Manage Innovation and Continuous Improvement - Desklib

This report focuses on the concept of innovation and continuous improvement and provides information on innovation, learning, risk management, and knowledge management in the workplace. The report also includes role play meeting with CEO of the company to establish innovation and continuous improvement activities and implementing these activities in order to support continuous improvement, innovation, and learning at the company.

Manage innovation
and continuous
improvement
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Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................4
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................4
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................4
1. Describe the following using your own words.............................................................4
2. Describe how to apply knowledge management systems in a workplace....................5
3. Identify and briefly describe continuous improvement systems and processes............5
4. Identify and describe at least three creativity and innovation theories and concepts.. .5
5. Identify and briefly describe organisational learning principles...................................6
6. Identify and briefly describe at least three quality management and continuous
improvement theories.............................................................................................................6
7. Explain relevant risk management concepts.................................................................7
8. Outline key aspects of supply chains, and operational, product and service systems.. 7
9. Identify and briefly describe method for conducting gap analysis...............................7
10. Identify and briefly explain at least two changing trends and opportunities in workplace.
7
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................7
1. Meeting with your CEO................................................................................................7
2. Establishing the following innovation and continuous improvement preparation
activities..................................................................................................................................8
3. Establishment of expectations and desired outcomes of innovation and continuous
improvement.........................................................................................................................10
4. Development of strategies to monitor and evaluate performance of team members..11
5. Gap analysis of operations, service systems and supply chains.................................11
6. Development of a transition plan to move the team member to supervisory position.11
7. Development of a contingency plan to address non-performance of tasks.................11
8. Investigation of the operational situation with suppliers and customer complaints...12
 Department...........................................................................................................................12
TASK 3..........................................................................................................................................13
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Detailed email to communicate with and agree on team members identified improvement
needs and opportunities........................................................................................................13
Plan to implement improvement by following points..........................................................14
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................16
REFRENCES.................................................................................................................................17
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INTRODUCTION
Innovation and continuous improvement are two factors which support long term growth
and survival of an organization as it helps the company improve their business processes and
practices while also introducing unique products and services which help them distinguish from
the rest of their competition. This report focuses on the concept of innovation and continuous
improvement and provides information on innovation learning risk management and knowledge
management in the workplace. The case study selected for this report is carefree 65 which is a
longstanding restaurant business in the heart of Melbourne. The report also includes role play
meeting with CEO of the company to establish innovation and continuous improvement
activities and implementing these activities in order to support continuous improvement
innovation and learning at the company.
MAIN BODY
TASK 1
1. Describe the following using your own words.
a. Innovation in a workplace: The concept of innovation is defined as the practical
application of ideas which provides the outcome of introduction of unique and original goods or
services with improvement in quality offered to the consumers (Kun, 2017).
b. Continuous improvement: Continuous improvement focuses on regular and ongoing
development and enhancement of product services or processes with the help of incremental end
Rick to improvements. In context of the workplace continuous improvement supports better
efficiency quality and working environment.
c. What cost-benefit analysis methods you can use when undertaking above two: The Cost
benefit analysis method which can be utilized for undertaking continuous innovation at the
workplace is payback. Method which involves adding of the benefits of a course of action and
then comparing these with the costs associated with it (Zahedi and et.al, 2018). On the other
hand the cost benefit analysis which is suitable for addressing innovation at the workplace is net
present worth method which can be used to determine the profitability of a specific investment.
In this way the time taken for benefits alpha continuous improvement program to repay its costs
can be determined while the return provided by a specific investment for innovation at the
workplace can also be identified to make informed decision.
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2. Describe how to apply knowledge management systems in a workplace.
The focus of implementing and knowledge management system should be on continuous
improvement (Brem, Bilgram and Marchuk, 2019). The main areas which need to be prioritized
while implementation of our knowledge management system includes security date accuracy and
technological changes including cost of implementation and viability of the technology. In this
way businesses need to create an environment where knowledge sharing and knowledge transfer
is easier so that a knowledge management system can be implemented and institutionalized in
organizational culture.
