Innovation Management and Strategies - Assignment Example

Management Case study Name Course Institutional Affiliation Date Introduction Ahmed Fahour is the present Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Post which is public organisation operating the mail services. Mr.Fahour was appointed the Chief Executive Officer of the Australian post at a time when the company was facing financial crisis as a result of the advancement in the communication technology. The advancement that results in the embracement of the internet mail services contributed in the loss of business for the physical mail service provider. Kate Frost is the CEO of YWCA NSW that she joined after a successful career at the Citi bank. Chris Murray is an entrepreneur and director of the Neon Group Company. Question One Ahmed Fahour Fahour’s success in transforming the Australian Post is highly attributed to his values as a manger such as discipline, the spirit, coping with change and learning. Discipline: discipline is the core value of most of the successful mangers. Throughout his career from National Australian Bank to the current position at Australia Post, Fahour has expressed a lotofdiscipline in terms of handling customers and his seniors. For example, at an Australia Post, Fahour insists on solving of a customer’s issue within twenty four hours. This discipline in service provision is highly needed especially for a company undergoing transformation as the Australia Post (Tom, 2013, 13). The Spirit: When Fahour joined the Australia post, he got the information from various employees regarding their opinions on the operations of the company. Moreover, Fahour has been able to establish an effective team at the Australia Post as well as eliminating individuals reluctant to change. The manager is highly spirited to transform the corporation and has ensured this by enhancing the team spirit (Tom, 2013, 15). Coping with Change: Fahour as the Chief Executive Officer of the Australia Post has been able to initiate various programmes geared towards changing the corporation into a more digitalised institution. He has been able to introduce a digital mail box as well as take advantage of the ever-growing online marketing and transactions which mainly depend on the parcel services for delivery purposes (Tom, 2013, 13). Learning: Fahour attributes his success to his experience with the CEO of NAB whom he quotes on several occasions during the interview. Kate Frost Motivation: Frost is highly motivated by the daily changes she observes on her clients. The decision to move from the highly profitable banking industry to the non-profit organisation portrays the high motivation level that enables Frost in her daily activities at YWCA NSW. Learning: Frost appreciates the contribution of mentorship in her activities at YWCA NSW. She compares her experience at the Citi bank with the current organisation and claims that mentorships play a great role in enhancing her management of a non-profit agency. She further attributes her success in managing YWCA NSW to the management discussions they organise with other women CEOs. She argues that one can learn the management endeavours from fellow Chief Executive Offers and can get ideas on how to handle various issues at the organisation (Richard, 2010, 31). Commitment: working for a non-profit organisation requires much commitment since there no major profits or incomes involved. The employees of such organisations are paid from the charities given by the profitable organisations and individuals. Frost admits that she surely misses the great banking industry but prefers to commit in running the affairs of her present organisation. Team work: Team work is a core value for establishing oneself in the non-profit industry. She compares her times at the Citi bank where she solely ran the operations of the bank with her current position at YWCA NSW where team work is highly emulated. Frost says that team work is the main driver of her daily endeavours at the YWCA NSW (Richard, 2010, 30). Chris Murray Chris Murray is a private entrepreneur in the film production industry. Murray has managed to transform from formal employment to self employment. His work at Neon group is beginning to gain ground after successfully completing various tasks for Panasonic and universal pictures. The core values that determine the success of Chris Murray in the film industry ranges from persistence, discipline, organisation and appreciation of change. Discipline: Murray insists that he try to balance the time half way for both companies under the Neon group. He attributes his ability to effectively balance his time and commitment to each organisation to discipline (Josie, 2011, 30). Persistence: persistence is reflected on the Murray's business strategy. He argues that, the film industry requires one to approach their clients personally and present their respective ideas. Regardless of the various regents encountered in their effort to acquire more customers, Murray persistently approaches more customers and he has been able to secure more contracts from clients such as Panasonic and Universal pictures (Josie, 2011, 30). Humbleness: Popcorn taxi is a small