Innovative and Strategic Thinking

As Charles Darwin showed through his theory of evolution, anything that fails to evolve eventually dies. This is why innovation is so important, as it guarantees that a company remains in operation. This is why Boat Manufacturing Company has embraced innovation and lean manufacturing to provide amazing services to its clients. The organization's vision and mission embrace a culture of innovation, decentralized decision-making, and collaboration, and these factors have contributed to the organization's success, despite its relatively new entry.

The organization has identified a market in India, where they aim to introduce a popular origami-inspired foldable fishing boat. The analysis of the organization and tenets of entering the new market will be analyzed in detail.

The organizational culture of the company is a strong advantage. For one, the culture places a strong emphasis on creativity, shared decision-making, and continuous innovation. This culture has created an environment where employees are treated as equal partners and are incentivized to contribute ideas (Tierney, 2023). This has led to the invention of an origami-inspired foldable boat, a phenomenon that just proves how out of the box their innovation is, which finds its foundation in creativity.

The culture also aligns closely with its mission, vision, and ethical standing. This is a great advantage to them as it places them at a point where they can work with the National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB). As a big organization with an undeniably good product, they could bulldoze their way into India through the use of bribes and threats. After all, they could approach their neighboring countries with a similar offer and, due to the relative convenience of the product, get sales (Tierney, 2023). However, instead of doing that, the organization has chosen to negotiate with the NFDB, choosing ethical operations over profit. This is an advantage that grants them success in regulatory endeavors and helps build trust with fishing stakeholders and governmental partners.

Another advantage that is seen in the organization’s culture is employee buy-in. This stems from how employee opinion has been taken into consideration. This increases the chances of success as it ensures motivation, accountability, and adaptability. These three are foundational when entering into a new and complicated market such as India. This can help the organization as employees will be willing to give their all to ensure the success of the endeavor.

However, this culture is not just sunshine and rainbows with no flaws at all. There are several disadvantages associated with its use, including slower decision-making to ensure everyone is heard and the risk of diffused responsibilities where no one knows whose responsibility is whose (Tierney, 2023). The organization has countered this by using decentralized decision-making and assigned roles, increasing the chances of success. Overall, the culture is a net benefit and will be an integral factor in its success in India.

The organizational structure is defined by decentralized decision-making and cross-functional collaboration. This means that the organization has granted decision-making powers to certain people without the need for the head of the organization to approve everything. This reduces the chances of a bottleneck in decision-making, which could be a hindrance to creativity (de Soto et al., 2022). In addition, it ensures high engagement and investment from the employees, increasing productivity and innovation.

The cross-functional collaboration helps to reduce groupthink, increase creativity, and ensures alignment with the vision and mission. Employees do not just view their bosses as miniature gods over the realm but as partners whom they can engage with and get insights from. This allows the top brass to present their vision better and to hear ideas first-hand before they get manipulated as they climb up the ranks (de Soto et al., 2022).

These are integral factors that can be very helpful in conquering the Indian market. This is a net benefit for the organization as it sets the stage for collaboration with the NFDB. If internal collaboration is intact, then they should have few problems with coordinating and collaborating with external partners such as Indian fishing experts, stakeholders, and governmental stakeholders, increasing the chances of success in the endeavor.

The main disadvantage that stems from this endeavor is scalability. India is a relatively large country, and expanding to it will need scalability. Considering history, it can be incredibly hard to scale up decentralized structures as there is always a risk of one element of the organization going rogue and running differently from the rest of the organization (de Soto et al., 2022). However, if the organization is aware of this and takes measures to counter the human urge of absolutism that comes with power that can come from decentralization, then the organization can succeed in its endeavor on the foundation of its illustrious structure.

Organizational culture has a great impact on how the company makes decisions. Due to the culture's existence, the organization is driven toward strategic decisions that favor experimentation, learning, and inclusion. This is clearly seen by the decision to redesign the foldable boat to utilize locally sourced recycled plastics. Normally, an American organization would take the approach of forcing the product as is to limit the cost of research and would present a take-it-or-leave-it approach, particularly considering that the product would be very useful for the fishing stakeholders in the community (Rajagopal et al., 2022). However, they have chosen a different approach, which features collaboration while allowing the team to learn and experiment to determine what works. It also presents another avenue for collaboration, which is a core tenet in the organization’s culture.

Organizational structure also plays a critical role in the organization's decision-making. With the structure reliant on hasty implementation and decision authority, the decision-making process also has to follow this approach. In addition, the structure influences participation as the decentralized approach guarantees that strategic choices feature cross-functional collaboration (Rajagopal et al., 2022). This means that strategies that require one person to be benevolent and make all the decisions are out of the window. The strategies have to not only fit, but also embrace decentralization and cross-functional teamwork for them to be successfully implemented.

