Organizational Impact Paper

Organizational Impact Paper

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Organizational Impact Paper

The manufacturing industry deals with the development of tangible goods while the service industry specializes in intangible services (Pinedo, 2005). The Lotus Company falls under the manufacturing industry category. Focus is given to the impact of innovation, creativity and design on the strategy of the Company basing on a given case study. The innovation behind the Lotus Elise was as a resultant of Colin Chapman’s desire to build the car for commercial purposes. Early models had been made purposely for racing and Chapman decided it was time to test it as the commercial car. Innovation played a major role in the production of the lightweight and fast cars. Von (2008) states that the company gained performance advantage from the use of technology.

Lotus viewed innovation as a way of merging creativity, knowledge and information. The company was dedicated to carrying out research on improvement and development of new products. The engineers on their part ensured that individual and team expertise were combined to get fine results. Design for the new car model was initiated and plotted down the company’s design team. Unlike all other projects that normally initiated at the engineering specification stage, the Lotus Elise kicked off with the design stage. The first skeleton details about the vehicle was that it was to be an open two-seater sports car, it was intended to be fun to drive and was not to be too expensive. The whole production period for the car was anticipated to be three years for a unit of a thousand cars.

The designers began by assembling themes basing on their sample customer distinctiveness. These were all based on the different moods and feels that the car was intended to have. The themes were pictures that ranged from fashion items, celebrities, motorcycles among others (Von, 2008). The agreed design for the car was that it would be a two-seater, where the engine would be placed at the back on a low level. The first scale model for the car was developed with the intention of showing how it was projected to look like and what the basic aspects would be. Other design consultancies were tasked with the job of coming up with a design for a new car. Upon comparing, the consultancies’ and the Lotus design teams, the latter won the challenge.

On the creativity of the Lotus Elsie, the emphasis laid to the detail of the car was at its finest (Von, 2008). The car was to have a single windscreen wiper as opposed to so many designs that had double wipers. This detail meant that the size of the windscreen would be affected. After all the parts had been assembled into a complete car and tests done, the Lotus Company launched the Lotus Elsie to the public for the first time in 1995.        The response from the target market took the company by surprise. The intention of producing seven hundred car per year was challenged by the many orders that came in. the company was faced by an eighteen month waiting list for the car. The Lotus Company had to increase production capacity to accommodate the needs of their customers. Therefore, the impact created by the innovation and design of the new car model affected the strategy set by the company and adjustment had to be made to meet the numerous Lotus Elise orders.

The service industry is characterized by the kind of output it gives to the customers.  When developing a new product in the service industry, it is important to consider the new service development process. First, there must be a description of the problem, which the reason the new service is needed. Then the idea creation follows. It involves the brainstorming of those involved to come up with the ideas that will materialize into a service. The next step is the concept definition where the ideas are discussed through to come up with a clear concept for the process (Matsui, 2009).

Analysis and screening then follows whereby the people involved in the creation of the new service go through and analyze the concept agreed in the previous stage. Concept design is the next step where designers come and contribute with their ideas on how the service will be carried out. After this, the delivery and operations test, broad marketing test, infrastructure and scale-up steps follow. Next is the introduction and launch of the service. This is the first time that the service goes to the public domain since its inception. The public get a chance to sample the new service and probably give feedback to the provider. The last stage is the post launch check up stage, which is aimed at examining how the service is doing in the public domain (Matsui, 2009).

Von (2008) presents a sample of a financial service provider using information technology to reach out to the customers. The outcome of the string of conversation leaves the customer angry since he or she was not satisfied with the kind of service. The use of the information technology systems is therefore not satisfactory in terms of providing services as seen from the example. He argues that it is essential to note that in the service industry, the product is consumed as soon as it is delivered. It therefore invalidates the notion that a service can be produced in advance and stored. Some of the examples of the service industry include hospitality as in the case of hotels and restaurants, healthcare facilities, banking, entertainment and travel industry among others. The strategy of the service industry is likely to be affected if the customer demands go higher than what the industry is providing. Therefore, the creativity, innovation and design of any service company are crucial factors in meeting its strategy.

References

Matsui, M. (2009). Manufacturing and service enterprise with risks: A stochastic management       approach. New York: Springer. Pinedo, M. (2005). Planning and scheduling in        manufacturing and services. New York, NY:             Springer.

Von, S. B. (2008). Managing innovation, design and creativity. Chichester, UK: John Wiley &      Sons.