In analysing whether incremental or discontinuous innovation I looked at it from a customer’s
stand point. As a loyal customer I wait for the organization I purchase from makes adjustments
to the current products. Customers tend to be loyal to organizations because they enjoy their
products. If those products are interrupted or taken away, that organization runs the risk of
losing customers. This is why I chose incremental innovation for Luxurious Motors.
In module two we had to choose a process for managing innovation. In evaluating what would
be best for our company I chose to use Stage-gate process. Using a stage-gate process will help
facilitate and ensure all steps are met in a timeline manner allowing the process for managing
innovation stable.
My recommendations promote organizational culture because they raise awareness as to what
the organization needs while creating their innovation and what responsibility everyone holds
in that process.
My recommendation for the company that we are working with was a discontinuous approach
to innovation. I think that a discontinuous approach is the best solution for the company
because the automotive market is rapidly changing and taking a big leap into the future. The
company that we are representing, in my opinion, was not making innovative moves fast
enough. To be a leader in the market, they need to take the time to bring an innovative and
strong new product into the market.
In module two, I recommended that the company use the Lean approach to discontinuous
innovation. My recommendation was since the Lean process requires that you have a great
understanding of your market, customers, your current state, and what your target goals are. In
addition, it works on data-driven decision-making and encourages rapid experimentation,
which can lead to great results.
Based on the decision to use the Lean approach, I felt that it was necessary to recommend
some significant changes to the company's organizational structure. To set them up for
success, I thought that it would be vital for them to create a flatter organizational structure.
Project teams need the ability to make quick decisions and for those decisions to not get lost or
slowed down in the hierarchal approval process. Additionally, I felt it was essential to create
an environment that encouraged the ability for rapid experimentation, which means allowing
teams a safe space to fail and quickly learn from mistakes. This is a big part of the Lean
approach, which uses rapid-cycle experimentation.
In summary, I think this company has a long way to go to become a leader in the market. To
break through, they need to introduce a breakthrough product into the market. The best way to
achieve that goal is by seeking discontinuous innovation.
In Milestone One, the strategy for choosing incremental innovation for the luxury automobile
business was to ensure that the company would be able to gradually adapt to the digitalized
business landscape. The choice was made so that the company would be able to work on its
connected capabilities and integrate it into its automobile solutions so that improved
automobile solutions could be offered in the market. It would also minimize the risk by giving
ample time to the internal stakeholders so that they could adapt to the change process (Bican &
Brem, 2020).
For managing innovation, the incremental innovative option was selected over discontinuous
innovation. The selection was made after conducting a detailed and thorough comparison of
the two innovative approaches. The risks and benefits associated with each of the options were
evaluated before arriving at the final choice (Bican & Brem, 2020). The incremental
innovative approach was ultimately chosen for the company because it would enable the
company to integrate the Internet of Things capabilities into its vehicles in a gradual and
consistent manner. Thus, it would create an opportunity for the automobile business to
increase the sales turnover of the existing products by improving their current features and
functionalities.
A change in the organizational structure has been suggested so that innovation in the project
can be supported. It has been recommended that the current tall matrixed structure design must
be replaced with a flatter structure. It will minimize the level of complexity by diminishing the
layers of hierarchy that restrict communication and coordination across diverse teams and
departments (Bican & Brem, 2020). A flatter organizational structure can promote the climate
of innovation as it will create an opportunity for streamlined and faster communication. It can
also enable employees to share creative ideas with their superiors. Moreover, it will also help
the business to make timely decisions in an efficient and effective manner and improve the
adaptability of the business.
What was your strategy for choosing incremental or discontinuous innovation in Milestone
One?
My rationale for selecting incremental innovation was based on the ability to leverage existing
product lines for income while still developing new IoT innovations. The specific reasons
listed in my presentation for incremental were:
•Upgrade initial project line to test feasibility and customer acceptance
•Low risk of failure compared to discontinuous innovation
•Low cost compared to discontinuous innovation
•Easy to disseminate info about enhancements
•Using existing technology to advance provides competitive advantage to those who need to
develop from scratch
•Leverage existing product lines for introduction of IoT enhancements
What were your reasons for selecting the processes for managing innovation you used in
Milestone Two?
For milestone 2, I selected lean as the process to manage innovation. This process offers the
expedience benefits of agile while preserving limited resources. Since the company is rather
small in the automotive industry, the preservation of resources is paramount so the company
can continue to produce vehicles that bring in revenue that supports R&D.
How do your recommendations for the organization structure promote a climate for innovation
in your project?
The recommendations made in the organizational structure were largely inspired by the 3M
case study. In my proposed changes, open lines of communication along with the ability to
work side-by-side with members of other departments to inspire innovation. Company
leadership was also going to lead the charge for more decentralized decision making, enabling
individual work centres to develop and streamline their own processes. A reward system was
also recommended for employees that went above and beyond in their innovative efforts.
