MBA501: Disruptive Innovation and Dynamic Strategy at EFS

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Essendon Food Solutions (EFS), focusing on its capacity for disruptive innovation and dynamic strategy. It examines the internal structures, including the managerial approach and workforce, and proposes strategies such as a shift from top-down to bottom-up management and improved recruitment and training. The report also explores external factors like stakeholder relationships and intense market competition, suggesting stronger stakeholder engagement and identifying new geographical opportunities. Furthermore, it evaluates the marketing perspective, highlighting the need for empathetic designs and customer visit programs. The technology perspective is also considered, emphasizing the need for increased technology utilization and effective approaches like TRIZ and patent analysis. Finally, it assesses strategic leadership, comparing the approaches of key leaders Jonathan and Henry, and offers recommendations for fostering a culture of continuous improvement to enhance EFS's innovation level and competitiveness. The report references the case study, assignment brief and content from workshops 10, 11, and 12 of the MBA501 course.

Title: Dynamic Strategy & Disruptive Innovation
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Introduction
Essendon Food Solutions have dominated the market for
many years, but due to the increasing globalization and
advancement in the field of technology, the organization is
facing a humongous threat. The organization functions with
its two subsidiaries, which are – Essendon Emulsifiers &
EnzymeTech. It is due to this reason that organization is need
of disruptive innovation and dynamic strategy.

Internal Perspective
Managerial Structure
of the Organization
The managerial structure of the
organization is the top-down
approach. Under this approach,
the top management of the
organization holds main
decision-making power and the
bottom management is forced
to blindly follow the decisions
of the top management
(Boštjančič and Slana, 2018).
Current Workforce
Another internal aspect that is
impacting innovation in the
organization is its current
workforce. The majority of the
employees in the top
management are of the average
age of 53 years (Kehinde, 2012).

Strategies for
Internal Factors
Recruitment &
Training
The organization first
needs to change its
approach of directly hiring
employees from
universities, giving very
less importance to
experience (Christensen et
al., 2018).
Top-down to
Bottom-up
Approach
The organization needs to
transform itself, it is due to
this reason that the top-
down approach should be
replaced by the bottom-up
approach (Heyden et al.,
2017).

External Perspective
Less Involvement of
Stakeholders in the
Organization
The current relationship of
the organization with the
stakeholders is just limited to
sharing profits. Apart from
this, the stakeholders have no
say in any of the
organization’s processes and
strategies (Terje Karlsen,
Græe and Jensvold
Massaoud, 2010).
Intense Competition
There are new entries in the
market that are offering
customers with better and
cheaper products.

Strategies for
External Factors
Strong Relationship with the
Stakeholders
The organization needs to build better
relationships with the stakeholders. With
the increasing competition and decreasing
profits, the organization is in dearth of
financial resources
(Herremans, Nazari and Mahmoudian,
2015).
Identify New Opportunities in
New Geographical Regions
Currently, the organization is mainly
functioning in Australia and according to
the current reports, the Australian market
is going to be stagnant for a decade.

Marketing Perspective
Very Less Distributors
The distributors are the main marketers of
an organization. In addition to this, the
marketer’s approaches for managing the
customers are traditional, which are very
weak according to the current level of
competition in the market.
Ignorance of Customer
Experience
All the organizational processes and
activities are conducted with traditional
approaches. It is due to this reason that the
organization is not aware of the customer’s
needs and demands.

Strategies for Marketing
The Organization should utilize
Empathetic Designs
Empathetic design is an effective approach that
helps in understanding the feelings of the customers.
This is a customer-centered approach that helps in
building products, which will fulfill the customer’s
needs and demands (Girton, Smeraldi and Starkey,
2019). Implementing Customer Visit Program
The organization Essendon Food Solutions are
unaware of customer’s changing needs and demands.
To fulfilling this aspect, the organization should
utilize customer visit program. Customer visit
programs help in attaining customer insight (Mota
Pedrosa, 2012).

Technology Perspective
Low Utilization of Technology in
the Organization
The organization’s functioning approaches
are traditional and laid back. It is also due
to this aspect that the majority of the
organization consists of the workforce, with
an average age of 53 years old, who do not
have much knowledge or skills in the latest
technology
(Naor, Linderman and Schroeder, 2009).
The development programs are
laid back
All the development programs mainly focus
on academic development in the
microbiological field. Therefore, the
organization does not encourage or pushes the
employees to learn new technological tools
and techniques (Patel, 2017).

Effective
Technological Approaches
TRIZ
The TRIZ is a technological approach that is
effective in solving problems, as it is great
forecasting and analyzing tool (Yang, 2013).
Patent Analysis
Due to the increasing competition in the
market, which is affecting the organization's
profits immensely, the organization is in need
of utilizing a technological approach that helps
in attaining competitive advantage
(Verbeke, Coeurderoy and Matt, 2018).

Strategic Leadership
Jonathan
Jonathan is one of the key leaders of the organization. He has a huge responsibility
of leading the organization incorrect direction. As a leader, Jonathan approaches to
transforming the organization working environment are still traditional, which does
not match with the innovative approaches of the competitors. In addition to this,
the approaches have not incorporated the latest trends. Jonathan still believes in
improving the organization’s working conditions by taking help from senior
management. It is due to this reason that Jonathan lacks skills in design thinking,
which incorporates dynamic strategy approaches. Jonathan understands the need
for financial resources in the organization, but he is unable to think out of the box
for resolving them.

Henry
Henry is another prominent leader of the organization. Similar to Jonathan, Henry
also has the responsibility of changing the organization’s processes and activities.
Henry believes in incorporating innovation in the organization by utilizing dynamic
strategy. Henry has design thinking skills, which helps in analyzing and forecasting
the different issues an organization can face in the future. Henry suggested the
need to hire a professional, who has a strong experience in the industry, the latest
technology, and other associated industries. This will help in changing the working
environment of the organization, by increasing the level of innovation. Henry has
the ability to examine an issue by analyzing the inside and the outside box
appropriately. Henry is familiar with the current trends and the emergence of
them to be incorporated in the organizational processes and activities.