Proctor Innovation
Strategy for Innovation at Proctor & Gamble
It may seem self-apparent to speak of Innovation as an aspect of a business process or of business process re-engineering. Indeed, it is perhaps a common misconception that innovation is a standard part of every business organization's internal structure and approach to its goals. However, patterns of innovation suggest this to be a specialized approach to business, reserved only for those organizations that are structurally and culturally suited to the adoption of new approaches, whether through technology, philosophical orientation, customer service or employee treatment. Indeed, some organizations may be better suited to improving existing models or finding ways to make existing models function at lower costs to the consumer. However, in the manufacturing, retail and service industries, there is a distinct movement toward innovation amongst many organizations seeking to remain abreast of changing patterns relating to global trade, technology and corporate ideology. Particular among the patterns which are driving innovation, sustainability is one of the most prominent effectors. So is this demonstrated by the current focus of an organization which is distinctly identifiable by its focus on constant innovation. Proctor & Gamble (P&G) is the 6th most profitable corporation in the world and specializes in an extremely wide array of consumer products, with a particular focus on household goods. (Wikipedia, 1) Indeed, this is an area where P&G has experienced massive success because of the enormity of its focus on Research & Development. As the research hereafter will show, the organizational priorities of R&D and innovation drive the retail outlook for the leading domestic product firm in question. And given the tenor of most industries today, the priorities of efficiency, cost-effectiveness and progress in line with consumer expectations have all had the effect of driving innovation through sustainability. Therefore, the strategic plan presented here for Proctor & Gamble centers on its product development with sustainability objectives in mind.
Core Competencies:
At the outset, it is important to identify the core competencies which my be said to relate to the goal of improving sustainability through product development innovation. Research & Development skills align with the core competencies sought by P&G. Namely, the scientific, procedural and creative wherewithal which are required to pursue the internal development of product innovations must be reflected in personnel. For a company such as P&G, said personnel will be distributed across many departments and responsibilities. However, with respect to the plan in question, any recruitment, hiring or training would center on improvement of 'green' education. In other words, a new focus is increasingly being cast on bringing in or developing personnel with an understanding of the sustainability initiatives that must be at the core of all future projects.
This often calls for the integration of a sustainability leader or manager, who will possess these core competencies as well as the ability to instill these competencies in others. An effective sustainability manager will also be competent in bridging the functional gaps between departments. Accordingly, a sustainability manager is asked to serve as an accountant and financial prognosticator as well as an HR expert and an operations official. As the Leipnik (2008) source denotes, the sustainability manager should be able to provide "specialised audits, professional energy and resource conservation recommendations, follow up re-audits, and supply of marketing materials in the form of hang tags, certificates and general promotion for companies who meet the programs' various levels of reduction in resource use." (Leipnik, 1) These detailed analytical instruments are central to providing corporations with the data to realistically reduce practices that are simultaneously wasteful in an environmental and economical sense. The sustainability leader is increasingly being taken seriously for his or her ability to provide a company with money-saving strategies. Speaking realistically and without cynicism, a sustainability manager can help to make a company look good while saving money, resource and labor. This underscores the permeating value of sustainability-driven competencies to all elements of P&G's operations.
Industry Dynamics:
The pressure felt by P&G to channel its energies toward sustainability-driven innovations is not unique to the selected firm. This is true throughout the retail and consumer product design industries. According to the Woods (2003), "the culture of innovation has promoted new ways of organizing the global economy, new forms of capital exchange, and new ways of working and consuming. . . The roles of economic actors, and of market relationships, appear to be constantly transforming." (Woods, 2) This observation may be considered a theoretical centerpiece to the plan presented here, identifying...
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