Perhaps most important, was the recommendation to support employees in any kind of
innovations, regardless of their success, and not punish ones that fail.
What was your strategy for choosing incremental or discontinuous innovation in Milestone
One?
After looking at the risks and benefits for incremental and discontinuous innovations from the
scenario, I chose a discontinuous innovation approach for the automobile manufacture. An
incremental approach would have been simpler and less expensive. The approach would have
possibly boosted sales increasing the company’s market shares. However, using the current
vehicle platforms would have limited the innovative possibilities, and would have not
attracted a new customer segment. Also, after looking and comparing the forecasted sales, and
project costs for IoT vehicles I was able to see that the return on investment was greater for
developing a new vehicle platform, and possibly building a new market, and customer base. It
would take more R&D to do this, and the initial costs would be higher, but the investment
would be better, and it would provide the company with a new vehicle platform to build a
marketing campaign, and a platform to implement new innovations into. I also believe that the
company should implement incremental innovations into its current vehicle lines to boost
sales and market shares to increase its revenue and help offset the costs of designing a new
platform.
Implementing incremental innovations into the company’s current automobile lines while
building a new model, or just continue with the current line, and invest more into the new
platform?
What were your reasons for selecting the processes for managing innovation you used in
Milestone Two?
I chose a hybrid approach for the process of managing the development of a new vehicle
platform. The hybrid project management we would use is a combination of agile, lean, and
the stage-gate process. The reason I chose this is that Innovation is constantly changing, and if
a typical waterfall or stage-gate process is used the innovations we are developing do not have
a chance to adapt to the ever-changing market, thus possibly becoming obsolete before they
are released. With an agile methodology, the project can be broken down into smaller
iterations where teams work on the innovation with specific goals. However, these teams will
be close to the customer, so changes can be made to the innovation quickly ensuring they are
building the desired deliverable. To help ensure the project is efficient and does not include
wasted steps we will utilize a lean approach where each step is measured, and Kaizen events
can be used to brainstorm and identify issues, waste, opportunities, and road maps for the
innovation. These Kaizen events can be between or within cross-functional teams and will
help provide an efficient environment. Since the project is a large one it will need structure and
approval. That is why I chose the stage-gate process. The process will be broken down into
milestones, tasks, and subtasks, so each team will have goals to work towards. Each task and
subtask will be implemented into a GANTT chart, WBS, and action item register. This will
help to define the timelines, assignments, priority of work, and give the teams and project
manager the ability to track the project's progress. It will also allow for the development of
KPIs to alert all stakeholders of issues or changes needed for the project. A Kaizen structure in
the gate phase of the stage-gate process can be utilized to help ensure all factors for the
innovation are identified and analysed ensuring we are providing the desired deliverable and
giving it the ability to be adapted to any changes needed. I feel with this hybrid approach we
can ensure the innovation is provided in the desired time and can be adapted to market
changes, thus gaining a competitive advantage for the company. e
How do your recommendations for the organization structure promote a climate for innovation
in your project?
To help promote a creative and supportive culture to support the innovation project The new
structure will incorporate various improvements that promote communication, collaboration,
support, and creativity. It is vital for an organization’s culture to support its employees and
teams and provide them with the ability to utilize their creativity and critical thinking skills.
This is especially true for innovative projects, so to achieve this we will utilize
communications and transparency to help drive the culture. This communication will not only
use the top-down approach but allow for communications from every aspect of the company,
and the customers, thus allowing inputs from all stakeholders driving the development of the
innovation. The improved culture will be supportive of the employees and teams and
encourage them to drive innovation whether they fail or succeed. It will give rewards and
recognition to help provide and drive a creative culture, and ensure the employees are
empowered. By doing this employee will feel safer in their positions, and know that their
inputs are valued and welcomed, thus providing a culture that promotes innovation and
forward-thinking helping drive the development of a new vehicle platform. e
I want to start out by saying this class has been quite a push for me at work that allowed me to
understand some of the choices for new products and processes that has gone through lately. I
always wondered what pushed the company to go one direction or another. The ability to
finally understand the moves let me realize that taking time and realizing what is happening is
a blessing in disguise.
I went with the discontinuous approach because I feel it was a route that the company needed
to try. The alternate approach felt more safe and less productive. The possibilities in place for
the discontinuous innovation was what captured my attention. The chance that you can create
better processes for older items and at the same time you create a great product by stepping
back and working solely on this idea stole me from thinking of the incremental innovation
approach.
The approach I took was to try and take the company out of the shadow of the competitors
shadows. I wanted to make sure that the other companies knew that these new ideas weren’t
only being created by them. The ability to show that the company was still moving to be in the
mix of everything that was coming up in the market. The recommendations I suggested was to
work with the idea of teamwork and to stay away from being independent. Especially since the
company is working to build a great product.
References
Bican, P. M., & Brem, A. (2020). Managing innovation performance: Results from an
industry‐spanning explorative study on R&D key measures. Creativity and Innovation
Management, 29(2), 268-291.
