Major Bank in Dubai Based in Abu Dhabi - Research Proposal Example

Innovative project teams Name Tutor Date Executive summary Innovation is one of the biggest aims for the leadership of United Arab Emirates. Most organizations are in the process of coming up with innovative ideas in order to achieve the dream becoming the most innovative country on the world in the next seven years. This innovation is happening as a result of the changes in the natural and economic environment of the country. The innovation also requires the creation of successful innovation project teams to foresee external changes in the organisations and come up with creative and realistic ideas that are innovative solutions to the varying problems and changes that have happened. For innovation to be successful, several factors have to be incorporated in the process of coming up with innovative ideas and the consequent implementation. The first issue is to ensure that several strategic and operational changes are incorporated. Secondly, all processes, workflow structures and technological requirements must be availed. The need to use innovative solution is helpful in all spheres including financial, engineering, medical, legal and educational areas. In the United Arab Emirates, more companies are using innovative solutions to meet client and shareholder expectations. The greatest benefit of innovation is the organisational growth that is its consequence. Most innovative ideas require the interaction of technology and the people and this presents one of the greatest challenges to effective project innovation programs. Despite of the challenges that are associated with innovation, its advantages are more and it should be used in all spheres. Introduction The goal of United Arab Emirates to be the most innovative nation in the world in the best seven years has been instrumental in allowing organisations to embrace it. The successful implementation of innovation ideas is controlled by teams. These teams must have specific characteristics that allow it to be effective (Kapfer et al, 2010). These teams must be within certain conceptual models that define the different roles in each set. This report is an analysis of factors that make an effective innovative project team and a case study on application of the conceptual model in a company. It ends in a list of recommendation that is proposals of ways of improving the effectiveness of the teams. Literature on building innovative teams Organisations are in constant need of practical ideas because they are all based in dynamic environments. These changes determined by the shareholders, customers, employees, governments and regulatory bodies and include changes in the economy, technology, social trends, markets, suppliers, expectations and climate. Due to these changes, every organisation should have teams and models that allow its adjustment to general changes. Hence the need for innovative teams to create ideas that will solve arising issues and handle the changes. Developing innovative teams will be helpful in empowering organisations to handle dynamics (Horth et al, 2012). In order to build an innovative organisation, the workplace must have an innovative climate. This requires the support for ideas that are presented by others. An open environment must be built, people should be given room to innovate and brainstorm presented ideas and internal talent should be accessible to ensure that team is effective. The members of the innovative team must be innovative and diverse people that are confident of their ideas. The team that is assembled should be diverse with skills, knowledge and tools that will ensure innovation. An innovative must also have an innovative leadership. As explained by Makinen (2012), an innovative team must a have a clear mandate and a strategic purpose. The main factors in building an innovative team are the right management, obtaining the right people and a strategic plan on how the team will fulfil its roles (Kuipers et al, 2009). One of the models that are effective in establishing and running innovative team is the input-process-output model. The inputs consist of the skills, knowledge and attributes of the members of the project team and organizational factors like resources, reward systems, organisational objectives and tasks and information systems. The inputs can be categorized into the task, the team composition and the organisational context in the team. The process refers to interaction among group members, communication systems, sanctions, participation and leadership. The output includes the results produced by the project team and the team member wellbeing. The output is the measure of the effectiveness of the team (West et al, 2004). As explained by West et al (2004), in the input-process-output model, there are several factors in the three stages that are helpful in ensuring the effectiveness of project innovation teams. Under process, team norms for innovation should be encouraged. The presence of team norms aimed at risk taking and enhancing change practices eases innovation. These norms are helpful in defining the team and individual behaviour. Reflexivity of team members enables a constant review of the team’s strategies, objectives and strategies and consequently, the project innovation team undergoes a regular internal monitoring and evaluation process. With effective regular reflection, planning and implementation is eased and associated hindrances noted in good time. A third aspect in the process is good leadership. An innovative team needs an innovative leader. The leader should use the most effective leadership style in coordinating the innovative project team. The last factor under process is conflict management processes that will, enhance teamwork and collaboration within team members. Under input, an innovative team must have a team that is intrinsically motivated, must have high levels of external demands, must be composed of a team of innovative team, must be composed of people that have diverse demographic backgrounds and skills, should be motivated through organizational rewards and creation of an environment that fosters team members learning and development. Innovative workplaces are aimed at creating work environments that enhance organizational change. As explained by Pot et al (2011), an innovative workplace has several characteristics. These include spatial equity, healthfulness, flexibility, comfort, sense of place and connectivity. Connectivity ensures that there is constant communication between the team members at any time. The comfort and reliability ensures that the team has the required facilities and equipment to create and implement innovative ideas. Reliability gives the innovation team a sense of identity and purpose that relates to the organisation. As highlighted by Kuipers (2008), several factors are likely to impede the effectiveness of an innovative project team. These include factors such as unclear leadership roles and poor leadership styles, unclear team goals, communication problems, poor commitment of team members, disregard for team work but individual work and an environment that does not promote innovation. Whenever there is no