What is your opinion of Gerry’s approach to evaluating the output of the new product development group?
I support Gerry’s approach to evaluating the output of the new product development group. Apart from changing new ideas into tangible products, developing new products comes with several other challenges. Wheelwright (2010) contends that insufficient funding is one of the crucial challenges that hamper the development of new products. In most cases, people charged with the development of new products fail due to a lack of sufficient funds to support market research among other procedures that should be followed prior to developing and introducing new products in the market. Furthermore, new products need further funding in a bid to remain in the market prior to generating sufficient finances to support production and marketing (Wheelwright, 2010).
With reference to Gerry’s approach, he offered Maria as much budget as she and her group needed to facilitate the development of successful products. With such a provision, it is evident that Gerry had provided sufficient funds for the project. Furthermore, the significance of the project to the organization could be gauged from Gerry’s move to choose the most creative person within the company to head the new project. However, the idea was not clear as characterized by Garth’s move to seek clarification.
Do you think that Maria is getting too sensitive to criticism?
Maria is getting too sensitive to criticism. In my opinion, Maria should accept Gerry’s criticisms concerning the new product ideas. Constructive criticism is good for any form of development (DuBrin, 2012). First, Gerry has invested a significant proportion of the company’s revenues to enhance the development of successful products. In most cases, managers fail to venture into the production of new products for fear of failure.
However, Gerry decided to take the risk as characterized by investing in new ideas. Furthermore, Gerry believed in Maria’s success by dismissing Garth’s remarks, which highlighted the possibilities of Maria’s failure in developing new products. According to research, creativity and innovativeness form a significant part of maintaining an organization in the market (Tillman & Cassone, 2013). With the prevailing competition in the market, organizations need to engage in innovativeness and create new products in a bid to gain a competitive advantage.
Such an argument is evident in Gerry’s comment as he recognizes the possibility of Manchester Foods’ stagnation if the company fails to venture into the development of new products. With the dire need for new products, it is crucial for Maria to accept Gerry’s criticisms as a way of saving Manchester Foods from stagnation or collapsing. Furthermore, Gerry’s criticisms are positive and they are aimed at improving Maria’s ideas. For every idea that Maria gives, Gerry gives a reason to reject it, which underscores constructive criticism.
How do constraints on creativity enter this case?
According to Kaufman and Sternberg (2010), identifying problems entails a crucial step to enhancing creativity. However, it can also cause constraints, especially when it is difficult to highlight the prevailing problem (Kaufman & Sternberg, 2010). With reference to the case study, Gerry paved the path to creativity by identifying the company’s problem. Manchester Foods needed to venture into the development of new products in a bid to avoid stagnation.
As a senior manager in the company, Gerry moved further to facilitate his new ideas by creating a new centralized group that would deal with development. In the second phase of product development, researchers advocate the need for a creative leader, who will guide other employees in the execution of the new project. In an organization that is planning to undertake the development of a new product, it is the responsibility of the executive management to follow up with the project leaders to check on the progress (Trott, 2011). In the course of follow-ups, the management gets the opportunity to respond to the rising challenges and advise project leaders on the way forward (Kerzner, 2013).
With reference to the case study and by considering creativity, Gerry chose Maria Sanchez to lead the group that would be tasked with the development of new products. Furthermore, Gerry chose Maria on the grounds of her previous experience and success. With the experience, it was evident that Maria would advise her colleagues in the course of developing successful ideas. Nevertheless, Gerry made routine visits to Maria’s station to enquire about her progress. By evaluating Maria’s ideas, Gerry identified the need for additional information that gave insight into solving the group’s challenges. Furthermore, through Gerry’s comments, Maria knew what to improve with respect to the group’s ideas.
What is your hunch about the potential success of sudden Seafood and Razzle Razzberry?
The instant Seafood and Razzle Razzberry are not wise ideas, especially considering the changes in the consumption trends in recent times. Brownstein (2006) highlights that most people are cautious with their health status, and thus they are shifting preferences from processed to organic foods. Both instant Seafood and Razzle Razzberry are highly processed foodstuffs and they do not match the current consumption trends. With reference to the current changes in consumption, it is evident that Maria’s ideas cannot lead to the creation of successful products. The ideas will not translate into scalable businesses due to a lack of enough cash flow.
References
Brownstein, D. (2006). The Guide to Healthy Eating. New York, NY: Healthy Living.
DuBrin, A. (2012). Leadership: Research, Findings, Practice, and Skills. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning.
Kaufman, C., & Sternberg, J. (2010). The Cambridge Handbook of Creativity. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
Kerzner, H. (2013). Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling. New York, NY: Wiley.
Tillman, A., & Cassone, T. (2013). Strategic planning and new product development. Upper Saddle River, N.J: FT Press.
Trott, P. (2011). Innovation Management and New Product Development. Harlow, UK: Pearson.
Wheelwright, S. (2010). Managing New Product and Process Development: Text Cases. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster.