion of business on a
large scale, for this the company will be required to adopt innovative techniques in the daily
operations of business as well as in their software development programs such that their services
satisfy their existing customers in a much better way and also to gain a new market share among
the industry. ( Berry, and Berry, 2018)They can enhance and update their existing software and
also hire better professionals for the consultancy services for expanding their customer base.
These steps will assist Softwire in gaining a large market share and will also increase the
revenues of the firm. Adoption of Innovation can provide many other advantages to the company
which are as follows:.
Production enhancement: When the company will implement innovation in the
production and marketing process, it will ultimately assist the company in reducing the wastages
of resources and will also enhance the quality of products of company with the decrease in the
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time and cost of production. When the company's productivity increases, the revenues also
increase which in turn will lead to the expansion of business.
Increase in the effectiveness of communication process: making innovative changes in
the marketing policies enables the firm in communicating more efficiently about their software
and their consultancy services increasing the overall customer base not only in UK but in all
over globe.
Assists in maximum utilisation of resources: As the Softwire company deals in
development of software, the company should focus on providing most innovative and updated
systems by utilising their human resources in an optimum and efficient manner. ( Drucker, 2014)
Comparison between Innovation and Invention:
Basis Innovation Invention
Meaning Innovation relates to the
procedure of changing existing
products into better one by
implementing innovating
techniques.
Invention implies the
introduction of whole new
product in the market which
earlier did not existed
according to needs of
customers.
Concept This concept implies the
addition of new features in the
the product that is already
existing in the market.
The concept of invention is
that a whole new product is
introduced in market.
Skill-set required Innovation requires knowledge
and specialisation of the
existing product to make
innovation in it.
Invention of new products
require scientific skills.
Activities The innovation process can be
implemented in every
department of an organisation.
This is done by the research
and development department.
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P2: Significance of organisational vision, leadership, culture and and teamwork in innovation
Innovation concept is broad and can be affected by many factors that can internal or
external. These factors are broadly divided into teamwork, vision, leadership and culture and
they provide a vast contribution in inculcating innovation. These factors are further detailed in
brief as follows:
Leadership and innovation: The quality of a good leader is to get the work done from
others in most efficient manner by providing them proper guidance and motivation. This will
generate innovative ideas among the employees of Softwire in the development of software that
will enhance the productivity of their customers who are using the software of the company. This
can be achieved by adopting various techniques and styles of leadership.
Innovation and organisational culture: every other organisation adopts a different
work culture according to the operations of the company in order to main a healthy and stress
free environment in the workplace to motivate the employees and also so that the employees can
develop innovative and new ideas by thinking freely and independently. This kind of
environment in the company assists the employees in solving complex issues and challenges in
an efficient and effective manner. ( Freeman, 2013)
Innovation and vision: This element implies how the company views itself in the
coming period or in near future. In this the company focuses on putting all the efforts of their
employees and mangers in attaining the targets determined by the company within a
predetermined period of time, say a quarter or a year. For this purpose , the management of
company expects from their employees to bring innovative ideas and suggestion to improve the
efficiency of work and how the provided tasks can be completed in less time for the attainment
of objectives.
Teamwork and Innovation: In this process, the leaders of the company focuses on how
the employees of the company can be grouped together to achieve the organisational goals. This
task can be achieved when the supervisors maintain a healthy relationship with their team
members and also focus in maintaining relationship among the team members so that they can
work in better coordination for achieving the tasks that are allotted to them.
The factors that are discussed above makes an significant impact on the innovation
procedure. The managers should focus on implementing these factors in order to achieve the
ultimate goal innovation. So, it is clear that in order to attain growth and success, Softwire
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should focus on effective management which is necessary for bringing innovation in the
business. ( Hora, and Dutta, 2013)
TASK 2
P3: 4P's of Innovation and uses of funnel in examining and shaping innovative ideas
The four P's that are related to the innovation process includes Process, Product, position
and paradigm. These all play an significant role in improving the product quality. The
application of these elements will carry confidence and motivation among the personnels which
will encourage the employees in performing better then earlier and achieving growth and success
will become easier for the firm. The discussion of the 4P's of innovation are done as below:
Process Innovation: this innovation method implies implementing the process of
innovation in the business operations which in turn will improve the efficiency of the business.
