University Case Study: Managing Innovation and Continuous Improvement

This case study examines AC Gilbert's efforts to improve manufacturing processes through innovation and continuous improvement. The production manager, John Jones, develops a framework focusing on increasing productivity and reducing errors by organizing teams and improving employee skills. The case study explores the implementation of new programs, including team restructuring, employee training, and the introduction of a contingency plan to address potential risks. The analysis includes an analysis of outcomes, recommendations for management issues, and an evaluation of cause-and-effect relationships, identifying potential reasons for program failure. The study highlights the importance of employee development, cost-cutting measures, and the impact of dynamic job roles on employee motivation and productivity. The document provides a comprehensive overview of the strategies and outcomes related to managing innovation and continuous improvement within the organization. Desklib provides access to similar past papers and solved assignments.

Manage innovation and continuous improvement
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Manage innovation and continuous improvement
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Table of contents
Assessment Task 2 – Case Study.................................................................................................3
SECTION 1....................................................................................................................................3
Program involving innovative ideas to be developed and implemented within a workplace.........3
SECTION 2....................................................................................................................................4
Case study review.........................................................................................................................4
Create a supporting document along with implementation plan....................................................5
3.a. Analysis of outcomes making recommendations for the identified management issues.......5
b. Evaluating the cause and effect relation identifying the possible causes of failure of the
program.........................................................................................................................................5
Reference list.................................................................................................................................7
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Assessment Task 2 – Case Study
SECTION 1
Program involving innovative ideas to be developed and implemented within a
workplace
In order to bring into practice an improved and efficient manufacturing process, developing and
incorporating a program having innovative ideas is to be made. On considering the present
scenario, it can be evidently found that John Jones, the production manager of AC Gilbert
planned to develop a conceptual framework for the betterment of the management processes
within the organisational structure that needs to be followed to obtain the desired results.
The fundamental objective of the organisation has been focusing on the increment of
productivity rates along with the simultaneous reduction of errors involved in the production
process. This balance can be achieved only by allocating different resources forming teams,
efficient in their own respective areas. It is imperative to build coordinated and cooperative
teams, which will function independently catering to the organisational aims by fulfilling their
responsibilities concerning their specified fields.
Lowering the employee turnover rates by at least 10% on an annual basis should be the next
attainable criteria for the present organisation under concern. Evaluation and assessment of the
skills of the existing staffs comprising AC Gilbert are emphasised for the purpose of making
them efficient and improved enough to manage and cope up with significant changes thus
brought in for the company’s benefit. Incorporation of such a practice will not only enhance the
company standards but will also help in cost cutting measures for recruiting new employees into
the organisation.
By taking such strong yet effective steps it has aided the company in being shaped into a more
improved and efficient management functioning organisation.
As the firm is witnessed to show reliance, dependence and count on their existing human
resources, it is essential for the production manager to categorise different staffs into separate
groups performing their respective roles after being segregated and allocated to the diverse
departments in which each individual is skilled in (Gamrat et al. 2014, p.1142). John Jones needs
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to take charge of allocating the workforce into five broad categories of job primarily looking
after the different areas of the production process of the company. It should be designed in such a
way that each member comprising the team is held responsible for performing production and
management activities concerning five product lines each. Measures are also put into practice
such that staffs specialised in one field of the production process are provided with activities
keeping in accordance with their sphere of expertise, but due to the changes brought into practice
it is also seen whether every employee is capable of performing under other teams as well.
Team members are to shuffle to reduce impacts of functional limitation on the part of a role
played by the employees remaining in the same team for a long tenure thus leading to stagnation.
In order introduce dynamism within the organisational structure and enhance the performance
standards of each employee associated with their company, such effective as well as intelligent
management plans have been implemented.
Adequate training provision is made mandatory for the employees to avail with the purpose of
improving their skills not only in their areas of expertise but to perform other job roles as
efficiently as possible. The organisation takes into serious account that the training thus provided
to its staffs not only recognise the technical job thus performed, but also incorporates
motivational boosting and measures to keep control over its quality for the fulfilment of a larger
mission of satisfying the organisational objectives and goals within the workplace setting.
