Innovation in Management

Introduction to Innovation Management

Professor Tridib Mazumdar

M, W 5:30 - 6:50pm Office: 409 SOM

SOM 101 Office Hours: M,W: 4:00-5:00pm

E-mail: mazumdar@som.syr.edu

Ph: 443-3453; Fax: 443-5457

Course Overview

The course is designed to provide students with a basic understanding of how innovative activities of a firm are managed. Broadly defined, innovation is a new product, process, or idea that is available for adoption, use, or consumption. Innovation management deals with generating and screening new product/process ideas or concepts, transforming these ideas or concepts into products, processes, or services that are useful for one or more target markets, and developing strategies and tactics that ensure successful diffusion of the innovation. Since new products are essential for growth and increased profitability, companies must manage these activities. The course covers the following areas:

1. What is innovation management? Overview of the innovation process. Definitions and concepts of product and process innovation, radical versus incremental innovation; risks and rewards of new product activities.

2. Strategic Considerations. Defining the context of a new product development, innovation over the product life cycle, effects of industry standards on innovative activities of a firm.

3. Technology and Innovation. Role of technology in innovation, disruptive technologies, managing the technology life cycle.

4. Organizing for new product development. Managing product development cycle time. Alternative structures of NPD organization - benefits and pitfalls of each; forming cross-functional teams.

5. New Product Development Process. Sources of new product ideas, lead user analysis, customer need identification, converting customer needs statements to product specification, concept development, concept screening, and selection.

6. Launch, Marketing, Diffusion of Innovation. Consumer and organizational adoption processes, factors affecting adoption decisions; developing a launch plan (timing, marketing mix variables etc.). Innovation diffusion model.

Performance Evaluation: I will assign the following weights to compute the overall grade:

A. 5 Case discussion and analysis (@ 7%) 35%

B. Exam 1 (Individual) (2/24/03) 20%

C. Exam 2 (Individual) (4/28/03) 20%

D. Final Term Project (Group)

Presentation (Exam Week, date TBA) 10%

Written Report (Exam Week, date TBA) 10%

20%

E. Preparation and contribution to discussion (Individual) 5%

Total 100%

A. Case Discussion and Analysis (35%). During the ten-week period, you will be required to read, analyze, and discuss the following five HBS cases::

Discussion Dates Written Report Due Cases

1/29/03- 2/3/03 Techsonic Industries, Inc.

2/5/03- 2/12/03 Philips Compact Disk (A)

2/17/03- 2/26/03 Hewlett-Packard

3/5/03 -3/17/03 MOD IV Product Development Team

4/14/03 -4/21/03 Cumberland Metal Industries

Analysis and Discussion of Cases: I will give a set of broad questions/issues that need to be addressed in the case. To prepare for the in-class discussion, these questions/issues will be useful. You must extensively use both qualitative and quantitative information provided in the case. No outside research is necessary. However, if you find some information on the web about the company or the product that tells us what happened to the product, you may bring that information to class.

Written Report: The report will include short responses to a few questions. The maximum page length should be 3 pages with 1.5 line spacing, 1" margin on all sides (no exception please!!). I will hand in a few very specific questions, which will follow a natural sequence in which I want the report to be written up. You can alter this sequence and other parameters, if any, set regarding the length of each question, if you feel that such alteration will improve the overall quality of the report.

Ideally, your team should have a draft report ready at the date of the case discussion. Based on the class discussion, your team may wish to make a few changes. In any event, do not postpone writing up the report until after the case discussion. As you will see in the report submission schedule above, I have not given much time for your team to prepare the written report.

B. Exam 1 (20%). The exam will cover the lecture and reading materials covered until the day prior to the exam date. The exam will include multiple choice and limited space essay-type questions as well as small numerical problems, when necessary. I will discuss the nature of the exam in greater details.

C. Exam 2 (20%). The exam will cover materials from after the mid-term. As in the mid-term, the final exam will include multiple choice and limited space essay-type questions as well as small numerical problems.

D. Final Term Project (20%). During the semester, your group will be required to complete a project involving designing of a new product or service, or a new process. There are four parts to this project.

1. New Product Mission Statement: This statement will provide the broad parameters of what objectives the new product is expected to achieve. The items in this statement include: (1) a brief description of the new product or service, (2) current market conditions (current products available, main competitors, what needs are unmet, why is your product better, etc.) (3) key business goals (market share, profitability, supporting a product line, environmental impact, etc.), (4) primary market for the product, (5) secondary market for the product, (6) basic assumptions and constraints (technology to be used, how far can the technology take you, etc.), (7) stakeholders (purchasers, users, service, retailers, etc.)

2. Concept generation: Identify a product/service or a process that you feel can be improved upon (e.g., better quality, more convenient, less costly to produce etc.). Come up with at least two (preferably three or more) alternative

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