“Collaboration and Innovation at Procter & Gamble” Case Study
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“Collaboration and Innovation at Procter & Gamble” Case Study
Proctor and Gamble (P & G) is among the top largest company’s in the global market and the largest producer of consumer merchandises worldwide. It produces a wide range of products ranging from baby pampers, swiffer, Pringles, charming, beverages, tide to bounty. Founded by William Proctor and James Gamble in 1837, the company developed progressively to its current state with an approximate $13.2 billion in profit and $79 billion revenue. Ranking among the top in market capitalization, P & G’s unique innovations include employing particular strategies that promote its success. The company embraces diversity in production of the products while putting all its customers’ needs into consideration. The company’s ability to increase its brands while maintaining its popularity triggered various case studies in a bid to understand its business strategies. Having its headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio, P & G’s mainstay in business adds to 150 years. Addressing the questions at the end of the case study helps in reviewing Proctor and Gamble, collaboration and innovation case study.
Proctor and Gamble’s Business Strategy and Its Relationship of Collaboration and Innovation
P &G’s business strategy centers on three core ideas: maintain the popularity of its products through marketing and advertising, expanding its brands related to existing ones by creating and developing new products and making new brands that are not present in their line of products (Dyer, Dalzell & Olegario, 2004). In order to achieve their goal, the company aims at collaborating with marketers, researchers and managers. Integrating with collaborators fosters interaction upon which sharing of information and ideas leads P&G to produce other products.
Collaboration Systems, Technologies and Benefits
The company researchers work together while sharing data related to the various brands they wish to produce. This tool allows both the managers and marketers access the shared data, which develops better strategies on targeted campaigns while promoting informed decisions among supervisors. P&G uses social innovations including Microsoft products such as MS SharePoint and MS Outlook among others facilitating data transmission through emails, instant messaging, web conferencing and other social network innovations (Murray, Beiske & White, 2007). These tools improve communication between employees, marketers, researchers and managers. Improved custom search engine by the start-up connect beam allows sharing of tag content and bookmarks in future searches. P & G’s partnership with CISCO introduces the tele-conference room, which fosters cooperation between employees across continent. Finally, the browser portal, Innovation Net provides digital information pertaining to the company products and brands in numerous searches.
Slow Collaborative Technologies
Employees’ resistance to the new technologies slowed down its collaboration with the management. Their resistance bases on the fact that they believe that innovations mean more work (Murray, Beiske & White, 2007). This is created with the psychological ideology of most workforces to resist change while creating an organizational inertia against integrating innovations.
Comparison between P & G’s New and Old Writing up and Distributing Results
Importance of Teleprescence
Telepresence in P&G fosters collaboration between employees. This helps in sharing of information that not only runs across countries but also across continents (Lafley & Charan, 2008).
Other Ways to Foster Innovation
The company should
integrate cloud computing among its collaboration tools. This would benefit
P&G in the sense that it will increase speed and introduce flexibility since
it has the ability to save all files and documents, which reduces overhead
maintenance. It should also employ mass data manipulation. This increases the
number of feedbacks received from customers that would help in analyzing them
in order to create better products and services.
References
Dyer, D., Dalzell, F., & Olegario, R. (2004). Rising tide: Lessons from 165 years of brand building at Procter & Gamble. Boston, Mass: Harvard Business School Press.
Lafley, A. G., & Charan, R. (2008). The game-changer: How every leader can drive everyday innovation. London: Profile Books.
Murray, J., Beiske, B., & White, S. (2007). Procter & Gamble Europe: Vizir Launch. München: GRIN Verlag GmbH.