Innovation in the Processes: Improving Police Uniforms in Sri Lanka

This report discusses the innovative collaboration between Sri Lanka police department and Nike to improve police uniforms. It identifies the need for change, the innovative idea, collaborations, risks, benefits, and barriers. The report also includes an action plan for communication with the police force.

Running head: INNOVATION IN THE PROCESSES
INNOVATION IN THE PROCESSES
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author note

1
INNOVATION IN THE PROCESSES
Introduction
The different issues that are faced by the police personnel while performing their job role
in Sri Lanka has forced the head of the police departments to undertake an innovative
collaboration to facilitate modifications in the efforts. The aim of the innovation was to
undertake steps to bring in improvements in the functions of the police officers in Sri Lanka
through the identification of the issues that are faced by the same due to high humidity in the
regions.
The average humidity of the nation ranges from approximately 70% during the day to
90% at night. It affects the functions of the policemen while undertaking their operations as per
the job requirements. The heavy uniform results to a greasy suffocating situation in the summer
months. Therefore, the head of the police departments might come up with a solution of
designing uniform that will make the policemen feel comfortable during their duty hours. The
innovation will be helping the policemen to work moiré efficiently in the terrifying weather
conditions. The innovation will be helping the police department to work efficiently on the
increasing crime rates of the nation and thereby bring in safety and security in the national
security.
The purpose of the report is to identify the innovation that will be helping the police
department in Sri Lanka to function more efficiently on the issues of increasing crime rates in the
nation. On the other hand, the report also enumerates the chief stakeholders and the
collaborations that will be undertaken by the police department to facilitate the innovation.

2
INNOVATION IN THE PROCESSES
Need of the police force
The police force in Sri Lanka face issues relating to the humid weather conditions of the
nation and the manner in which the outfit that they wear seems to create an uncomfortable
situation for the people in the force. The different issues that are faced by the police in the region
are due to the frequent changes in the weathers and thereby the greasy and sultry weather causing
infections. The illness is causing heavy absenteeism in the regular duties, which is affecting the
surveillance and thereby enhancing the crime rates of the various regions in the nation. The
rising average humidity in the coastal regions of the nation has affected the functioning of the
force in the different segments. On the other hand, the identification of the needs of the people
relating to safety and security cannot be negated at all, which has created an urgency to bring in
innovative approaches to facilitate the smooth performance.
The police force needs a well designed sporty uniform and armor, which will be helping
the same to maintain the smooth performance of the force. On the other hand, it will be helping
the force to function as per the hefty schedules in the different weather conditions. The key
elements of the change in the armor is dependent on making the same more light and thereby
ventilate the humidity to avoid perspiration in the different operations. It will be helping the
police force to bring in changes in the manner in which they design the functions for the welfare
and the security of the people in the nation. The major objective of the police force is to provide
a band of security to the nationalities. However, the sultry and uncomfortable weather conditions
act as a preventive force that affects their functioning as an integrated force. It affects the
question of security and safety of the people in the nation. Therefore, the idea of a suit that would
make them comfortable during their duty hours will be helping in the smooth performance of the
force as per the objectives of the same.

3
INNOVATION IN THE PROCESSES
Innovative idea
The innovative idea that will be undertaken by the police force is to bring in changes in
the fabric that is utilized for manufacturing and tailoring the uniforms and the body armors of the
police force. The material that might be used for the creation of the uniforms will be cooler than
the previous fabrics used in uniforms. It is estimated that the fabric will be some 133% more
permeable than previous materials. On the other hand, the highly durable material that will be
utilized for making the uniforms will thereby cope up with the different wear and tear situations
that might be faced by the police force. The material that will be used in the sides of the body
and the shoulders will allow air flow, which will be helping in ventilating the sweat and the
sultriness. The circulation of the idea and the mass production of the vest armors and the
uniforms will be sanctioned only after its approval while in the sampling and testing. However, it
is believed that the idea will be helping the police force to work efficiently, negating the different
humid weather conditions. The innovations that might be undertaken by the police departments
will be helping the police department to bring forth improvements in the activities. The
identification of the idea and the manner in which it will be helping the police force to act as per
the objectives of the same has helped in understanding the profitability of the innovation.
Collaborations
The collaborators that will be helping the police department to successfully implement
the idea of bringing forth innovation in the uniforms are Nike. The collaboration with the jersey
manufacturing company, Nike, will be helping the police force to develop the uniform with the
finest material that helps in manufacturing the most suitable uniforms that would bring comfort.
The material that is used by Nike for manufacturing the jerseys are
recycled polyester, recycled rubber, organic cotton, which helps ion the creation of a more

