An Analysis of Innovation Strategies and Implementation for 4com plc

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of innovation strategies for 4com plc, a telecommunications company. It explores the importance of innovation, its impact on employees, and the role of vision, leadership, culture, and teamwork in shaping innovation. The report delves into the 4Ps of innovation (Products, Process, Positioning, Paradigm) and the use of the innovation funnel to shape ideas. It examines the development of frugal innovation, the application of the commercial funnel, and the New Product Development process. Furthermore, the report includes a building case for 4com plc, including ways to access funds, and different tools for developing, retaining, and protecting intellectual property. The report uses case studies of Apple Inc. and Virgin Group to illustrate effective innovation practices, and provides a detailed overview of how 4com plc can enhance its innovation processes to achieve a competitive advantage in the telecom sector. The report emphasizes the integration of innovation into the core business strategy, and the importance of employee support and management guidance in fostering a culture of innovation.

Innovation

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
Task 1...............................................................................................................................................1
P1Innovation and its importance to employees of 4com plc:.....................................................1
P2 4com plc vision,
leadership, culture
and teamwork can
shaping innovation.....................................................................................................................2
Task 2...............................................................................................................................................3
P3 4Ps of innovation and the use of the innovation funnel for shaping idea's in employee's.....3
P4: Explaining the process of developing frugal innovation in 4com........................................5
Task 3...............................................................................................................................................6
P5 Importance of the commercial funnel and the application of New Product Development....6
P6 Innovation building case for 4com plc including way of access fund...................................7
TASK 4............................................................................................................................................8
P7 Different tools for developing, retaining and protecting intellectual property......................8
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
Innovation is very vital for companies to survive and grow in the market. It provides
them an edge over their competitors and ensures that they are differentiated from everyone else.
Innovation is simply a new idea, device or method. Basically it implies to execution of an idea
which has never been used practically. It is a improved form of existing product and services. It
is simply considered as an activity which adds value to an existing product. Innovation is not
limited to research and development labs but it is something which is spread across organisation.
This report is based on 4com plc which is one of the most innovative company in the field of
telecom. But it also have some issues in understanding and implementing the concept itself
(Adam, 2014). That is why a reference case of Apple Inc. and virgin group is used who are
market leaders when it comes to innovation.
Task 1
P1Innovation and its importance to employees of 4com plc:
Innovation enhances differentiation of company products and services from its
competitors. It aids organisation in improving the quality and apply something which was till
now not used by anyone in market (Bastalich, 2010). It is as stated, a process of evolving new
idea's in meeting demands of customers in market. It includes various activities such as, utilising
specific idea's, information and imagination is used for designing new products and services.
People often get confused in companies between innovation and invention. These two
terms are entirely different as they are used for different situations and scenario. The difference
is stated below:
Basis Innovation Invention
Definition It refers to the execution of idea
which has never been used by
anyone. Also if they improve a
existing subject and use it then it is
considered as innovation.
It refers to the occurrence of an
idea which results in creation of
something new.
What is it Implementation of new or improved
form of idea
Creation of something new.
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Skills needed Good knowledge about their field Scientific skills
4Com plc is operating in the field of telecom which is heavily diversified and congested
sector. There are many existing and new entrants in the market who pose a threat to the
company. This is why it is much more important for them to be innovative while producing any
new service or goods. Apple Inc. is the best example which used innovation to improve the
image and profitability of its company. They introduced I pod which was much smaller in size
and stored numerous songs (Chun, Chung, and Bang, 2015). This product came into market
when there were different type of music players which were huge in size and were not as per the
desired quality. This small change assisted Apple in achieving a competitive advantage over its
competitor which is still there.
There are many benefits of innovation to 4com plc and its employee's. Such as
For Employees
 It increases their critical thinking and problem solving skills
 They are able to increase their efficiency and effectiveness level
 They gain new capabilities which aids in career development
For Organisation
 Profitability and margins increase exponentially
 Assists in satisfying customer needs and wants
 Provides product differentiation in market which boost its image.
