Introduction
The business proposal aims to present solutions to address the company’s current problem of the lack of innovative behavior. The problem negatively impacts the organization’s overall performance, necessitating a specific course of action. The lack of innovative behavior leads to a decrease in the company’s operational effectiveness and a loss of competitive advantage.
The company has not produced any new products in the last two years, which has impacted its revenue. Currently, the organization is in a financially unstable position, as some of its existing customers support it financially. However, due to market competition, the company fails to attract new customers, posing a significant threat to its future development.
The business proposal highlights the problem with relevant data, which identifies the influence of the lack of innovative behavior on the company. It further offers a set of solutions that could be implemented to address the issue most efficiently. The proposal outlines the needs of stakeholders and the benefits they can expect to receive. Additionally, it provides details on the implementation strategy, including timeframes, costs, and potential results.
Problem Statement
The company’s employees’ insufficient innovative behavior leads to considerable financial setbacks and damages its reputation. The data presented further shows a link between the number of new products the company introduces to the market and its revenue growth. Table 1 illustrates the organization’s revenue dynamics from 2019 to 2022.
The revenue peak was reached in 2020, following the introduction of three new products in 2019. The revenue drops significantly in 2021 and 2022, as the organization offers only one product in 2020 and none in 2021 and 2022. It is difficult to state a firm correlation between those two factors, but the data suggest a link between the number of new products and the organization’s revenue.
Table 1: The dynamic of revenue from 2018 to 2022 in million $
Table 2: The number of new products from 2018 to 2022
The problem of a lack of innovative behavior primarily concerns the company’s managers in the form of low numbers of new products developed. This hinders the company’s potential to acquire a solid competitive advantage. Idrees et al. (2022) emphasize that the modern business environment requires companies to possess extensive innovation and knowledge capabilities to remain competitive in the market.
The lack of innovative behavior puts the organization at a disadvantage and could result in losing the market. Customers nowadays have a wide range of products to choose from, many of which are similar in features and quality. As the organization is losing revenue, it needs to attract customers’ attention by introducing a new product or innovating an existing one. However, the lack of innovative behavior currently prevents it from generating relevant ideas and winning the market.
Based on the data presented, it is possible to conclude that the company’s inability to address the problem in the near future will result in a further decrease in revenue and a loss of competitive advantage. The situation may have a critical impact on the organization in the future, as it will not be able to sustain itself for an extended period. However, the company currently possesses all the resources necessary to help mitigate the negative impact and change the course of the business. Therefore, the organization must implement the solution swiftly to achieve a positive dynamic.
Data and Research Findings
To identify potential solutions, the measures that had been previously implemented were researched. Surveys and interviews were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the solutions and identify possible root causes of the problem. It further helped to develop the strategy that would be the most efficient in addressing the problem.
As the key aspect of the issue is the lack of innovative behavior among employees, their satisfaction with the measures was studied. The impact on motivation, decision-making power, and creativity options was also considered. Table 3 presents information on the measures previously implemented and their perception by employees. Based on the data, it can be concluded that the overall initiatives to address the problem were not effective in the long term.
Table 3. Employee perceptions of previous attempt
The surveys and interviews helped identify potential root causes of the problem, which was critical for developing solutions. It highlights that the employees identified five factors, in their opinion, that have the highest impact on the situation. These aspects can be considered milestones in the overall strategy that must be developed and implemented. To address the issue, the company must look at and eliminate these root causes. This will help meet the needs of employees, contributing to higher satisfaction and better creative initiatives.
Table 4. Perceived causes of the problem
The data presented illustrates that employees have a particular perception of the measures introduced and the root causes of the problem. The organization should consider the information obtained as a basis for developing a strategy and implementing change initiatives. It is challenging to evaluate the impact of a particular organizational aspect on the overall situation, but it is possible to mitigate some of the negative factors. The proposed solution aims to address the root causes of the problem.
Proposed Solution
Three potential solutions were chosen as a result of the research, which are:
- Leadership training for employees;
- Strategic innovation plan development;
- Better access to creative tools and opportunities.
Leadership training for employees is designed to enhance communication and collaboration among them. It will also ensure better decision-making power and increased motivation to propose innovative initiatives. Better communication between employees and managers results in higher satisfaction and motivation (Choi et al., 2021).
It can lead to better creative capacities in the long term due to increased collaboration efforts (Shah et al., 2022). Possible disadvantages include the need for a specialized training program, which requires additional resources and planning. It can also address the reluctance of employees and managers, making incentives critical.
Strategic innovation plan development addresses the issue of unclear strategic goals. Employees can be more motivated when their tasks are aligned with their values (Purc & Lagun, 2019). One of the main advantages of the solution is that it does not require any additional resources except for planning efforts. Additionally, it can help the company refine its overall strategic planning initiatives. However, the disadvantages include the need for extensive research and a lengthy implementation timeframe, as the plan must be thoroughly tested.
