BSBMGT608 Manage Innovation and Continuous Improvement Report

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BSBMGT608 MANAGE INNOVATION AND CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT
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Table of Contents
1. Review programs, systems, and processes...............................................................................3
1.1 Establish strategies to monitor and evaluate the performance and sustainability of key
systems and processes..................................................................................................................3
1.2 Undertake detailed analyses of supply chains, and operational, product and service
delivery systems...........................................................................................................................3
1.3 Identify performance measures, and assessment tools and techniques, and evaluate their
effectiveness................................................................................................................................4
1.4 Analyze performance reports and variance from plans for key result areas of the
organization.................................................................................................................................4
1.5 Identify and analyze changing trends and opportunities relevant to the organization......5
1.6 Seek advice from specialists, where appropriate, to identify technology and electronic
commerce opportunities...............................................................................................................5
2. Develop options for continuous improvement.........................................................................7
2.1 Brief groups on performance improvement strategies and innovation as an essential
element of competition................................................................................................................7
2.2 Foster creative climate and organizational learning by promoting interaction within and
between workgroups....................................................................................................................7
2.3 Encourage, test and recognize new ideas and entrepreneurial behavior where successful
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2.4 Accept failure of an idea during trialing and recognize, celebrate and embed success
into systems.................................................................................................................................8
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2.5 Undertake risk management and cost-benefit analysis for each option or idea approved
for trial.........................................................................................................................................9
2.6 Approve innovations through agreed organizational processes........................................9
3. Implement innovative processes................................................................................................11
3.1 Promote continuous improvement and sustainability as essential to doing business........11
3.2. Address the impact of change and consequences for people and implement transition
plans 12
3.3. Ensure objectives, timeframes, measures and communication plans are in place to
manage implementation.............................................................................................................13
3.4. Implement contingency plans in the event of non-performance.....................................14
3.5. Follow up failure by prompt investigation and analysis of causes and manage emerging
challenges and opportunities effectively...................................................................................15
3.6. Ensure that learnings from activities are captured and managed to inform future work 16
3.7. Regularly evaluate continuous improvement systems and processes.............................17
3.8. Communicate costs and benefits of innovations and improvements to relevant groups
and individuals...........................................................................................................................18
References......................................................................................................................................20
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1. Review programs, systems, and processes
1.1 Establish strategies to monitor and evaluate the performance and sustainability of
key systems and processes
In order to implement the most appropriate strategies, business managers should consider the
specific nature of the business. Effective strategies for improvement should be enhanced for
meeting up the organizational objectives effectively & efficiently. The key indicators should be
developed for improving the level of performance along with enhancing the maximum level of
customers’ satisfaction. The organizational objectives should be developed in the form of
SMART concept, i.e., the defined goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic &
time specific. The financial management should be enhanced in an effective manner for
increasing the level of sustainability as well as the growth of the business. Also, enough cash
flow should be generated for maintaining the higher level growth of the business. Apart from
these, the business managers should also focus on conducting the training sessions & conducting
regular surveys for improving the overall efficiency (Ferreira Rebelo, et.al. 2014). The effective
methods for conducting analysis & evaluation includes the financial analysis, social media
monitoring, analysis of the quantitative employee, benchmarking, etc.
1.2 Undertake detailed analyses of supply chains, and operational, product and service
delivery systems
The process of the supply chain includes the necessary steps of supplying goods & equipment,
factory-based production, warehouse storage, and appropriate distribution to all the customers.
For effectively analyzing the supply chain, all the stages should be mapped & allocated with the
suitable cost of materials. The appropriate methods & actions should be implemented for
maximizing the level of customers’ satisfaction & achieving the maximum amount of profits. A
higher level of consistency should be enhanced for the effective production & distribution of the
goods & also abiding all the organizational employees with the help of common policies & rules
within the business organization. In the case of analyzing the operational systems, each
operational process should be optimized in order to add on the essential values to the business.
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Also, all those problems should be identified which are time-consuming. For effectively
delivering the products & organizational services, technical experts are to be required within the
business organization for providing a variety of products to all the customers (Ferreira Rebelo,
et.al. 2014).
1.3 Identify performance measures, and assessment tools and techniques, and evaluate
their effectiveness
Effective measures should be identified which are used in determining the overall effectiveness
of different business processes as well as the procedures. Various tools of measurement &
different systems of control should be enhanced for the proper evaluation of organizational
performance. Some effective measures include the potential for improving, variability & higher
level of consistency and relevant findings according to the defined business goals & objectives.
Certain effective tools & techniques for evaluating the level of effectiveness include the SWOT
analysis, management by objectives, brainstorming, process mapping & trend analysis. SWOT
analysis is effective in analyzing various internal as well as the external factors that can help in
improving the financial position of the business organization. the concept of process mapping
helps in eliminating those activities which do not add up the values to the business (Lerro, et.al.
2014). The method of management by objectives helps in measuring the employees’
performances against the business goals. In order to develop effective strategies & appropriate
solutions to organizational problems, brainstorming is an appropriate method.
1.4 Analyze performance reports and variance from plans for key result areas of the
organization
Proper analysis of performance reports is necessary for highlighting the development within the
business organization. The business managers should enhance the additional evaluation for the
staff performance & increasing the number of business profits. The performance reports can be
analyzed with the help of identifying the key performance indicators, preparing the reports
according to defined standards, analyzing different reasons for variance & comparing different
results. Some effective methods include the budget variance, health & safety in the workplace,
quality, customer services, etc. The cost/ budget variance will help in determining the differences
in the money which have been spent on the business (Lerro, et.al. 2014). The customer services
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include the various different sources of information for attracting a maximum number of
customers. Suitable strategies should be conducted for reducing the number of injuries within the
whole business organization. Also, a higher quality of goods & services should be provided to all
the customers for ensuring sustainable success & growth within the organization.
1.5 Identify and analyze changing trends and opportunities relevant to the organization
The identification & analysis of various changing trends & opportunities, business organizations
can strengthen their position. They can easily adapt or change their business operations
according to the changing trends & businesses. The changing trends possess a direct impact on
business decisions. Some effective methods for analyzing trends include the internal, external &
past trend analysis. Past trend analysis considers the current trends in accordance with past data.
The internal analysis considers those trends which are prevailing within the business
organization. The external analysis includes those trends which are outside the business but may
affect the business growth & success. The business managers can also implement the system of
data management for not only analyzing the trends & opportunities but also making all the
organizational employees aware about the policies & rules followed within the business
organization (Wu & Chen, 2014).
1.6 Seek advice from specialists, where appropriate, to identify technology and
electronic commerce opportunities
The technological opportunities increase the chances of organizational success. The business
managers should seek suitable advice from the professional expert for identifying technological
opportunities. The digital specialists who can provide professional assistance to the business
managers include the consultants for business strategy & information technology, specialists of
digital marketing and SEO experts. All these experts can help the business managers for
accomplishing the specific projects in the effective as well as in an efficient manner. Also, digital
skills should be developed among all the organizational employees for increasing the level of
growth & organizational success (Wu & Chen, 2014). Digital opportunities can be enhanced in
the following ways:
 Integration with different digital technologies
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 Developing & maintaining a higher level of communication through video conferencing
 Using the technologies of cloud computing for enhancing data storage & protection
 Development through website optimization as well as the software development
 Providing online support
 Using social media networks for marketing & advertising organizational products as well
as the services.
 Analyzing the changing behavior of all the digital competitors & customers
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2. Develop options for continuous improvement
2.1 Brief groups on performance improvement strategies and innovation as an essential
element of competition
In order to ensure all the team members for the attainment of common organizational goals,
enhancing communication regularly is very necessary. A higher level of communication should
be ensured within the project groups, self-directed workgroups & cross-functional groups. Some
of the effective strategies for improving the level of performances include the informing to all
the employees within the business organization for increasing their contribution level, increasing
faith among the employees’ capabilities & also allowing them to take up the reasonable risks,
spending standard amount of money & time for enhancing the employees’ training &
development, providing professional support, setting up the challenges for increasing employees’
responsibilities & many more (Nadarajah, et.al. 2014). Apart from all these, encouraging of the
innovation is also very essential for sustainably growing the business through sharing of the
creative ideas, carrying out the preliminary tests at the small level, learning lessons from the
competition & grabbing the opportunities for seeking fresh perspectives. All these ways will help
in the production of higher quality goods & services, enhanced efficiency, increased loyalty &
commitment among the staff members & higher level of adaptability & flexibility.
2.2 Foster creative climate and organizational learning by promoting interaction within
and between workgroups
New ideas can be developed for fostering the creative climate within the business organization so
that all the employees can face the challenges effectively & efficiently. The business managers
should provide the standard rewards to all the employees for their creativity, they should be
provided with the equal business opportunities for contributing their ideas, innovative teams
should be developed & the information events should be organized. Effective theories can also
be developed for fostering creativity, including the psychoanalytic theory and humanistic theory
of creativity (Nadarajah, et.al. 2014). The concept of organizational learning can also be
enhanced by creating standard values, building a higher level of confidence & capability,
enhancing balanced support, etc. The business managers can encourage all the organizational
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employees by conducting regular meetings, creating a positive environment within the office &
rewarding the different forms of the interaction.