As mentioned above, these are only few benefits which are there when innovation is
supported by management and company. 4Com plc has to ensure that all their activities and
approaches are aligned with innovation that will enable them in achieving competitive advantage
with business alignment.
P2 4com plc vision,
leadership, culture
and teamwork can
shaping innovation
Innovation should be integrated into the basic business idea as to ensure that it is not left
out. It needs to be used as a tool which will assist company in achieving its long term goals. The
managers and leaders in organisation have to guide employee's for enabling them to use
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innovative way for solving problems and complementing task (Clausen, and Rasmussen, 2011).
There is huge requirement of combining of abilities and expertise of employees, and push them
towards the task achievement. This has to be done by manager himself as he will be identifying
workers core skills and abilities. Basically company has to make its vision, mission, establish
leadership for enhancing culture and team work internally. These factors play a very important
part in defining level of innovation inside organisation. Vision: The vision of 4com plc is very clear and it states about various ways they have
integrated innovation into their organisation. The vision of company is , “ Achieving the
position of best and most innovative company in telecom sector”. It has a aim of to
improve communication service in United Kingdom. Mission: The mission of company states about how they are going to achieve their vision
and aim of becoming best company in telecom sector. Leadership: The way managers and other higher level authority deals and guides
employee is much more important when it comes to boosting innovation in organisation.
If they are not supporting workers than any innovative approach will not give required
result. Culture: If working culture is not good for employees then they will be demotivated and
hence, the innovation process will get impacted. Good environment inside company leads
to a better equipped force which is ready to face issues with innovative measures (Cosh,
and Hughes, 2010).
 Teamwork: The managers are responsible for boosting team work among employees.
They have to design various process where workload is divided between different
employees equally. Teamwork boost idea sharing which leads to innovation. Apple Inc.
formed different groups as to ensure that all of its employee perform as per their expertise
and innovate with collective effort.
4Com plc has to establish and maintain these factors while integrating innovation process
into its organisation structure. Management has to ensure that they support employees who use
innovative ways to solve problems and other issues. Even if they fail they have to be supported
for better innovation.
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Task 2
P3 4Ps of innovation and the use of the innovation funnel for shaping idea's in employee's
The main purpose and objective of innovation funnel is to state about the whole process
which leads to innovation. It starts from conceiving idea to the final execution of the plan
(Edison, Bin Ali, and Torkar, R2013). As stated by many researchers the basic aim behind
formulation of funnel is to transform innovation process into reality while every single factor is
being considered. It is based on 4P's model which states about the innovation process (Fiedler,
and Welpe, 2011). This assist in describing a path for the employees by which they can innovate
as per the requirements.
4P's of innovation: Products: It is the most important aspect in the innovation process. Product of an
organisation is prepared after getting all information regarding market variables and
internal capabilities. 4Com plc is known for providing products and services which beats
the giants of telecom sector. This is what differentiates them from every one in the
market. If innovation is used while designing and producing product then company will
be able to achieve competitive advantage over its competitors. Just like Apple Inc. they
innovated a music player and gained edge over its competitors. Process: The process of innovation is lengthy but it assist management in reducing the
cost of various activities in organisation. Apple Inc. changed the the whole design of
music player, it got smaller and its storage increased. They followed a very lengthy
process of innovation where management supported employees to innovate even after
various failure and finally with proper guidance they were able to release a product like I
pod. Positioning: 4com plc has to learn from big giants as how to position its product which
will attract more customers towards the products are produced to serve consumer's
specified needs and wants, and for this they have to be positioned in a proper manner.
Telecom sector have high scope for growth and development and to keep up with market
forces company has to be flexible in its approach.
 Paradigm: Every single aspect and factor has to be considered by organisation before
formulating innovation process. After proper analysis of information, company will be
able to make a plan for integrating innovation into organisation (Harman, 2010). This
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steps is considered as an activity where all information regarding various factors is
collected and analysed.