Better access to creative tools and opportunities will enable employees to engage in innovative behavior. Through higher creative autonomy, the organization can support and motivate employees (Cho & Song, 2020). The main advantage of the solution is its enhanced decision-making and creative power, which boosts innovative initiatives. However, the disadvantage is that employees lack creative competencies, which will hinder the solution’s effectiveness and require additional training.
Table 5. Top three potential solutions
Stakeholder Analysis and Benefits
The problem of the lack of innovative behavior involves numerous internal and external stakeholders. The company’s employees have rather negative views on the problem, as they are primarily interested in the associated outcomes. Human resources play a positive role in addressing the problem by engaging in initiatives that promote motivation.
The R&D department has positive support for the problem as they acknowledge the issues with their primary activities and want to get additional investments. Team managers often struggle to support the problem as they must adapt to a new system in order to achieve strategic goals. Customers generally have a positive attitude toward the problem, as they require new products to meet their needs. Organizational leadership plays a crucial role in addressing the problem, as it impacts overall performance and revenue. Investors are hesitant to support the problem, as they need to see an increase in revenue.
Employees and managers were surveyed explicitly about their attitudes toward the previously implemented solutions. It was identified that employees support a monetary reward system and goal-setting activities as they provide clear motivational tasks. Managers are more concerned about goal-setting activities as they need tools to motivate employees and engage them in innovative behaviors. Previously implemented measures are generally scored low as they do not provide employees with the means to implement their creative initiatives.
Stakeholders expressed several ideas for potential solutions. Employees proposed developing a clear monetary reward system based on setting strategic goals. Managers largely support the idea that it is essential to have clear aims to be targeted as part of innovative initiatives. The R&D department reported the lack of investments and proposed increasing them. Human resources managers supported the idea of reward and goal-setting systems, as this will potentially increase motivation.
The organization’s leadership and investors should act as sponsors in implementing the solution. The leadership is responsible for policy and structural changes to solve the problem. Investors play a crucial role in supporting the changes financially; additionally, they are key to the approval of the solution and the initiation of its implementation.
The solution will directly affect employees as they will be involved in various new activities and a changed motivational system. Team managers must also adapt as they will have new responsibilities and performance criteria. The R&D department will also be affected, as additional resources will be allocated and used efficiently. Human resources will also be affected, as they will need to monitor the effectiveness of the new motivational system and adjust it as necessary. Customers will get new products and will change their attitudes toward the company.
Employees can pose roadblocks to the solution of the problem due to possible reluctant behavior and a lack of relevant competencies. Additionally, team managers cannot be experienced enough to adapt to a new structure, which can lead to the inefficient implementation of the solution. Customers may also be reluctant to purchase as they have lost their trust in the organization over the last two years.
Conclusion
The implementation of the proposed solution requires the application of specific strategies. Firstly, the company needs to research employees’ specific needs in relation to their roles. Identifying which creativity skills they are willing to develop and what tools they lack is critical. Additionally, the organization needs to plan all training programs and associated activities to clearly understand the resources and efforts required.
Furthermore, it is crucial to introduce employees to new creative strategies to improve their motivation, decision-making abilities, and overall satisfaction. The solutions should be implemented as a complex to address the problem holistically. Planning should be implemented before training to consider all the data obtained to develop the most effective training program.
Leadership training for employees would take approximately 4 months, consisting of 2 months of development and 2 months of implementing the actual training program. The program’s cost will reach $130,000 as creativity experts should collaborate with the human resources department. Strategic innovation plan development will take approximately one year, as research needs to be conducted and the strategy tested.
The solution costs $75,000 as the company needs to pay incentives to the planning team. Better access to creative tools and opportunities implies higher decision-making power, improved communication, and greater autonomy for employees. The implementation of the new creativity structure would take approximately 1 year. It does not require additional resources, so the solution costs $60,000, allocated for the research efforts.
References
Cho, Y. J., & Song, H. J. (2020). How to facilitate innovative behavior and organizational citizenship behavior: Evidence from public employees in Korea. Public Personnel Management, 50(4). Web.
Choi, W. S., Kang, S. W., & Choi, S. B. (2021). Innovative behavior in the workplace: An empirical study of a moderated mediation model of self-efficacy, perceived organizational support, and leader–member exchange. Behavioral Sciences, 11(12). Web.
Idrees, H., Hynek, J., Xu, J., Akbar, A., & Jabeen, S. (2022). Impact of knowledge management capabilities on new product development performance through mediating role of organizational agility and moderating role of business model innovation. Frontiers in Psychology, 13. Web.
Purc, E., & Lagun, M. (2019). Personal values and innovative behavior of employees. Frontiers in Psychology, 10. Web.
Shah, S., Shah, S., & El-Gohary, H. (2022). Nurturing innovative work behavior through workplace learning among knowledge workers of small and medium businesses. Journal of the Knowledge Economy. Web.