Inculcating innovation in advancing and updating the technologies in the marketing as well as
production process will assist the organisation achieving the best possible outcomes. For
example, selling the software through an online portal will assist the company in attracting a
large base of customers from all over the world.
Product innovation: This is the process of making additional changes in the existing
product and services so that their value are increases and they provide more satisfaction to the
existing customers also assist the company in gaining more customers. Softwire deals in
providing software so there is a need to make improvements in software system regarding any
bugs and updating it according to the new technologies so that the customers do not shift to
another substitute software. The new innovative updates in the software will attract more buyers
and will increase the profitability of business.( Huizingh, 2011)
Position innovation: This means the position or stand where the company lies in the
industry and market. Thus it becomes significant for softwire to open their new branches in the
technology hubs or near big companies so that they can attract more customers. As the company
is engaged in providing software and consultancy services to the leading brands they have
acquired their own position in the industry.
Paradigm innovation: this element is related to the structure of the company, a strong
structure of the company enables the management in adoption of changes in an efficient manner
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and provides opportunities to employees to generate their own creative ideas to improve the
quality and value of services.
Innovation Funnel: Innovation funnel is the procedure of describing the steps that takes
place in the development of a process or product. Firstly it is the duty of the company to identify
the demands and needs of the consumers and accordingly make changes in the product for
satisfying the demands of the consumers. This process includes 3 braid steps:
Word of mouth: this process is concerned with identifying the needs and requirements
of the market by conducting a research in which various questions are asked from the
respondents in order to find out their preferences. With the assistance of this the company can
formulate actions to correct the problems that are occurring in the operations and adopting
various changes in their existing services and products. ( Ke, and et. al. 2016)
Idea Selection: In this step the management of the company adopts the best idea for the
selection of tools and techniques after it is ensured that success will be achieved in future. The
tools and techniques which assist in reducing wastages and cost are given priority by the
management.
Implementing the idea: According to this step, the ideas that is selected in the selection
process will be implemented in an efficient manner in order to attain the organisational goals in
best possible way.
P4: Developing frugal innovations and its usage
Frugal innovation: This refers to the process of innovation which is undertaken with the
objective of removing complexities from the operations of business and in turn reducing the cost
of production. This process can be implemented with the view of elimination of non essential
elements which the customers of the company demand for, in its products. Removal of
unnecessary features from the products assists the company in reduction of cost of products,
which helps the company is investing that saved amount in the activities that are more
productive. For solving this purpose the, the management of Softwire needs to hire researcher
that will conduct a research and will find relevant information regarding the non essential
features of the product which is resisting the customers in purchasing their products. It can be
easily interpreted from the following points:
Reducing cost of production: Frugal innovations assist the companies in reducing the
cost of production by the removal of unwanted features which are not influencing the purchasing
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behaviour of the company. Collection of feedbacks and customer's perception regarding the
software of the company and about the product features which helps the management in
removing and adding the features from the product accordingly.(Kim, and et. al. 2014 )
Addition of new feature: this concept mainly focuses on the improvement and
development of the products and services that are already existing. This can be done doing a
value addition into the existing product which in turn will lead to rise in the value of the product
in the market, which will assist in the overall increase in the demand of software provided by
Softwire company.
Adoption of new technologies: Adopting new and advanced technologies in the
marketing as well as process of production will assist in increasing the revenues of the company
as well as its productivity. Adopting advanced technologies helps the companies in reducing cost
per product because of reduction in labour cost.