3. Identify and briefly describe continuous improvement systems and processes.
The primary purpose of a continuous improvement system is to ensure that an ongoing effort is
made for improving product services or practices of the organization. Kaizan is a popular system
used for continuous improvement which states that incremental and continuous positive
modifications provide significant improvement in case of any business product activity or
service. On the other hand the plan do study act continuous improvement process is also popular
and used by many businesses for initiating continuous improvement in their organization. This
includes the stage of plan where change is identified along with improvement opportunities and
the next stages do where the changes are implemented. After this the third stage is checking to
eliminate the change and its desired outcome while the final stage is successful implementation
of the change across organizations.
4. Identify and describe at least three creativity and innovation theories and concepts.
Diffusion of innovation is a popular theory which states that primary components which affect
the circulation of a new idea or innovation our time communication and social systems. In this
theory of innovation specific adopter categories are identified which signify the stages of
adoption of a specific innovation in the market. These adopted categories are innovators early
adopters early majority late majority and laggards (Altaf, Hassan and Batool, 2019).
According to the disruptive innovation theory a disruptive innovation is defined as a
simple product or service which is firstly adopted by niche market sections because of its
accessibility and then it moves upwards resulting in displacement of industry incumbents. It is an
important theory to understand the rise of businesses and innovations which change the shape of
industries and develop new markets suggest Smart phones.
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Dual innovation is another theory which states that the primary area which needs to be
prioritized for building successful innovative products is integration of new innovation into the
business without negatively influencing core business activities (Akhundjanov and et. al., 2020).
According to the components theory of creativity highest creativity is achieved through
intrinsic motivation high domain expertise high skill in creative thinking and working in an
environment which supports creativity.
Brainstorming is a concept used for improving creativity as it helps individuals to come
up with thoughts and ideas which have practical applications by solving problems with the help
of lateral thinking.
A mind map is defined as a diagram which helps individuals visualize and organize
information in a hierarchal manner which showcases relationship between different pieces of
information and the relations about the overall information so that the resulting diagram can be
used for generating ideas and problem solving.
5. Identify and briefly describe organisational learning principles.
The five principles of organizational learning our systems thinking personal mastery mental
models shared vision and team learning. These five principles or disciplines support attainment
of organizational objectives and help initiate continuous improvement at the company.
6. Identify and briefly describe at least three quality management and continuous
improvement theories.
Just in time is a popular quality management theory which focuses on demand pull bias so that
production is initiated only when orders are received. Deming theory of total quality
management is another important story which consists of food elements which are systems
appreciation variation knowledge, knowledge theory and psychology knowledge. Dimming
theory of total quality management focuses on improving quality by tweaking processes using
knowledge (Snihur and Wiklund, 2018). Crosby’s total quality management theory focuses on
defining quality in relation to adhering to requirements preventing As the way for quality
improvement minimalizing defects and measuring quality but the price of nonconformity
Plan do check act is an important continuous improvement theory alongside lean theory of
continuous improvement which provides in principles for supporting continuous improvement at
an organization. In addition to this Kaizen methodology is another important story for supporting
continuous improvement.
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7. Explain relevant risk management concepts.
Some of the most common methods for mitigating risk involve transferring, sharing avoiding or
accepting risk (Cohen, 2017). Transferring risk involved taking risk away from the company
with the help of insurance avoidance of risk involves ignoring the risk because of low
consequences sharing risk involves dividing the responsibility of risk with individuals while
acceptance of risk involved identifying and accepting the risk to take sufficient measures.
8. Outline key aspects of supply chains, and operational, product and service systems.
Supply chain operational product and service system require collaborative working and
continuous improvement so that different parties including external as well as internal
stakeholders are able to collaborate with each other effectively and provide better reserves to the
company.
9. Identify and briefly describe method for conducting gap analysis.
Gap analysis is conducted by analyzing the current state of the company and identifying the ideal
future state for the organization. After this the gap between current an ideal state of the company
is evaluated which possible solutions and the plan is created for implementing the most suitable
solution to bridge this gap (Sexton and Ligler, 2018)
10. Identify and briefly explain at least two changing trends and opportunities in workplace.
The primary changing trend in the workplace is rise of virtual working and remote working. This
involves many individuals working from home or other remote area and not attending the
workplace daily many businesses have adopted this trained with data is of coronavirus.
TASK 2
1. Meeting with your CEO
CEO: Good evening I have been looking forward to meet you to discuss actions for innovation
and continuous development at cafe 65.
