Discussion:1

INNOVATION

MEANING:- The innovation is the process of creating new ideas for the existing things. In this process new thoughts and imaginative power is used by the individuals. In this new ideas are used for the better solution in the products. It helps in further growth of the business in the market place (Mckeown, 2014).

Principle of innovation

There are five main principles of innovation which have been discussed below:-

1. It starts with the conversion of the problem into an idea:- The first main principle of innovation is the conversion of the problems that arise in the business organization into a meaningful idea. This new idea is created for the problem to arise.

2. Needs a particular system:- The second main principle of innovation is that there is a need for a particular system to do innovation in the product and services offered by the business organizations.

3. Need of passion:- The third main principle of innovation is that there is a need for passion for doing innovations in the products and services. If the individual has the correct passion, only then innovation is possible.

4. Usage of methods of innovation:- The fourth main principle of innovation is the usage of methods in order to do innovation in the products and services. These methods help in building trust among the customers. It is an essential part of the innovation process. In this, there is an exchange of information, simulation of the creativity, and then the stage of formation of the idea (Wright, 2018).

5. Leverage:- The fifth main principle of innovation is leverage. In this, there should be a leverage in terms of language, cultural difference, and problem resolving style. There should be a difference in the leverage, which helps in enhancing the innovation process in a good way. So this leverage is important from the innovation process (Ramadani, 2010).

References

McKeen, J. D. (2015). IT Strategy Issues and Practices. Pearson Education Limited.

Mckeown, M. (2014). The Innovation Book: How to Manage Ideas and Execution for Outstanding Results. Pearson UK.

Ramadani, V. (2010). Innovation: Principles and Strategies. ResearchGate.

Wright, R. (2018). Twelve True Principles of Innovation. Research-Technology Management.

Discussion 2:

Focus on achievable targets- Organizations need to put focus on targets that can be achieved instead of setting up targets that are unrealistic (McKeen & Smith, 2015). Innovation needs to be target and manageable by an organization to avoid instances where it gets stuck along the way because it was unrealistic and unachievable. Organizations may also make little innovations within the organization to help them or prepare them for any big innovations in the future.

Don’t rush to market- It is important to go slow with innovations in the organization. Once an organization starts innovating something they need to experiment and further experiment to ensure that it will actually work (McKeen & Smith, 2015). Rushing to launch an innovation without testing it may lead to failure therefore it is essential to test any innovation before setting it off

Be careful with cool technology- It is important to ensure that the technologies used are easily understood and not complex for the users. Organizations can sometimes use complex technologies that may not be appealing to the user (McKeen & Smith, 2015). It is important to use user friendly technologies that are easy to understand and meet the customer needs.

Learn by design- It is said that the goal of innovation is to learn. Innovation requires that critical questions are developed then use design to answer this questions (McKeen & Smith, 2015). This means that the organization will design their operations to meet the needs of the customers or market.

Link innovation to business strategy- This is important as every innovation carried out needs to be linked to the business strategy. Before innovating, the goals and objectives of the business need to be put in mind so that this innovation is aligned to the business objectives.

Incubate innovation- Innovation needs to be given the correct place and time for it to be fully promoted. Organizations need to give this innovations the appropriate environments for it to grow to its full potential. (McKeen & Smith, 2015) This will enable them to come up with ideas and screen these ideas outside normal practices

Collaborate with vendors- It is important for IT to look outside its walls and seek ideas and strategies from vendors (McKeen & Smith, 2015). Vendors can have ideas that IT do not have and assist in making innovations a success. It is therefore important for IT and the vendors to work closely through sharing ideas and screening for any value.

Integrate business and IT- IT needs to be included or incorporated into business processes so that it can understand the business language and speak the business language (McKeen & Smith, 2015). IT should be involved in business processes so that it can understand the processes and operations of the business which will help when developing innovations.

Send clear messages- Innovation requires that leaders send the right message throughout. This is because sending the right message will show that there is support from top leaders (McKeen & Smith, 2015). Leaders need to clearly communicate the importance of innovation so that they can build an innovative culture in the organization

Manage the process- Innovation needs a lot of attention and it also requires to be managed so that it can be monitored so that what works and what doesn’t can be identified.

Promote learning agility- IT leaders need to develop capabilities that will promote innovation instead of being based on specific skills.

References

McKeen, J. D., & Smith, H. A. (2015). IT Strategy: Issues and Practices, Global Edition. New York, NY: Pearson Higher Ed.

Discussion : 3

Customer satisfaction is an important aspect of a successful business model. To achieve customer satisfaction, the organization needs to make multiple small improvements throughout the business to add them up as successful customer satisfaction. Below are the steps that need to be taken to achieve customer satisfaction.

The first step is to have an organization-level approach to customer satisfaction. There should be a centralized process to manage customer satisfaction throughout the organization. Assigning special customer relationship executives helps to achieve a centralized customer satisfaction approach for the business.

The second step is to have a clear vision of the customer satisfaction values they want to deliver. Business needs to have a focused goal of customer service they want to improve and have successful customer relationships. Building better customer relationships and maintain them is very important for the profitable business model.

The third step to achieve customer satisfaction is to standardize the customer service process and identify the gaps. To have a better idea of developing this process is to have a customer point of view to the services. Customer surveys and feedback helps to identify the gaps in the process and provide a clear point of view from the customer side.

The fourth step to improve customer is to develop IT infrastructure in the business by keeping customers in mind. IT needs to communicate well with customers or the business colleagues and front-line staff about the new ideas and work on the good suggestions provided by them.

The final step is to provide consistent customer services and products. Business and customer interactions should be simple and convenient. These services will earn loyal customers and creates a profitable business.

Reference

McKeen, James D., Smith, Heather A. (2015). Improving the Customer Experience: An IT Perspective in IT Strategy: Issues and Practices, Third Edition. (pp 203-204). Pearson

Discussion 4:

Introduction

The consumer in general, experiences any firm via its products and services. Managers ensure that they offer the consumer or potential consumer the best quality product and the best quality service so that the consumer sticks with the brand. It is all about the experience the consumer derives. It can either be good or bad. Companies embrace different policies and practices and engage technology to enhance the positive element of customer experiences (McKeen and Smith, 2017). However if it is used in a wrong manner it can ruin customer experience and deviate the focus of the consumer once and for all.

Steps to improve customer experience

Following are some steps which can be undertaken to enhance customer experience.

a) Holistic approach to be adopted:  The main idea of a holistic approach is to develop a central management system where equal focus is given on each and every consumer of the organisation. One can visualise that there is only one business and there is only one customer out there whom they have to serve.

b) Value creation: The second most important thing which enhances customer experience is better value creation. Using technology cannot be sufficient enough to help the consumer derive the maximum value (Fontanella, 2019). So, the idea is not just creating new customers but also making efforts in retaining the old ones.

c) Well organised business and IT environment:  Technology and business strategy development must be in alignment within an enterprise as these are ideal roadmaps for enhancing customer experiences. A team which is cross functional can help map out the entire journey of a consumer right from when they view a product till they checkout. Wherever gaps are noticed might be bridged in a proactive manner.

For every enterprise out there creation and improvements made to their customer experience can either make or break the business and hence it must be given adequate efforts and attention at all times.

References

Fontanella, C. (2019). How to Improve Customer Experience. Retrieved 29 January 2020, from https://blog.hubspot.com/service/how-to-improve-customer-experience

McKeen, J., and Smith, H.A., (2017). IT Strategy (3rd ed., p. 369). UK: Pearson.