TASK 3
P5: Significance of commercial funeral and application of NPD for commercialisation and
innovation
Commercial funnel: This concept implies that how the mind and perception of
customers are manipulated regarding the products and services of the companies. The
management of company which is more efficient and capable in the adoption of strategies for
influencing the behaviours of the customers will assist the management in retaining more loyal
customers for a longer time duration. This can only be possible when companies adopt an pricing
policy that is effective and innovations in products by help of which the company is able to
attract a large base of customers of gaining a new market share. Softwire company can also
achieve additional advantages by using commercial funnel which are discussed as under:
Identifying customer's perception: The main advantage of commercial funnel is the
identification of the interest and perception of the customers, it is the responsibility of the
management to make changes as per pre-determined plans and decisions as per the requirements
of the customers in order to retain them for longer period. ( Patti, Yanes, and Siuzdak, 2012)
Improved Product quality: The concept of funnel implies that their should be
enhancement in the quality of product and services of the company, in order to influence the
purchasing behaviour of the customers so as to achieve customer satisfaction.
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Cost reduction: The process of commercial funnel promotes the use of new and
advanced technologies which reduces the cost of production as well as marketing activities.
Improvement in goodwill: Commercial funnel promotes and suggests company in
providing good quality products and services with minimal cost in the production process, which
in turn improves the goodwill and brand image of the company.
New product development:
This is an detailed and long process of developing a new product which includes various
steps as follows:
Idea generation: In the initial step, the generation and analysis of new ideas takes place
with the help of information collected from the conducted research. For this purpose the
companies need to monitor the strategies of the rivalries, buying behaviour of customers and
perception.( Song, and et. al. 2016)
Screening of idea: This is the second step in the process, according to this the
management of the Softwire needs to analyse the ideas of the management by taking expert
advices.
Concept development: This step involves, how the selected idea will be implemented in
a organisation. A practical approach is prepared for the execution of idea and analysed whether it
will be applied successfully or not.
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Strategy development: This step involves the development of strategies regarding the
utilisation and arrangement of resources and how they will be used in achieving the objectives.
Examining business conditions: This step considers the the business situations that
occurs due to complex economic environment, then they are properly analysed for the purpose of
resolving the related issues which may be coming in the process.
Test marketing: In this step companies take decision for adopting various marketing
strategies such that they can capture a big portion of market in the UK.
Commercialisation: This step deals with the launching of a product on a largse scale by
the company by adoption of various channels of communication. ( Tebbe, 2011)
P6: Innovation Business Case
Softwire is a software developed company founded in 2000 to develop outstanding
software with best consumer satisfaction, located in North London, United Kingdom. Steps for
innovation business case are listed below:
Executive Summary: Softwire is a software development company which is engaged in
developing customised software according to the client's requirements. Founded in United
Kingdom by Dan Shavick, Pete Kenny and Phil Marsden.
Target: The targeted customers of Softwire are corporate organisations who requires
various software to handle their business activities.
Solution: Softwire believes in efficient customer satisfaction for which they need to
increase their workforce as increased number of personnel will contribute in higher rate of
customer satisfaction and for this company need to hire more skilled employees who can
understand their client's queries and try to resolve them. Softwire target people involved in
corporate businesses as they can afford their efficient but expensive softwartes, for which they
need to enhance their market strategies for better positioning in prospect consumers minds.(
Thore, 2012)
Why product is innovative: Softwire is a software developing company which is
engaged in developing custom software for their clients. A large number of competitors are
present in the market but Softwire is different among them as they custom their every software
according to client's needs. The innovation of customisation makes Softwire desirable for every
kind of company, whether large or small in size, complex or simple in nature etc.
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Customer Research: The company requires to conduct research for changing requirements of the
clients so that their product can be delivered as soon as possible. For example, if Softwire pre
identifies the requirements of their clients than they can timely deliver the products without any
delay.
Funding: Softwire is required to hire new staff who can concentrate in customer query,
which leads to increased customer satisfaction and it requires heavy research work in order to
identify rapidly changing needs of their clients, which requires funds from various sources such
as Public issue and borrowings from financial institutions.
Expected benefits: Expected benefits refers to the expectations of Softwire company
after adapting new changes. They may compare the rate of customer satisfaction after hiring
fresh skilled staff and if they will result in profitability or not. Management of Softwire company
will expect increased number of clients with better customer satisfaction of existing customers.