The mission and vision statements help to provide a sense of direction and boundaries for the strategies deployed. They are a measure to ensure that innovation and customer involvement remain the center of operations (Rajagopal et al., 2022). This is also seen by the consideration to redesign the boat to meet the requirements of the NFDB. This also shows the impact of the vision, which is sustainability. India has a problem with plastics, as they destroy the environment. The plastic recycling approach ensures that the design is sustainable and helpful for the client. This clearly shows the impact of the mission and vision in providing direction for the strategies deployed.

The ethical statement ensures that the organization takes a strategy that is sustainable for the environment and customers. While other organizations simply say that they are going green, this organization makes the effort to engage with the Indian government to aid in addressing their plastics problem while being sustainable. In addition, hiring Indian fishing experts and stakeholders for product design shows how much they value inclusion, respect, and fairness, showing how integral their ethical statement is in their decision-making (Rajagopal et al., 2022). It is evidence that strategic decisions are not for financial gain, as is normal for many American companies, but for their social and environmental impact.

One of the major characteristics of the emerging market that the organization wishes to take advantage of is the reliance on the fishing and aquaculture industry. More than 15 million people depend on this industry for their sustenance. In addition, the industry is vital for food security and rural development, with fish being a key source of affordable animal protein. With this in mind, the company is assured of a market that is looking for consistent, practical, affordable, and durable fishing equipment, making India an attractive market for its product.

Another key characteristic is governmental support. If the government were not interested, then it would not show any interest in regulating the organization. The presence of the NFDB shows the investment of the country in the endeavor. It shows that the government is looking for sustainable and locally sourced products to ensure continuity and the growth of the fishing industry in the country. This investment means that the government is a partner in this endeavor and one that is key to the success of the project. This vitality is seen when the government asks the company to take on sustainable materials, and the company agrees.

The idea is that the organization could design a boat with detachable components for nets, fish storage, and basic fishing tools. It is a design approach aiming to take advantage of the first characteristic of this endeavor. The invention could feature reinforcements on the stress points to make it more durable when carrying heavy catches that are synonymous with the region. The use of locally sourced materials could make it affordable, increasing the market for the product.

With fishing being a primary source of livelihood for many in India, the boat must be able to support daily use and should be able to carry heavy loads on a daily basis. By optimizing the boat to suit these features, the redesign meets the needs of the fishermen and women. What's more, it is safer to use. Its detachable nature means that a fisher does not have to leave it on the dock when they go home. They can simply detach it and easily store it away safely, a factor that is important considering theft and burglary are crimes that exist in the nation.

Another critical design feature is the use of recycled plastic, which is locally sourced and uses climate-resistant coating to protect the plastics from seeping into the ocean. This can be achieved through local testing to take into consideration the country's heat, humidity, and saltwater conditions. Using the organization's innovative minds and systems that support creativity, this is a feasible plan and works in line with the requirements of the NFDB, ensuring that the second characteristic of this unique situation is taken advantage of and that this collaboration is maintained, leading to profitability.

To implement this idea, the organization first needs to deeply understand and take note of the needs and challenges associated with fishers in this region. This is also in alignment with the organization’s structure and customer-driven approach. The first step would be to engage directly with Indian fishing parties and individuals across different fishing points. The organization can deploy strategies such as open-ended questions, observation, and participation in fishing activities to get a glimpse of what it is like being a fisher in India. This can grant insights into the physical limitations and problems that they face that the product can address, which include portability, durability, and sufficient load capacity.

Once they have gained insights from the empathize stage, they can then take the step to properly synthesize the information gathered and work out a clear problem statement. An example of one of these statements is, “The traditional non-mechanized fishers in India require changes to include portability and the ability to carry large loads of fish, and fishing gear without reducing efficiency or breaking down quickly.” This presents a focus for the company as it enters the market with a specific design challenge.

With the problem in mind, the organization can then utilize the resources at its disposal, including designers, engineers, sustainability experts, and stakeholders in Indian fishing, as well as their structure that features cross-functional teams to come up with ideas that can address this problem. This collaboration and the organization's culture ensure that everyone's idea is taken into consideration and that they are all placed on the table.

This is where the ideas that are most feasible and tangible are transformed into low-cost models. This ensures that many versions of a product are made using recycled plastics. The goal is not perfection on the first try or a eureka moment. Those are few and far between, making it expensive to rely on them. Instead, lightweight mockups and models allow for rapid learning to see how a product can be improved upon.

In tests, the prototypes are subjected to a series of stresses to see if they match the requirements. This includes how easily the boat is carried, unfolded, loaded, and utilized. Here, the organization can make use of Indian fishing experts and stakeholders to gain insights into what the client would think of it and on features such as comfort, balance, storage, and usefulness. It is important to state that the ideate, test, and prototype stages are iterative and can be repeated to ensure that the final product fits all the requirements.