organisation that obtains information by interviewing various celebrities. Regardless of his initial success in the production and entertainment industry, Murray accepts to work at popcorn taxi where the idea of Neon Group is developed. Murray admits that,at his age, he would be enjoying himself in a holiday or having fun with others. However, humbly accepts to manage Neon Group whose earnings are not as much as compared to what he would be earning in the corporate world as an employee (Josie, 2011, 30). Question Two Effective managerial skills are highly necessary for top managers in various organisations regardless of the sector in which the organisation operates (Demuijnck, 2013, 10). From the study of the various Chief Executive Officers in different sectors of the economy such as private, non-profit and public, one can deduce various skills used by the respective chief executive officers in their daily activities. The skills used by various mangers in running their respective organisations include: Leadership: Leadership is the ability of the manager to implement the various objectives of the organisations by guiding and mentoring their subordinate employees. Leadership is reflected in various mangers such Ahmed Fahour, Kate Frost and Chris Murray. Ahmed Fahour is a leader who is highly oriented in achieving the objectives of the Australia Post. His leadership skills are shown immediately he is appointed the chief executive officer at the Australia Post. He initially obtains information from various employees on their views about the management and objectives of the organisation. He further terminates the jobs for various employees who are reluctant in working towards transforming the Australia Post into a modern oriented organisation (Tom, 2013, 13). It is clear that the majority of the former directors are no longer working for the corporation since the arrival Fahour. Kate Frost,organises the employees at her organisation to effectively achieve the objectives of the organisation. She highly appreciates the efforts of team work that is her main drive running the affairs of the organisation. Frost ensures that all the employees work as a team to achieve the goals of YWCA NSW (Richard, 2010, 31). On the other hand, Murray is actively engaged in ensuring that all the activities of the Neon Group are effectively done for the success of the company (Josie, 2011, 30). His leadership skills are tested in the way he guides the employees in the search for new employees. He leads the employees by example as he presents the company’s ideas to the prospective clients. Decision Making: Decision making is the ability by the managers to instinctively make decisions geared towards the achievement of the organisation’s goals and objectives. When Fahour takes over the overall management of the Australia Post, the corporation’s profits had dropped drastically as a result of the development of internet. Fahour’s decision making skills are seen when he initiates the process of transforming the services offered by the Australia Post from the tradition mail services to a more digitalised approach. He also decides to hire a more dynamic team to work with him at the Australia Post (Tom, 2013, 14). It is clear that his decision making skills are quite effective especially the decision to work closely with online companies like Amazon and the introduction of Mail Box services. Kate Frost’s decision to move from the highly profitable banking industry to a non-profitable organisation clearly indicates her decision making abilities (Richard, 2010, 31). According to Frost, Success in management is not accounted by the organisation one is working for the speed at which one climbs the management ranks. Decision making skills are also reflected throughout Murray’s career. Initially, Murray decides to terminate his employment at various organisations to focus on his own endeavours. This decision is, however,not successful until he gets a job at popcorn taxi where the idea of Neon group is born (Josie, 2011, 30). Risk taking: Risk taking is the ability of the managers to engage in risky activities, in the organisation especially for private sectors. In the public sector, risks are seen decisions by managers to implement risky projects so as to achieve objectives of the organisation. Fahour’s decision to digitalise the activities of the Australia Post is quite a risky initiative given the high levels of competition in the parcel industry in Australia (Tom, 2013, 13). Murray also agrees thatthesector in which his business operates is quite risky given the competition and the economic crisis (Josie, 2011, 30). He argues that, when theyarestarting the Neon Group, there were so many economic factors that hindered its growth included the crisis experienced early 2009 and 2010. Kate Frost, on the other hand takes a risky initiative of moving from the highly profitable banking sector to a non-profit organisation (Richard, 2010, 31). Time management: time management is quite crucial for effective establishment and performance of any business. Fahour discusses how effective and timely handling of the customers’ queries has increased the Australia Post customer