(Yin, and et. al. 2014)
TASK 4
P7: Various tools that the organisation should use in developing , protecting and retaining
knowledge and intellectual property rights
Softwire limited is a small sized enterprise which is engaged in various business
functions with an target of expansion of their business all over the world , for which the
management of the company have various plans and policies which will assist them attaining
their desired targets and objectives. Thus, it becomes necessary for the company to adopt various
tools to support their strategies and other materialistic information from their rivalries. These
techniques includes:
Patent: This tool helps the companies in the protection of their unique concepts and ideas
from their competitors to gain an competitive advantage. For this purpose, the company is
required to apply to the government regarding the title of patent and their innovation and idea in
that product. Softwire limited should use this tool for protecting their ideas of developing the
software that they have developed internally for the latest and updated features they provide in
their system. The patent can be taken for any feature that the company have evolved over a
period. (Yin, and Shiand Yan, 2014)
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Trademark: This tools assists the company in protecting the logo or the name of their
company which helps the customers in unique identification of their product in the market.
Softwire limited is a reputed company whose software are used by the leading organisations and
therefore the company should apply for a trademark for the companies name and the logo of the
company so that the customers can identify the company easily and so that no company can use
their name or logo in the market they are operating
Copyright: this tool allows the company in giving permission to another person or entity
to use their innovation or technique for specified period of time. By using this tool Softwire can
allow other company to use their innovative features for a specified period of time by receiving
an amount in exchange of that.
Right about intellectual property: This tool states that it is very important for the owner
of intellectual property that he possess some basic knowledge about the right and duties. He must
possess information regarding the power related with security of intellectual property. These are
some of the measure that Softwire can use in order to secure the intellectual property.
CONCLUSION
According to the above project, it has been concluded that innovation plays an critical
role in maintaining sustainability and expansion of an organisation. For innovation process, the
company is required to adopt various tools and techniques which assists the company in
innovating their products in an efficient manner. The management of company should considers
factors such as 4P's of innovation etc. to develop their products and services.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Abou-Ras, D., Kirchartz, T. and Rau, U. eds., 2016. Advanced characterization techniques for
thin film solar cells. John Wiley & Sons.
Berry, F. S. and Berry, W. D., 2018. Innovation and Diusion Models in Policy Research. In
Theories of the policy process (pp. 263-308). Routledge.
Drucker, P., 2014. Innovation and entrepreneurship. Routledge.
Freeman, C., 2013. Economics of industrial innovation. Routledge.
Hora, M. and Dutta, D. K., 2013. Entrepreneurial firms and downstream alliance partnerships:
Impact of portfolio depth and scope on technology innovation and commercialization
success. Production and Operations Management. 22(6). pp.1389-1400.
Huizingh, E. K., 2011. Open innovation: State of the art and future perspectives. Technovation,
31(1). pp.2-9.\
Ke, W. and et. al., 2016. Employing lead thiocyanate additive to reduce the hysteresis and boost
the fill factor of planar perovskite solar cells. Advanced materials. 28(26). pp.5214-
5221.
Kim, Y. W., and et. al., 2014. Gamma Titanium Aluminide Alloys 2014: A Collection of
Research on Innovation and Commercialization of Gamma Alloy Technology. John
Wiley & Sons.
Patti, G. J., Yanes, O. and Siuzdak, G., 2012. Innovation: Metabolomics: the apogee of the omics
trilogy. Nature reviews Molecular cell biology, 13(4). p.263.
Song, Z., and et. al., 2016. Perovskite Solar Cell Stability in Humid Air: Partially Reversible
Phase Transitions in the PbI2‐CH3NH3I‐H2O System. Advanced Energy Materials.
6(19).
Tebbe, J., 2011. Where good ideas come from: The natural history of innovation.
Thore, S. A. ed., 2012. Technology commercialization: DEA and related analytical methods for
evaluating the use and implementation of technical innovation. Springer Science &
Business Media.
Yin, W .J., and et. al., 2014. Engineering Grain Boundaries in Cu2ZnSnSe4 for Better Cell
Performance: A First‐Principle Study. Advanced Energy Materials. 4(1).
Yin, W. J., Shi, T. and Yan, Y., 2014. Unique properties of halide perovskites as possible origins
of the superior solar cell performance. Advanced Materials. 26(27). pp.4653-4658.
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