2.3 Encourage, test and recognize new ideas and entrepreneurial behavior where
successful
The innovative ideas within the business organization should be tested, encouraged & recognized
along with the entrepreneurial behavior for enhancing the continuous improvement in the
effective as well as in an efficient manner. The business managers can adopt various ways for
inspiring new ideas such as promoting the changes in business policies, considering the different
perspectives of products & services, conducting the market research & providing complete
training for various different techniques. The business managers should also encourage the
entrepreneurial behavior that possesses innovative ideas & also has a significant impact on
different lives of people. The entrepreneurial behavior can be enhanced by having a greater level
of confidence, maintaining a higher level of organizational departments, sharing different types
of the employees’ responsibilities, etc. All these ways will help in the successful promotion of
entrepreneurial behavior & also have a positive impact on the whole business organization
(Massingham, 2014). Also, the new innovative ideas & the entrepreneurial behavior will
improve the overall efficiency, minimize the organizational cost & enhance various prospects of
organizational growth.
2.4 Accept failure of an idea during trialing and recognize, celebrate and embed success
into systems
Trying the identified business ideas & strategies is essential for ascertaining the feasibility as
well as the potential of the business organization. The business managers can apply/ implement
different methods for trialing such as inviting a sample from the target audience, discussing the
ideas, developing proto-types, approaching the investors of local-businesses & attending
different business events. Because of some fluctuations, changing in the customers’ demands &
the changes in legislation may lead towards the failure which is essential to be accepted by each
& everyone working within the business organization. In the case of failure, the business
managers should encourage the higher level of innovation by offering the rewards for sharing
innovative ideas, encouraging the socialism, making all the organizational employees feel happy,
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providing complete training for enhancing innovation & allocating essential resources in
accordance with the efforts & capabilities (Alberghini, et.al. 2014). The success should be
celebrated by conducting social events, allocation of the standard shares, providing the financial
rewards & promoting all the different employees effectively & efficiently. Different ways can be
applied for embedding success into systems such as conducting the regular meetings,
encouraging the organizational employees, improving the overall business performance &
developing a higher level of communication within the whole business organization.
2.5 Undertake risk management and cost-benefit analysis for each option or idea
approved for trial
Every business suffers from different types of risks including the financial loss, forced closure of
the business, negative feedbacks of the customers, etc. For eliminating the negative impact of all
these risks, the business managers can implement the standard decisions for enhancing long term
feasibility & conducting the real assessment for eliminating negative events in a potential
manner. Key decisions include the identification of all the organizational risks, developing the
contingency plans, proper allocation of the responsibilities & ranking the risks according to their
impact. The method of cost-benefit analysis can help in estimating the potential drawbacks & the
cost of developing the innovation strategy (Alberghini, et.al. 2014). Following are some effective
steps which must be followed for enhancing the method of cost-benefit analysis:
 Accounting for all the quantifiable benefits
 Making all the findings as to the base for the decision making
 Adopting the ranking system, in the case when financial values are not being assigned
 Considering all the costs related to the decisions of the business
2.6 Approve innovations through agreed organizational processes
Different types of approvals are essential to be required depending upon the different types of
innovation, on the basis of which the decisions will be implemented & the necessary changes
will be enhanced. The approval for the innovations can be granted by the CEO, CFO, board
members, owners & departmental heads. The approval process includes the stages of idea
generation, development of the product, prototype testing, and agreement of full-scale
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manufacturing, regular review & the continuous improvement. With the help of calling up of the
innovative ideas & suggestions, the process of decision-making can be ensured effectively &
efficiently along with the identification of best ideas (Saunila, et.al. 2014). Innovation can help
the business managers for analyzing the potential improvements along with enhancing the higher
level of flexibility while implementing the planned innovation within the business organization.
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3. Implement innovative processes
3.1 Promote continuous improvement and sustainability as essential to doing business
Identifying the need of continuous improvement and sustainability in the business is an
important task. In order to promote improvement continuously, implementation and evaluation
of strategies is to be done accurately. All the business process including the supply and
processing of raw materials to distribution of the products, also the communication process with
the customers must be evaluated. In order to make the business sustain in the long-term and to
achieve long-term success, employees must be educated with the need of improvement. For
smoothening of the improvement process, the organisation’s goals must be communicated to the
employee. The continuous improvement can be promoted by applying several frameworks like
Six-Sigma, ISO9000, total quality management, Kaizen and lean manufacturing. Moreover, the
results of the strategies must be tracked and evaluated. The strategies are applied over the period
of time when the change is required. The strategies must be evaluated and updated timely, i.e. to
say monthly or every six months.
The improvement can be promoted by applying SEO strategies, which shall help the organisation
in ranking and calculating the number of visitors on the site. Another option is to conduct market
research to analyse the needs and requirements of the customers. The market research can also be
conducted to assess the satisfaction of the customers.
With promotion and implementation of strategies, the sustainability of the business organisations
is ensured. The employees of the organisation become more adaptable to change (Singh & Singh,
2015).
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