Consultant: Good evening Sir I am excited to work with the company so that innovation and
continuous improvement at the organization can be initiated.
CEO: Café 65 focuses on providing consumers exceptional consumer service with relaxing
atmosphere and high quality food and beverages. The company has a talented and hard working
workforce who will be delighted to work for you in order to support innovation and continuous
improvement at the organization.
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Consultant: I understand that there are emerging trends in the restaurant and food industry such
as sustainability and supporting local businesses which provide opportunity for growth
innovation and improvement.
CEO: I believe that you need to start working as soon as possible in order to initiate
improvement in various areas of the organization.
Consultant: I will give it my maximum effort to Exploit the current trends in the industry and
support the company in improving different areas so that it is able to reach a deal position in the
Melbourne food and beverage industry.
2. Establishing the following innovation and continuous improvement preparation activities
a. Identification of innovation and continuous improvement trends and opportunities
for work area.
The primary area which can be utilized for innovation in respect to cafe 65 is the market trend of
sustainability. Many consumers these days prefer sustainable options for purchasing their daily
the relax including food items so that they are able to achieve responsible shopping (Wieland,
2021). This increases pressure to make supply chain sustainable/ Innovative approaches can be
applied to improve sustainability of café 65. The area which requires continuous improvement is
cost reduction and improvement in multi skilled consumer service so that the future direction of
the company for expansion and diversification provides successful results.
b. Learning opportunities for team members
The primary opportunity for team members to improve their learning is to develop skills
including culinary and consumer service skills so that innovation and continuous improvement
can be initiated at the organization. Employee learning and development is essential for ensuring
effective supply chain management and improving business processes (Saberi and et. al., 2019).
The kitchen staff and service staff are the primary members of the organization which require
continuous improvement in order to support attainment of its future direction and exploiting the
continuous improvement opportunities in the work area.
c. Identification the team members who need support and determining mentoring for
skill development .
Kitchen staff and consumers of the staff primarily require mentoring for skill development. This
includes the position of restaurant manager executive chef and waiting staff. It can be completed
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with the help of internal and external training to improve their multi skilled consumer services
and support innovation of new products at the enterprise.
d. Stakeholders consultation plan
Stakeholder Internal/External Information
required
Method of
consultation
Consultation
timeframe
Restaurant
Manager
Internal Current skill and
experience
Meetings 2 hours
Executive Chef Internal Innovative
attitude and
background
qualification
Workshop 1 hour
Waiting Staff Internal Experiences and
strengths
Workshop 1 hour
e. Data collection and identification of supply chain gaps
Supply chain failure is highly likely in context of cafe 65 and the primary supply chain gaps for
the specific enterprise include Lack of communication with suppliers and lack of diversification
of suppliers. Supply chain gap have significant impact on profits of a firm (Pettit, Croxton and
Fiksel, 2019).
f. Sustainability requirements of key systems and processes
The main sustainability requirements are reducing energy consumption and supporting green
energy along with the cycling an effective waste management.
g. Objectives for the work team for innovation and continuous improvement
 To support sustainability
 To develop multiskilled consumer service
 To offer consumers fusion cuisines and new flavors
h. Motivation and Continuous improvement Options
Rewards can be used for motivating employees to participate in continuous improvement
options. Providing employees rewards is essential for creating united effort for accomplishment
of a project (Shivakumar and 2018).
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i. Cost Benefit analysis
j. Risk identification and risk management plan
Risk Likelihood
Highly likely
Likely
unlikely
Impact/
consequence
Major
Moderate
minor
Risk
management/risk
control
Supply chain failure/delays Highly
Likely
Major Better
Communication
with suppliers
Usage of digital
technology for
supplier tracking
Diversification of
suppliers
Health and safety Highly
Likely
Major Improved health
and safety policy
Daily inspection
and monitoring
Aggressive competition Highly
Likely
Major Innovation
Digital consumer
service
3. Establishment of expectations and desired outcomes of innovation and continuous
improvement.
The expected role of each employees to participate in improvement activities with her motivation
with the desired outcome of introducing a successful new addition to product portfolio of the
company while also improving consumer service to increase profitability. Each employee must
collaborate with each other to accomplish the tasks of the project because collaboration and
coordination is important (Rasch, 2019).