4com being a product and service based company has to ensure that its research and
development department as well as each and every employee collectively pushes for innovation.
This will aid the company in reducing the cost and boosting its efficiency to a greater height.
P4: Explaining the process of developing frugal innovation in 4com
The organisation have to make sure that the innovation process is designed in a way
which assist them in attaining efficiency and effectiveness in long term. Frugal innovation is a
process which aids management and managers in reducing cost of production and complexities.
Basically it targets all the non essential features from company offers first and then look for
loopholes. Innovation process has to be based on capabilities and potential of consumer. The
budgeting also has to be done in favour of 4com plc and needs to be targeted at the potential
customer (Hemphill, 2014I). If it is done as per the demand then they will be able to achieve
their desired targets and goals efficiently.
 It needs to have brief knowledge of process of innovation so that everyone can be guided
in accordance to the derived plan and demands.
 Only skilled and capable individual who have proved themselves to be worthy enough
should be appointed in this task. They will lead organisation and its employees to achieve
a better path which leads to innovation.
As stated in the case study, Apple Inc. and Virgin group utilised every single resource to
its optimum levels which boosted its ability to achieve desired targets and goals in efficient
manner. The introduction of Frugal innovation assisted apple and virgin group to reduce the cost
of production and operation to a very optimum level as they were able to remove all unnecessary
cost. Also Apple Inc. was able to understand consumers demand as they were able to take their
feedback in time (ngemansson, 2010). The employees of company were also able to sort out the
problems of consumers which boosted their satisfaction level and improved organisation image.
As mentioned above there are many benefits of developing frugal innovation. It has a
very simple process which is as follows: Identification of opportunities: All the available opportunities have to be identified by
company.
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 Analysis of capabilities: As per the requirements the managers in 4com plc have to
analyse their own abilities. Finding out issues: Different issues will be identified and they needs to be address and
removed. Adding supportive resources: The company will needs to allocate resources as per the
requirement Re-plan: The strategic plan will be updated as per the changes made. Implementation: it will be implementation once everyone understands how things will be
done.
 Follow up: Regular monitoring and measurement is required by company to ensure better
performance and fix loopholes.
This process will enable 4com plc in removing all the non- essential elements from the process
of production of products and services.
Task 3
P5 Importance of the commercial funnel and the application of New Product Development
There are many researchers who have defined commercial funnel in different ways.
When all the definition are put in combined form the the real answer comes up. The commercial
funnel is a process which leads to transformation of potential customers into actual consumer of
organisation products and services. While new product development is a considered as a process
which assist managers in creating a product which fulfils the demand and desires of consumers.
If a new company or a SME can provide a product at lower rate and of a higher quality then it
will be successful (Kianto, 2011). Thus, the process of designing and production of product as
per the needs, wants, trends of market is very essential.
4Com plc has planned to venture into different area's as the competition in the field of
telecom is growing, as done by Apple Inc. which changed whole mobile and music industry.
They were only providing services and products which could fulfil only business needs and
wants. Now they are targeting households and students who wants higher speed of internet and
other benefits. They have to research about market trends and requirements and for that they
have to form a research team. They will search about the possible ways by which cost can be
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reduced while developing new products for households and other parties. Additional resources
will be invested into the research for ensuring that it do not get hampered by any activity.
4Com plc has to utilise all the resources in a optimum manner to ensure that new product
development is done in a efficient manner. The process of NPD is as follows:
Illustration 1: Stages of new product development, 2017
As mentioned in above image the new product development process has to be carefully
conducted. This process required huge investment, but if innovation is used than the company
will be able to register higher level of profitability as the cost of whole process will be reduced to
a optimum level. 4Com plc has decided to enter into new market after conducting an extensive
survey which stated about consumer needs and demands. It will provide its products and services
to consumers at reasonable prices which will help it in attracting more end users than its
competitors (Perks, and Moxey, 2011). The company will also use 4P's of innovation to boost its
product quality and reduce its cost. As stated in commercial funnel, company will develop need
to develop its product in way that it achieves efficiency level while its effectiveness is at its peak.