communication, there will be no progress. One of the main factors that will enhance team work is the presence of an environment that supports open communication, continued talent improvement and involved leadership. In a report by Makinen (2012), ineffective leadership and too much bureaucracy are noted as the main factors that reduce the effectiveness of the innovative project teams (Shen, 2006). Research Analysis Research Objectives The aim of this research part is to come up with case studies that show the effectiveness of innovative project teams when working in the conceptual model of input-process-output model. A sample company is used. The case study under discussion is that of a major bank in Dubai based in Abu Dhabi. The decision by the UAE leadership to embrace innovation has allowed many companies to look into innovative solutions and methods that will improve their service delivery and meet customer expectations. Financial institutions have not been left out in using innovation for change management. After the comprehension of how the innovative teams have implemented these changes, an analysis of the information agreed is done and recommendations are proposed. Methodology There are three main methods of data collection that have been used in data collection in this case study. These include interviewing, observation and sampling. Interviews and observations are used in understanding the effectiveness of innovation methods implementation in the bank. Once all the data is collected and compared, an analysis of the information obtained is carried out and appropriate recommendations are made. The research is based on the input-process-output model which will focus on three main research questions: what inputs and processes have been used by the innovative teams? And what are the outcomes of the implementations of the project teams. The interviews are administered to team members and leaders of the innovative teams. They are focused on the two research questions that have been mentioned above in order to understand the application of the conceptual model and the actual facts. The sample company used is one of the leading financial institutions in the United Arab Region with more than 585 Automatic Tellers and 125 branches all over the seven constituent emirates.it offers several financial services such as online banking, teller services and SMS based payments. The case study involved an innovative solution to the need of the financial institution to expand to international operation. This development meant that the Wide Area Network that the bank uses for online banking will experience more data traffic. It was paramount that a solution to the matter was sought. To handle this problem, a collaboration with BT IP connect global network was done. In order to obtain two case studies, interviews were conducted for teams in charge of the implementation of the project from the two sectors. They involved two interviews with at least a team leader and two group members from the financial institution and the telecommunication solution provider. Each of these people was interviewed on the processes, inputs and outputs that were involved in the process of creating a solution for the network. The same interview questions were given to all the team leaders and members so as to provide the different opinions on the same issues. All interviewees were from the information technology department with differing years of experience. After the analysis of the results of the oral and written interviews, the following factors were deduced. In terms of input, the financial institution chose the right team to handle its need. BT Company confirmed that it could provide a network that was faster due to the fibre optic technology and one that could withstand environmental hazards. The financial institution’s team manger mentioned that the collaboration with an outsourced telecommunication firm was suggested by one of his team members. Therefore, the financial institution has provided an environment that allows for creativity and openness. The creation of the right environment, right leadership and use of an experienced team are input characteristics of an effective innovative team. In terms of processes, the two collaborating bodies were in constant communication on the progress of the project. The BT Company laid an infrastructure without getting rid of the Wide Area Network that was used initially. The constant internal and external communication allowed the teams to be reflexive with constant assessment of progress achieved. Once the innovative solution was laid out, the two teams worked in collaboration until the set objectives were achieved a year later. With regard to output, the best output is an effective solution to the problem that was present. The need to expand the financial operations of the financial institution was the problem and the connection of fibre optic cables that supported high speed connections globally means that the innovative teams involved in the process were effective. Recommendations After the study of the case study the following recommendations have been proposed: i. The company that laid the structure should be in charge of the maintenance and improvement of the fibre optic global network. ii. The innovative project team should always carry out checks to ensure that they have the most recent networks for continued speed and service delivery. iii. The project team should be up to date with the technological advancements that affect the institution. iv. The innovative project team should check client feedback on the use of the global networks to notice any change in client expectations. The conceptual model of input-process-output Model is a framework that can be used to analyse the effectiveness of an innovative project team. This includes an analysis of the inputs, outputs and processes used in the process of creating and implementing innovative ideas. List of references Horth, D. M., & Vehar, J. 2012. Becoming a leader who fosters innovation, Centre forcreative leadership, pp. 3-28. Kapfer, C & Haragopal, M. 2010. Innovation in retial banking- Asia Pacific, The Asian Banker, pp. 1-82. Kaplan, S., & Winby, S. 2007. Organizational Models for Innovation, InnovationPoint. Kuipers, BS. 2009. Perfomability of work teams; blancing hard nad soft issues, International Journal of perfomablity Enginnering, 5(2), pp. 143-151. Makinen, J. 2012. Building an innovative organization culture- case insurance company X, Turku University of Applied Sciences, pp. 5-40. Pot, F. 2011. Workplace innovation for better jobs and performance. International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, 60(4), 404-415. Shen, X. 2006. Factors affecting multifunctional teams in innovation processes. West, M. A., Hirst, G., Richter, A., & Shipton, H. 2004. Twelve steps to heaven: Successfully managing change through developing innovative teams. European journal of work and organizational psychology, 13(2), 269-299. West, M. A., Hirst, G., Richter, A., & Shipton, H. 2004. Twelve steps to heaven: Successfully managing change through developing innovative teams. European journal of work and organizational psychology, 13(2), 269-299. Read More