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4. Development of strategies to monitor and evaluate performance of team members.
Different key performance indicators such as consumer response and feedback on consumer
service will be used for evaluating performance of team members. KPI play an important role in
evaluating success of a specific project or activity (Orgut and et. al., 2020).
5. Gap analysis of operations, service systems and supply chains
The current state of operation service system and supply chain at the company lacks digital
technology and usage of advanced technology for improving efficiency and results. The ideal
state can be reached by introducing digital an advanced technology at café 65 but improving
operation services demand supply chain of the organization.
6. Development of a transition plan to move the team member to supervisory position.
Employee Current situation Desired
transition
Transition
method
Timeframe
Executive Chef Executive Chef Assistant
Restaurant
manager
Internal
training
6 months
Waiting Staff Waiting Staff Consumer
Service
Manager
External
training
3 months
The waiting staff and executive chef will be provide internal and external training options
including remote training to develop their skills and ensure continuous improvement. Transition
period will improve their skills and knowledge of the job and builds their confidence in their
abilities. This will improve their performance and make them work more efficiently and
effectively.
7. Development of a contingency plan to address non-performance of tasks.
Contingency Contingency
action
Resources
required
Timeframe Responsible
person
High Cost of
Innovation
Outsourcing
preparation of
several low
Financial
Resources
3 months Restaurant
manager
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cost high
demand
products
Health risk Connecting
with high
quality food
suppliers
Financial
Resources
2 months Executive
Chef
8. Investigation of the operational situation with suppliers and customer complaints
 Department Kitchen Department
Situation/issue Health Risk
Type of investigation Consumer Complaint
Name of employee/s subject
to investigate
Restaurant manager
Name of complainant/s
(If appropriate)
XYZ
Investigator/s Name ABC
Date of investigation 15/6/22
Background
Health Hazards in Kitchen causing delay in serving, lower quality of food or hygiene.
Remis of the investigation
Delay in service
Investigation process
Interview with the staff
Witness
Waiting Staff
Findings
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Safety Hazard in Kitchen causing cutting accident and leading to delay in serving
Conclusions
There needs to be improvement in health policy. It is recommended to implement a rigorous
health and safety policy for staff along with monthly training to equip them in dealing with any
kind of accident in kitchen.
TASK 3
Process to capture insights, experiences and ideas for improvements, and to manage and confirm
that learning from innovation and continuous improvement activities
 Discovery: This involves extraction of information from raw data so that it is helpful in
building better business strategy, improving business processes and supporting
organizational development. This will support continuous improvement as data can be used
to understand strengths and weaknesses of various continuous improvement actions.
 Capture: Here the knowledge from internal environment and external environment of the
organization so that it can be utilized for development so that it can be documented and
communicated clearly. This helps complete continuous improved as data is stored for further
usage.
 Organization: Knowledge organization means describing, classifying, categorizing, and
indexing information so it can be easily retrieved, navigated, reused, and shared among
employees, teams, and other critical users.
 Creation: Knowledge creation is when individuals or teams within your organization add
what they’ve learned—through practice, process navigation, internal and external
interactions, independent research, and other experiences—to the organization’s collective
knowledge. This will lead to development of knowledge supporting continuous
improvement.
Detailed email to communicate with and agree on team members identified improvement needs
and opportunities.
Subject Line of Email Message: Restaurant Manager Position - TUV
Salutation: Dear Mr. LMN
I will be personally communicating and mentoring team members of the kitchen department as
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well as the waiting staff to test and trial their new ideas. This will involve regular brainstorming
session and I will use it create a mind map which includes the best ideas given by each staff
member for introducing innovative product categories and improving consumer service at the
organization.
As a consultant for improving innovation and continuous improvement I will support each staff
during their training. And guide them so that they are highly motivated to participate in each
training activity and facilitate continuous improvement and innovation at the organization. it is
understood from the cost benefit analysis that investing in innovating new product category with
fusion food products at the enterprise will help the company improve sales and profitability and
it will also repay every tie returns.
I will be motivating team members with financial rewards along with better career development
opportunities so that they are more excited and involved in various training activities and the
overall continuous development process. This includes rewarding employees with the help of
bonus and supporting their continuous development by consulting them towards achieving their
career ambition. I would like each team member specifically those involved in the continuous
development program from the beginning to provide feedback about implementation of system
an process for continuous improvement innovation and learning to the e-mail ID giving below so
that I am able to utilize this feedback for further improving the continuous development plans.
