BET6 - Group 3 PDF

BACHELOR OF ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY major in CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY: TECHNOPRENUERSHIP – BET6 Course Module: 3 Idea Generation UNIT EXPECTED OUTCOMES At the end of this unit, the students must be able to: Explain the definition of Innovation. Ide...

BACHELOR OF ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY major in CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY: TECHNOPRENUERSHIP – BET6 Course Module: 3 Idea Generation UNIT EXPECTED OUTCOMES At the end of this unit, the students must be able to: Explain the definition of Innovation. Identify the types of Innovation. Distinguish the principles of Innovation. STUDY GUIDES Innovation and Ideas ○ Innovation Innovation means creating or improving new ideas, products, or services that are useful for customers. It’s about making things better or more valuable. ○ Types of Innovation Sustaining Innovation: This involves small changes or improvements to existing products. It’s usually based on customer feedback or new technology. Disruptive Innovation: This type of innovation shakes up an entire market. Small businesses often introduce new, cheaper, or easier-to-use products.. Breakthrough Innovation: A major change or invention that takes a product or service to the next level. It often opens new markets or changes how people use a product. Basic Research: This starts with discovering new knowledge or solutions, often without a specific goal. It helps create future innovations. ○ Principles of Sustainable Innovation As an entrepreneur, understanding how to maintain innovation is important. Here are some key principles: 1. Inspire - There should be a leader who inspires others with a positive attitude and clear vision. 2. No risk, no innovation - Innovation involves taking risks. Entrepreneurs must be willing to try new things, even if there’s no guarantee of success. 3. New product process - Innovation starts with a vision. Entrepreneurs should know what they want to develop and follow a clear process. 4. Ownership - The leader takes full responsibility for the new products and innovations. 5. Value creation - Innovation should create value and solve real customer problems.  6. Accountability - Team members must be responsible for creating quality products and delivering excellent services. 7. Training and Coaching - It’s important to train employees to ensure they understand their roles and stay focused on future innovations. 8. Idea management - Organizations should value customer feedback and the input of their sales teams to create the best products. 9. Observe and measure - Companies should track the performance of new products to ensure they are profitable. 10. Nest result and reward - If the company achieves its goals, rewarding employees is a great way to keep them motivated. ○ Idea Presentations Presentation is a big challenge to everyone because we never know if the audience will listen to you and if they are interested about your topic. That is why in every presentation, the presenter must be fully prepared and knows what the topic is thoroughly. There are various creative presentation ideas that can be helpful to those who are presenting a proposal to a prospective client, presenting the output of your work and presenting to potential investor with a goal to inspire the audience. Check these incredible presentation ideas that will inspire your audience by Annie Pilon to Small Business Trends: Storytelling Presentation - If you are presenting, make sure that it is not only about the facts of your product or services but rather you can tell a story where they will be interested to listen and focus to. Video Presentation - It is desirable to make presentations that will have both visuals and audio content to make it as a video. It is more appealing to the audience or clients as they can envision what your products and services. Photo-Only Presentation - If you will use the photo-only presentation this to make your audience or clients prone from reading slides word-for-word. The photos or images must be related to what you are presenting. Immersive Presentation - Most conferences, seminars, and start-ups usually use the immersive presentation where they encourage their audience to get involve on discussions, games and open forum. Giving them a part to play on the presentation and providing them with new initiative for the business. Question Presentation - It is preferably advisable to ask questions to your audience in order for you to know if they are interested and make them involved in your presentation and you can have an idea if they understand your products or services to be offered. Demonstrative Presentation - If you are selling a specific product, the demonstrative presentation is the best way to promote. Some clients would like to see and touch the product for actual demonstration and they can even try using the product themselves. Humorous presentation - A speaker with great humor will make the presentation livelier because the audience will become active in the discussion. However, the speaker should be careful of using jokes to some clients to avoid misunderstandings. Animated Presentation - The animated presentation is a one way of demonstrating the product instead of using a video. You can film the product in a 3D style where the audience or your client can visualize the entire interface of the product. Props Presentation - This not a techy presentation that you need computers because you will use visual aids to make a creative presentation. ○ Idea Selection An innovative leader will encounter challenges in selecting the best ideas among the list of different innovative process. What are the criteria for choosing the best ideas? What will be the purpose of those ideas? There are usually different methods that