After the test phase, a suitable prototype is created, and it is then pushed to mass production to ensure market entry. The insights from the testing and prototype phase provide clues on the configuration and materials needed to suit the needs of Indian fishers, allowing for the production of good products that can serve the target population.

One of the factors that would influence the design thinking process is the organizational culture. The ideate phase, in particular, would be greatly influenced by the culture, as the stage needs proper collaboration between the diverse individuals involved in the project. The culture, which promotes collaboration, will be the foundation for brainstorming, which is a critical part of the ideation phase (Rösch et al., 2023).

Company ethics will also play a role in the empathize phase. The truth is that American culture is very imperialistic. There is often a bias that comes with American culture, and it often makes it hard to identify and relate to other cultures (Rösch et al., 2023). However, the company's ethics emphasize keeping the client and their needs first. This will be critical in ensuring that the company properly understands the Indian fishing industry and how its product can help the region grow its fishing exploits. The organization’s ethics will be foundational in ensuring that it makes the right assessment of the situation, free from the bias of imperialism.

The emerging market culture will also greatly influence the prototyping stage. The culture of Indian fishers is greatly tied to their boats. In fact, different regions on the Indian coast feature different designs, with Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Odisha, and Bengal having different boat designs (Lekshmi et al, 2023). This culture is constantly evolving, something that the prototyping phase should capture to prevent the release of a product that is passed by the culture or one that is “canceled” for not honoring culture evolution or the unique cultures that exist. This is something that the prototyping phase needs to consider.

Organizational culture has a significant impact on how the organization joins the waters of the Indian fishing industry. For one, due to its culture of innovation, it has opted to enter the market with a new product rather than come in with a product that has been successful in America. Many companies would have assumed that what was good for the gander would be good for the goose, and if something has been successful in America, then it would be successful in India as well (Daggar, 2022). However, the company has taken a different approach and has innovated a new version of the product featuring recycled plastics to suit the environment it is in.

In addition, due to its culture of collaboration and decentralized leadership, it has been able to establish local strategic partnerships, key among them being its partnership with NFDB and other stakeholders in the Indian fishing industry. Instead of coming in and bulldozing its way into the market, it has opted to take time and listen to the community and its needs, resulting in collaboration with the relevant stakeholders.

“We will make decisions that are sustainable for customers and the environment” – Boat Manufacturing Company Ethics Statement.

The organization's ethical statement also significantly impacts the market entry strategy. For one, the organization has chosen to yield to NFDB's requirement to use locally sourced plastics, even when they did not have to. In fact, by establishing their own plant, they could have saved money and increased resources. It could even have been cheaper to bring in the product ready-made from the United States, saving them time and money on building a plant. Another option would have been to bribe the NFDB as India battles with corruption (Daggar, 2022).

However, in lieu of their ethical statement, they have chosen a decision that is sustainable for their customers and the environment. They have opted to work with the NFDB to ensure that the customers and the environment are taken care of. The ethical statement also influences how the company engages with the Indian fishing community. By designing non-mechanized boats that preserve marine ecosystems and by ensuring the product is accessible and safe for fishers of all ages, the company aligns its market entry with social and environmental responsibility.

The Boat Manufacturing Company is well-suited to break into the fishing industry in India. Its collaborative and sustainability approach, combined with its solid culture and structure, is the right recipe for the success of the organization in this endeavor. The plan is very likely to succeed due to this foundation, and they are likely to be titans of fishing in India.

References

Daggar, L. J. (2022). Cultivating Empire: Capitalism, Philanthropy, and the Negotiation of American Imperialism in Indian Country. University of Pennsylvania Press.

De Soto, G. B., Agustí-Juan, I., Joss, S., & Hunhevicz, J. (2022). Implications of Construction 4.0 to the workforce and organizational structures.  International journal of construction management,  22(2), 205-217.

Lekshmi, N. M., Kumar, S. S., Ashraf, P. M., Xavier, K. M., Prathish, K. P., Ajay, S. V., ... & Turner, A. (2023). Abandonment of fibreglass reinforced plastic fishing boats in Kerala, India, and chemical emissions arising from their burning.  Environmental Monitoring and Assessment,  195(12), 1413.

Rajagopal, N. K., Qureshi, N. I., Durga, S., Ramirez Asis, E. H., Huerta Soto, R. M., Gupta, S. K., & Deepak, S. (2022). Future of business culture: An artificial intelligence‐driven digital framework for the organization's decision‐making process. Complexity,  2022(1), 7796507.

Rösch, N., Tiberius, V., & Kraus, S. (2023). Design thinking for innovation: context factors, process, and outcomes.  European Journal of Innovation Management,  26(7), 160-176.

Tierney, W. G. (2023).  The impact of culture on organizational decision-making: Theory and practice in higher education. Routledge.