P6 Innovation building case for 4com plc including way of access fund
Building case has its well defined objectives and purpose, which are to invest time,
money of company into a project which provides edge to the company rather than investing it in
a non-essential activity. This is a basic concept which is used to develop new product for
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company. It is used in every stage as to ensure the cost stays in limit. There are certain steps
which will be followed by 4com plc that are mentioned below:
Illustration 2: Process of building case, 2017
 Understanding the objectives: Before developing a plan, company needs to set its goals
and objectives as to ensure what it is trying to achieve is worth full. If they are non
essential than organisation will suffer loss and in other case it will achieve its targets in a
specified amount of time. Gathering inputs: This stage states that company has to collect information as per
requirement. This is needed to provide support for activities which will be conducted in
future. It includes data which is useful in creating financial model as well as strategies. Analysing: All information which is collected by company has to be analysed by
managers as to create a understanding regarding various variables present in market.
 Stating the outcome: This is a final stage where business case is developed and delivered
to the decision maker (Rasmussen, 2010). Information is put into a well -presented form
in which person will explain about all variables which have impact on organisation and
its performance. It will aid in taking right decision.
As stated in case study, Apple, Inc. used this case building to attract different types of
investors. This can be used by 4com plc too. There are different types of investors who invest in
the business on the basis of its attractiveness:
 Business angels: These are the investors who are well known personality in market and
invest in companies which have differentiated idea and product.
 Venture capital firms: These firms provide funds in return of shares of company.
TASK 4
P7 Different tools for developing, retaining and protecting intellectual property
There are different ways by which 4com plc can develop, retain and protect intellectual
property. It has to boost innovation in organisation as to enhance the create of developing new
methods and products which can be considered under intellectual property right law
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(Wonglimpiyarat, 2011). Basically intellectual property rights provide exclusive access and
authority to the person for a specific time period.
Apple Inc. has many intellectual property as they keep on inventing and innovating new
methods and items which it wants to keep exclusively to itself. As these enhance its chances of
earning profits in long run (Sonne, 2012). One of the right is related to retina display of I phone.
There are certain way 4com plc can get intellectual property right:
There are two(Automatic and to be applied) types of intellectual property which have two and
three sub-parts respectively:
Automatic
 Copyright: Every recorded item, such as- artistry, musical, dramatic, literary and
typographical is considered under copyright. It only takes 4 months to get processed.
 Design right: Any shape can obtain design right.
To be Applied:
 Trademark: A name, word, slogan, design, symbol or any other item which is unique can
get copyright. It take 6-18 months to get processed.
 Patents: These are applied for industrial inventions and process. It usually take around 5
years as authorities want to check if they relevant or not (Wang, Vanhaverbeke, and
Roijakkers, N., 2012).
 Registered Designs: It is obtained for appearance of a product including shapes, patterns
and packaging.
These are some ways according to which 4com plc can retain their innovations exclusives
to themselves.
CONCLUSION
Innovation is required as to ensure that company is able to achieve all its targets and goals in a
limited time period. It assist them in attaining efficiency and effectiveness levels which leads to
competitive advantage. Company is able to differentiate themselves from every one else in the
market and lead other organisation in innovating their products and services. There are certain
ways by which they can retain the right which are mentioned in the report.
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REFERENCES
Book and Journals
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efficiency throughout innovation and commercialisation stages: evidence from Korean
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909.
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Wang, Y., Vanhaverbeke, W. and Roijakkers, N., 2012. Exploring the impact of open innovation
on national systems of innovation—a theoretical analysis. Technological Forecasting
and Social Chang. 79(3). pp.419-428.
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