4
INNOVATION IN THE PROCESSES
durable and flexible fabric (Battilana and Casciaro 2012). The utilization of the material in the
uniforms will be helping the police force will be helping the same to maintain an innovative
approach. On the other hand, the material will be helping to ventilate the sweat in the humid
weather that will create a cooling sensation for the people utilizing the improvised uniform. The
collaboration will also be helping the police force to bring forth changes in the armors that are
prepared by the departments as per the needs of safety of the police officers. The collaboration
will be helping the police force to design the uniforms in a manner that will be advantageous for
the people working in the sultry weather conditions.
The different functions that are undertaken by the police force and the collaboration that
is undertaken by the same will be helping to ensure the needs of the police force as per the
requirements of the team to bring in changes in the systems and the performance of the people in
the force (Battilana and Casciaro 2012). The collaboration undertaken by the departments of the
force will be to ensure the development of the uniforms and armor that are lightweight and
equally tough to suit the purpose. The collaboration undertaken by the police departments will be
helping the same to bring in changes in the quality of the uniforms and thereby facilitate the
proper functioning of the price force. The usage of the fine materials in the manufacturing of the
uniforms will be supported through the collaboration with Nike. It will be helping the police
departments to bring in changes in the performance of the police men and thereby take steps to
control the rising crime rate more actively. The collaboration with Nike will be helping the
police departments to successfully implement the change in the uniforms through their basic
formula of utilizing the rough yet comfortable outfit for the policemen.

5
INNOVATION IN THE PROCESSES
Identification of the risks
There are number of potential risks being identified in regards to the proposed innovative
collaboration between Sri Lanka police department and Nike. The following sections will discuss
about the identified potential risks.
 One of the major risks being identified is the involvement of the external parties in the
strategic sector. This is due to the reason that police department is one of the major
strategic governmental areas and involvement of the external parties such as Nike may
pose security concerns (Yoo et al. 2012). Though collaboration with Nike will only be
limited in developing police uniforms but in the long term, it may cause issue regarding
the breach of privacy of strategic information.
 Certain risks will also be faced by Nike from the proposed collaboration. One of the
major risks for Nike will be termination of the contract by the government of Sri Lanka.
This is due to the reason that government of Sri Lanka is the sole responsible to initiate
the collaboration with Nike according to the requirement. However, it the Nike that will
have to initiate the production facilities with the specific requirements. In addition, Nike
should also have to shift their production facilities in Sri Lanka in keeping the cost low.
In this case, there will be always higher risk for Nike to the collaboration due to the
probability of termination by the government. This will cause huge loss or Nike.
 Another major stakeholder in this process is the policemen. This is due to the reason that
they are one who will experience the collaboration in the real life. However, in this case
also, there are certain risks to get emerged (Khavul and Bruton 2013). The major risk is
the non-compatibility of the uniform in the real world situation. This risk will more
severe due to the reason that it will be more extensive in nature with the involvement of

6
INNOVATION IN THE PROCESSES
large number of policemen. In addition, emergence of this risk will also lead to the
termination of the contract.
Benefits of proposed innovative collaboration
 One of the major benefits to be gained from the implementation of the proposed
innovative collaboration is enhancement of the convenience of the policemen. This is due
to the reason that collaboration with Nike will help Sri Lanka police department to have
more lightweight and sweat free uniforms. This will also help the policemen to enhance
their performance and effectiveness.
 Another major benefit that can be gained from the proposed innovative collaboration is
the increase in the lasting ability of the garments. This is due to the reason that Nike is
one of most famous manufacturers of sports garments. Thus, they are having the
expertise to produce long lasting garments for the police department. This will enable the
police department to reduce the impact of wear and tear and cost incurred for the clothing
of the police department. The durability of the uniforms will be helping the police
officers in the Sri Lankan police force to undertake rough operations.
 Nike will also have benefits as one of the major stakeholders in the proposed
collaboration. Currently, Nike is only having their market presence in the sportswear
sector. Moreover, the market presence of Nike is mainly niche and limited due to catering
to premium market (Norman and Verganti 2014). Thus, with the help of the proposed
collaboration between the Sri Lankan police department and Nike, the market presence
will get amplified for them and Nike will be able to enhance their market share by
diversification strategy. The collaboration will be helping the organization to bring forth
diversity in the product offerings. The innovation will be helping the organization to

7
INNOVATION IN THE PROCESSES
undertake world wide collaborations with the different armed forces, which will be acting
as a competitive edge for Nike.
 Collaboration with Nike will help the Sri Lankan police department to have more
innovative, up market deigns, and styles in terms of their uniforms (Kindström,
Kowalkowski and Sandberg 2013). This will also enable them to gain positive
impression among the common people. Innovation in the uniforms and the utilization of
the modern technologies in the garment- manufacturing units will be helping the police
force to undertake smooth functioning of the systems (Hamel 2012).
Major barriers for the proposed collaboration
 One of the major barriers identified is the cost involved. This is due to the reason that
collaboration and developing the uniforms with Nike will cost huge for the Sri Lankan
police department. This will further cause incursion of added cost in the police
department. On the other hand, it will also cost huge cost for Nike due to the reason that
Nike should have to shift their production process along with their research and
development facilities (Vaccaro et al. 2012). Thus, the cost and risk for them will be high
and in case of unwarranted incidents in Sri Lanka, Nike will incur huge cost.
 The policies and regulation of the economy where the collaboration is being iundertake4n
plays a major role in the identification of the needs of the organization to bring in
changes in the uniforms (Anderson, Potočnik and Zhou 2014). The policies and the
regulations helps in justifying the applicability of the idea on the police force and the
manner in which it can be safely implemented to address the needs of the people working
in the force.