base. Murray, on the other hand argues that he can balance the time spent all the Neon Group sub-companies to ensure they are effectively managed (Tom, 2013, 14). Question Three The Australia Post initially operated on the reliance of the postal and parcel services. The services are, however diminishing with the embracement of the internet by majority of Australians and Organisations (Afuah, 2003). The strategy, however changed immediately Ahmed Fahour was appointed the chief executive officer of the Australia Post. He initiated a different operational and management strategy where the company operates on the digital platform. The Australia Post is currently operating under a new strategy which mainly uses the digital platform to promote its business (Tom, 2013, 13). The company has managed to acquire shipping authorisation from online business such as the Amazon. Moreover, the company’s mail box is slowly gaining appreciation and trust from large organisations such as the National Australia Bank. The mail box handles the security issues associated with the regular online mail services hence it is appropriate for business operations. The company also uses electronic payment methods for its services and it is currently installing electronic payments equipments across the country. The company also reduces competition in the parcel industry by acquiring companies like Star Track Express (Tom, 2013, 13). The YWCA NSW is a non-profit organisation which assists individuals to express themselves. The organisation helps individuals with physical disadvantages as well as expression problems in the society (Richard, 2010, 31). The organisation’s strategy involves approaching of the profitable organisations for charity funding. According to Frost, the company ensures that, the investments made by other companies are effectively shown before the organisation invests in YWCA NSW. The main management strategy of the Neon group involves approaching the prospective customers directly with the company’s ideas. In case the customer likes the idea of the Neon Group, they are given the opportunity to produce for that particular client. The company also makes use of the ideas obtained from the interviews conducted on various celebrities including film producers (Josie, 2011, 30). Question Four The three managers are currently using of the appropriate skills and strategies in running the daily operations of their respective organisations. There are, however, hitches in the various skills and strategies used by such mangers in implementing decisions. For example, instead of introducing a completely new team in the Australia Post, Fahour couldretain some of the former directors of the corporation since they had some experience in the mail industry. On the other hand, Murray has an online design platform which he can effectively use to promote the activities of other Neon Group business (Kim, 2014, 400). Online platform is the best strategy to meet new client as compared to the physical approach. It is also easier to convince a client online than physically. Kate Frost does not also make use of the contacts she had at the Citi bank to promote the activities of the YWCA NSW (Richard, 2010, 31). Most of her friends in the banking industry are chief executives of large corporations who can contribute into the activities of YWCA NSW. Reference Afuah, A. 2003. Innovation management: strategies, implementation and profits. A Whetten, D., & S Cameron, K. 2011. Developing management skills. Demuijnck, G. 2014. Universal Values and Virtues in Management Versus Cross-Cultural Moral Relativism: An Educational Strategy to Clear the Ground for Business Ethics. Journal of Business Ethics, 1-19. Hamel, G., & Breen, B, 2013. The future of management. Harvard Business Press. Jondle Ph.D., D., Maines, T. D., Rovang Burke, M., & Young Ph.D., P. 2013. Modern Risk Management: Managing risk through the ethical business culture model. The European Financial Review. Josie Gagliano., 2011. Working in the Industry you are passionate about is the lot of too few; Chris Murray of Creative House the Neon Group is one. In the Picture, pp.29-30. Kim, T. H., Lee, J. N., Chun, J. U., & Benbasat, I., 2014. Understanding the effect of knowledge management strategies on knowledge management performance: A contingency perspective. Information & Management, 51(4), 398-416. Kacker, M., Dant, R. P., Emerson, J., & Coughlan, A. T., 2013. How Firm Strategies Impact Size of Partner-Based Retail Networks: Evidence from Franchising. Journal of Small Business Management, Forthcoming. Richard Jones, 2010. Non-Profit Steward: There is a time when a manager who moved across to the not-for-profit sector would be asked the question “what went wrong?” Not anymore. Pp. 30-32. Tom Skotnicki., 2013. When Australia Post was facing its greatest challenge, it turned to a man who would deliver: Winning Post, Pp.13-15. Wirtz, P. H., Thomas, L., Domes, G., Penedo, F. J., Ehlert, U., & Nussbeck, F. W, 2013. Psychoendocrine validation of a short measure for assessment of perceived stress management skills in different non-clinical populations. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 38(4), pp.572-586. Read More