Chapter 7:

ORGANISATIONAL
RESOURCES
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Organizational Resources
1. People
2. Intellectual Property
3. Access to Information
4. Technology
5. Marketing and Sales
6. Time
7. Distribution
8. Customers
9. Suppliers
10.Production Capability
11.Operational Facilities
12.Finance

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1.

People

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The most important organizational resource/asset.

may be the most difficult resource to manage.
can come from different:
- Disciplines
- ethnic backgrounds
- philosophies of life and living,
- Aspirations
- Talents

2. Intellectual Property

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Organisation/intellectual property is an organizational asset

and needs to be actively protected and disseminated
throughout the organization.
much of the experience and knowledge is seldom
documented in such a way as to be of use in the future.
Includes:
- formal engineering
drawings
- laboratory results
- test data
- customer concerns

- all formalized documentation

models used to demonstrate
feasibility
- notebook data
- hand sketches (usually
discarded)
- working models
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3.

Access to Information

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Organizations have not been reluctant to

invest in information systems.
The inability to communicate adequate
information at the appropriate level continues
to limit performance.
There is no doubt that certain information
must be limited to those who have a need to
know.
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4. Technology

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The many descriptions of technology:

- Technology is what it takes to convert resources
into products and services.
- Technology is the knowledge and resources
needed to achieve a goal;
- Technology is a body of scientific and engineering
knowledge that can be applied to the design of
new products
- Technology represents the artifacts developed
from applying the principles of science and
engineering
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4. Technology

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Technology drives most innovative

organizations

- innovator to understand the level of technological

knowledge and expertise available by discipline
both within and outside the organization.

Knowledge of the technologies

- Product technologies
- Production technologies
- The scope required to produce the product
- new production facilities are required, there will
also be new production technologies.
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5. Marketing and Sales

innovation = invention

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implementation/commercialization
something must be sold or some action must take
place for innovation to occur.
The innovator may or may not be knowledgeable in
marketing and sales, but the innovator needs to
understand the role that marketing and sales will
play in the success of the innovation.
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5. Marketing and Sales

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The type of innovation will largely determine the

marketing and sales issues.
Incremental innovation:
- critical issues
- the impact on current products
- the need to create awareness
- the degree of acceptance among the current customer
base

5. Marketing and Sales

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Top-down projects
- No major problem because the resources will be provided.
- decisions related to marketing and sales will go through
traditional channels.

The bottom-up innovator

- faces more serious problems; specialized knowledge and
a single discipline experience
- general problems with introducing a new idea can be
minimal
- get support from immediate management in the initial
stages
- get support in many disciplines.
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6. Time

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a vital resource in today's competitive global

marketplace.
A major issue - the time-to-decision.
- guided by a timetable
- Managing cycle time provides a better approach when
dealing with innovation.
- Cycle time includes three distinct interacting elements:
- Time
- Timing
- Cycle duration
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6. Time

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Interacting elements in Cycle time:

- Time
- a commodity and a business resource. It cannot be reclaimed
or recycled.
- how to use it more effectively
- Timing
- Choosing when to introduce new product.
- Realistic timing begins at the top of the organization.
- Cycle duration
- the time required to accomplish a task independent of its size or
scope.
- the length of time it takes to meet some objective that begins at
point "A" and ends at point "N."
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7. Distribution

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The distribution system involves three distinct

functions:
1. the means by which the organization sells its products
2. the physical plant and equipment that move the
product from the warehouse to the customer
3. customer service

Too often organizations fail to recognize the costs

associated with developing and maintaining these
three distribution functions.
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7. Distribution

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1. The ways/methods the organization sells its products

- Organizations sell their products through:
- direct sales force
- independent representatives
- various dealer organizations
- Distributors
- various combinations.
- These sources require an investment of organizational
resources (time, energy, and money).
- These selling organizations undergo changes just like any
other organizational entity.
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8. Customers

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Can provide valuable input, but primarily for

improving products and processes that already
exist.
Do not expect a breakthrough innovation from a
customer.
Can be a valuable resource when the organization:
- knows the customer's needs
- understands how the customer uses
the equipment or service.

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9. Suppliers

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provided a major resource long before downsizing

and outsourcing became popular.
suppliers in all business areas provide a valuable
resource.
- Example: A particular component may not be
commercially available so the innovator begins to dig into
areas outside his personal knowledge or experience
instead of working with organizations that already have
the required basic knowledge.

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9. Suppliers

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many organizations have become

assembly operations

- many manufacturers are primarily

assembly operations.
- The major emphasis is on design and the
negotiation of contracts to produce
components to specification, combined with
very efficient assembly and distribution
systems.
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10. Production Capability

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Innovators need to understand the availability of both the

facilities and the process know-how.
Several questions must be considered and answered
within the scope of the innovation.
- Will the proposed product be produced on existing equipment, or
will new equipment be needed?
- If existing equipment is used, will it lengthen the development
time?
- If new production equipment is necessary, what level of
investment may be necessary?
- Are the pilot plant or experimental facilities available?
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11.Operational Facilities

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essential resource for innovators and help reduce the time from
concept to implementation/commercialization.
The innovator requires adequate tools to perform at a high
performance level
Example:
- Computer: using the best of available search engines provides
the means for simplifying the acquisition of required data.
- Communication facilities must meet the needs of the
innovation.
All of these tools allow the innovator and the team to reduce the
time from idea to implementation.
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12. Finance

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To recognize the limitations of the organization's

financial resources.
Investments will vary depending on the scope of the
innovation.

- incremental innovation: not a problem.

- radical innovation: require significant funding.
The ability to finance an innovation in innovation
process stages needs to be assessed in relation to
the organization's ability to provide the financial
resources.
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12. Finance

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Financial resources may also be

required to fund:
- additional people with new
competencies and skills
- upgraded information resources
- royalty payments on imported
technologies
- new resources for marketing, sales, and
distribution

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Thank you.

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