8
INNOVATION IN THE PROCESSES
 The applicability of the idea and the acceptance of the idea is a major consideration that
affects the proper functioning of the collaboration that is planned by the police force
with Nike. The question of profitability of the idea and the delineation of the different
risk factors helps in identifying the profitability of the business venture. On the other
hand, the identification of the likelihood for the change in the uniforms of the force is
dependent on the understanding of the risk factors that might be faced by the
collaboration.
Action plan
Elements Procedure Time frame Rationale
Communication with
the people of the force
The police departments
in Sri Lanka might take
sessions with the
members of the force to
identify the issues.
Sessions helps in
undertaking the
complete process of
communication, which
helps in making the
police departments
aware of the needs of
the people while
performing their duties
(Damanpour and
2- 3 weeks The communication
session will help in
retaining the feedback
of the police force and
thereby bring in the
required modifications.
It will also help the
department in making
the people aware of the
different changes that
the departments would
be entertaining (Edquist
2013).

9
INNOVATION IN THE PROCESSES
Aravind 2012).
Undertaking
collaboration with Nike
The collaboration with
Nike to bring in changes
in the material that is
used as a fabric for the
uniforms will be
facilitated through
proper communication
medium (Jay 2013).
7- 12 months The collaboration will
be helping the police
force to devise the most
appropriate uniform for
the people. Nike is an
esteemed company
when it comes to
designing lightweight
jerseys. Therefore, the
collaboration will be
helping the police force
to devise uniforms that
will be light weight and
equally help the force in
ventilating during high
humid conditions.
Testing the innovative
uniforms
Testing the innovative
uniforms through
sampling of the same
and distribution of the
samples among the
police force (Brown and
Osborne 2012)
6- 8 weeks Testing helps in
bringing forth
improvements in the
uniforms

10
INNOVATION IN THE PROCESSES
Conclusion
Therefore, from the above analysis it might be stated that the proper functioning of the
police force in Sri Lanka can be facilitated through a minimum innovation, which will help in
enhancing the functions undertaken by the police force. On the other hand, the collaboration that
will be planned by the police department with Nike shall be helping to undertake the proper
designing of the uniforms to suit the needs of the police force. The design of the uniform is a
critical need of the police force as it will be ensuring the comfort during the hasty weather
conditions in Sri Lanka. The humid and sultry weather conditions of the nation have created a
situation of inconvenience among the police men which affected the growth of the crime rate.
The innovation is aimed at bringing forth changes in the situation that is faced by the people
working in the force. Innovation in the uniforms has helped in maintaining the different levels of
changes in the performance of the police force.

11
INNOVATION IN THE PROCESSES
References
Anderson, N., Potočnik, K. and Zhou, J., 2014. Innovation and creativity in organizations: A
state-of-the-science review, prospective commentary, and guiding framework. Journal of
Management, 40(5), pp.1297-1333.
Battilana, J. and Casciaro, T., 2012. Change agents, networks, and institutions: A contingency
theory of organizational change. Academy of Management Journal, 55(2), pp.381-398.
Brown, K. and Osborne, S.P., 2012. Managing change and innovation in public service
organizations. Routledge.
Damanpour, F. and Aravind, D., 2012. Managerial innovation: Conceptions, processes, and
antecedents. Management and organization review, 8(2), pp.423-454.
Edquist, C., 2013. Systems of innovation: technologies, institutions and organizations.
Routledge.
Hamel, G., 2012. What matters now: How to win in a world of relentless change, ferocious
competition, and unstoppable innovation. John Wiley & Sons.
Jay, J., 2013. Navigating paradox as a mechanism of change and innovation in hybrid
organizations. Academy of Management Journal, 56(1), pp.137-159.
Khavul, S. and Bruton, G.D., 2013. Harnessing innovation for change: Sustainability and poverty
in developing countries. Journal of Management Studies, 50(2), pp.285-306.
Kindström, D., Kowalkowski, C. and Sandberg, E., 2013. Enabling service innovation: A
dynamic capabilities approach. Journal of business research, 66(8), pp.1063-1073.

12
INNOVATION IN THE PROCESSES
Norman, D.A. and Verganti, R., 2014. Incremental and radical innovation: Design research vs.
technology and meaning change. Design issues, 30(1), pp.78-96.
Vaccaro, I.G., Jansen, J.J., Van Den Bosch, F.A. and Volberda, H.W., 2012. Management
innovation and leadership: The moderating role of organizational size. Journal of Management
Studies, 49(1), pp.28-51.
Yoo, Y., Boland Jr, R.J., Lyytinen, K. and Majchrzak, A., 2012. Organizing for innovation in the
digitized world. Organization science, 23(5), pp.1398-1408.