SECTION 2
Case study review
It has been evident from the present case study that for the sole purpose of taking AC Gilbert to
reach a height of success, it was imperative for John Jones to bring in innovation and changes
into the organisational structure and function. Being the production manager of the organisation,
it was essential for him to construct a relevant and effective plan and implement it in the rightful
manner (O’Connor, Lynch & Gilbert, 2014, p.085014). Lower the probability of errors higher
will be production rate. A shift in the daily roster will not only help equip the employees in new
circumstances of work but will enable them to perform dynamic aspects of production
management fields.
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Create a supporting document along with implementation plan
It has already been identified that various transformations need to be designed for the purpose of
achieving organisational objectives in making their company a success (Gavin et al. 2014, p.50).
To develop the skills of the existing employees of the firm, an effective communicative plan to
convey the desired company aims to its staffs through team talk measure is required to be
addressed.
For the purpose of involving dynamicity and diversified knowledge regarding different fields of
the management, the manager tries to incorporate transition plan (Khachatryan et al, 2014,
p.212). A continuous improvement plan for the betterment of the employee performance
effectiveness along with the organisation at large has been executed by the management heads of
the company. Cost-benefit analysis is also taken into serious consideration by reducing the
expenditures of recruiting new staffs for the organisation and instead implementing training
programs to polish the skills of the existing workforce (Gamrat et al. 2014, p.1140).
3.a. Analysis of outcomes making recommendations for the identified
management issues
By incorporating the contingency plan, it becomes easy for the organisation to identify the
potential threats and risk areas and their adverse consequences. Motivational training is made to
practice for employee appraisal (Asiago et al. 2014, p.9). Dynamism in the performance roles of
the organisation shall get hampered due to lack of knowledge regarding the diverse fields of
work thus involved in the production line unit. It is thus advisable and worth recommending that
through the usage of continuous improvement plan by bringing in training provision for the
employees (Kabisch, 2015, p.560). Changing their work atmosphere will help employees
develop knowledge and skill regarding diverse areas of the production functions. Cost cutting
measures of relying on the existing resources instead of hiring new staffs.
b. Evaluating the cause and effect relation identifying the possible causes
of failure of the program
An inversely proportional relationship between the variables of production rate and errors in
production line was struck to obtain desired outcomes for the company under consideration.
Lack of control over the error rate can result in causing the reduction in production rates. Risks
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posed by the unskilled and inefficient employees can result in staff turnover (Chen, Mu & Xu,
2014, p.1180). Training provision if not made mandatory may result in making the employees
drop their motivation and technical skills. Limitation of the organisation to not provide changed
job roles through daily roasters may lead to stagnation of employee dynamism and affect the
productivity of the company at large.
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Reference list
Asiago, D., Gathii, A., Ngesu, L. M., Gunga, S. O., Gakuru, A., Kahigi, C., ... & Rumun, A. J. (2014).
Teachers’perceptions of performance appraisal practices in public secondary schools in limuru
district. International Journal of Education and Research, 2(4), 1-12.
Chen, Z., Mu, C., & Xu, F. (2014, June). An improvement of embedded zerotree wavelet coding based
on compressed sensing. In Software Engineering and Service Science (ICSESS), 2014 5th IEEE
International Conference on (pp. 1177-1180). IEEE.
Gamrat, C., Zimmerman, H. T., Dudek, J., & Peck, K. (2014). Personalized workplace learning: An
exploratory study on digital badging within a teacher professional development program. British
journal of educational technology, 45(6), 1136-1148.
Gavin, L., Moskosky, S., Carter, M., Curtis, K., Glass, E., Godfrey, E., & Zapata, L. (2014). Providing
quality family planning services. MMWR Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 63(4), 1-54.
Gilbert, A. C. (2014). U.S. Patent No. 8,732,061. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Kabisch, N. (2015). Ecosystem service implementation and governance challenges in urban green
space planning—The case of Berlin, Germany. Land Use Policy, 42, 557-567.
Khachatryan, V., Sirunyan, A. M., Tumasyan, A., Adam, W., Bergauer, T., Dragicevic, M., ... & Hartl,
C. (2015). Precise determination of the mass of the Higgs boson and tests of compatibility of its
couplings with the standard model predictions using proton collisions at 7 and 8\,\ text {TeV}.
The European Physical Journal C, 75(5), 212.
O’Connor, S. M., Lynch, J. P., & Gilbert, A. C. (2014). Compressed sensing embedded in an
operational wireless sensor network to achieve energy efficiency in long-term monitoring
applications. Smart Materials and Structures, 23(8), 085014.
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