Sincerely,
Consultant
TUV
Email Signature:
TU V
Email address: [e-mail]
Plan to implement improvement by following points
a. Evaluation of continuous improvement systems and processes and innovation.
The continuous improvement system which will be adopted for the respective organization is the
lean method for continuous improvement which will help each individual enhance their skill and
support innovation at the company. The five key lean principles are explained below along with
their application at the restaurant for continuous improvement:
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Identification of worth: The first principle is determining the value and overall
value stream mapping which support creation of innovative product at the restaurant (Nandjebo
and. et. al., 2021). The advantage of this process is that it will help identify the weak points in the
value stream of the company while the disadvantages that it may require heavy data collection at
each and every supply point of the company.
Creating map of the value stream: The second principle is ensuring that the steps
of value stream flow smoothly with no interruption delays or bottlenecks. The advantage of this
step is that it can help the respective organization remove any elements which cost inefficiency
and lower productivity of the innovation and operational activities. the disadvantage of this
principle is that it might require heavy time investment and distract the staff from other continues
improvement activities.
Establish pull: The 4th step is to enhance the time needed by utilizing approaches
such as just in time delivery. The advantage of this step is that it helps Improve consumer service
which is beneficial for cafe 65 while the disadvantage is that just in time approach has the risk of
running out of stock.
Pursue perfection: The final principle of this methodology to support continuous
improvement is reaching perfection from the 1st to 4th principle (Monga, and. et. al., 2017). This
requires constant effort and vigilance to achieve perfection and continuously improve various
practices and activities violence is supporting innovative working. This is advantages for the
respective organization as it can help the company create an environment for continuous
improvement which will support its long term survival while the disadvantages that the company
will have to introduce change which can be a challenging task.
b. Approval processes to seek approval for continuous improvement and innovation
The approval process for ensuring that the continuous improvement plans are approved include
establishment of a clear and streamlined process for feedback. It is important to get continuous
feedback from those involved in the continuous improvement process because it helps review
various activities being used for supporting continuous improvement (Masoud and. et. al., 2017).
After this the next step in the approval process involves building review and approvals into the
continuous improvement plan. This step will ensure formalization of the approval process by
putting tasks dates and assignments around the approval process to make sure that the tasks an
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activities of the continuous improvement plan are clearly defined and every individual involved
in the process can follow these activities easily.
c. Continuous improvement and innovation project management process
Project Initiation
This period of the project life-cycle includes identification of main objectives which need to be
achieved along with viability
Project planning
This stage of the project life cycle includes team building so that overall project goal is attained
in timely manner. The various process included in project planning in context of on-site cookery
project are provided below;
Project execution
This phase of the project life-cycle centers around implementation of project plan, managing
stakeholder expectations and coordinating with project team members to attain project
deliverables
Project closure
This is the last stage of the project in which the project is formally closed and all the deliverables
are achieved. This includes providing the stakeholders deliverables and developing
documentation for release of staff equipment and cancellations of contract.
d. Change management process during the implementation of continuous
improvement and innovation.
Lewin’s change management model
The threes stages described in this change management model are mentioned below:
 Unfreeze: This is the first stage of organisational change and focuses on ensuing that the
change is accepted by every member of the company (Kock and. et. al. 2019). This involves
concentrating that employees are able to understand the necessity of the change which is
being implemented.
 Change: At this stage business firms starts to look at new practices and transition of change
is started. Cafe 65 ensures employee contribution at this stage by communicating benefits of
change to each employee.
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 Refreeze: This stage, refreeze the change, is about solidifying the change. After the change
has been implemented in the change stage, employees are inclined to revert to their old
habits
CONCLUSION
From the above report it is determined that the process of implementing continuous improvement
plans in an organization and supporting innovation is complicated because it requires
collaboration with the entire workforce and utilizing different innovation theories as well as
creativity tourist to develop a process which supports continuous innovation as well as
development. in addition to this many other factors such as identification and management of
risks along with the usage of suitable communication and knowledge management systems to
support learning of individuals.
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REFRENCES
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Masoud and. et. al., 2017, September. Software project management: resources prediction and
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