can be used in the process of selecting ideas. Below are the steps introduced by Michael Putz for Lead innovation management:  Step 1- Rough Selection In the first step, the chaff has to be separated from the wheat, i.e., the ideas without potential have to be selected quickly. For this purpose, an "ABC analysis" can be used, where ideas are divided into three classes: A ideas are those ideas that are absolutely necessary for further processing. B ideas are those where you disagree about good or bad and are certain. C ideas that have no value and are to be rejected. The A-ideas are definitely going into the next round, the B-ideas are discussed and it is decided together per idea whether the idea will be adopted. C-ideas are no longer considered. Step 2- Fine Selection In the next step, the sifted ideas are further selected. The method of "dots gluing" has proven its worth. Each participant receives five sticky points and can distribute them to their own favorites. If you count the points together you get a ranking. If there are less than ten ideas, the "rating" method can also be used. Each participant gives each idea between 0 and 5 points. The points are also added up and you get a ranking and a priority. Step 3- Detailed Analysis In the detailed analysis, ideas are qualitatively analyzed and evaluated on criteria. For product ideas, for example, these are: the basis of Customer benefit Differentiation potential and competitive factor Technical and economic feasibility In this process step, additional information is collected on the ideas, which is then analyzed and concretized in detail. A canvas, such as that of Osterwalder, can be used as a method for new business models. On the basis of the findings from the analyses, a decision is made as to whether the idea will be pursued further or not. ○ Customer Needs ○ Market Research and Validation ○ The Decision-Making Process ○ Customers Needs One of the top priorities in business is to meet the demands and needs of customers. An innovative leader undergoes a thorough research and identify the specific requirements or needs of the customer to produce a useful product. Top Five Myths about Customer Needs 1. Customers have latents needs; needs they don't even know they have. 2. Customers struggle to articulate their needs 3. Customers needs changes quickly overtime. 4. Customers wont know what they want until they see it 5. It is impossible to ever know all the customers needs. ○ Market Research and Validation An innovative leader should conduct a market research and validation to justify the needs of customers. Quality measurement that demands the data gathered during surveys,interviews and market research. Market Validation is the process of determining whether your product is of interest to a given target market. Market validation involves a series of customer interviews with people in your target market, and it almost always takes place before you've made significant investment in your product/concept (Semick, 2016)  ○ The Decision-Making Process Decision-Making is an enormous task because the success of the business relies on it's process to come up with a great solution.Various methods,models and processes can be considered to make a decision. Five Steps of Decision-Making Process 1. Problem or Need Recognition 2. Information Research 3. Evaluation Alternatives 4. Selection Stage 5. Evaluation of Decision Problem or Need Recognition As an innovative leader you must identify the different problems or need recognition of the consumer. The needs of the consumers are the basis or foundation of creating or producing a new product or services in the market. By assessing the needs of the consumer,a innovative leader can generate excellent ideas for innovation. Information Search When the problem occurs,there should have a solution. And to develop a solution an innovative leader should be resourceful in such a way that he or she can think or bright ideas. Information search of products and services that will satisfy the needs and wants of the customer. Evaluation Alternatives In determining the needs and wants of the consumer,the innovative leader should provide different choices of products. Customers will begin to seek out the best deal as they will compare the details of the product,read many reviews if the product is poor or excellent and probably compare prices of which is more affordable. Selection Stage After a thorough research and evaluation of the alternatives,an innovative leader should select the best ideas that will be used in the decision-making. They may have had prior experience with this exact decision or maybe they succumbed to advertising about the new product or service and they want to give it a try. (Flekel, 2013). Evaluation of Decision The goal of every marketer is not for a one-time customer but a repeating lifetime customer.One bad experience of buyer's remorse and your branding perception could be tarnished forever (Flekel, 2013).This process depends on the evaluation of the various assessment done for decision-making. Whatever the company decided is considered the best idea. Business Idea Generation ○ Business Idea Generation Business idea generation and opportunity analysis are the foundation building block for launching a new business or venture. The origin of a business idea and the analysis of the opportunity needed to build and grow such idea into a business structure is one necessary marriage in entrepreneurship. The process of generating business idea could be learned and developed. This is a unique quality that an entrepreneur needs to develop if he wants to generate business ideas that would later become a business structure. Idea generation (ideation) is an emerging buzzword representing the creative process of generating, developing, and communicating new ideas, while an idea is understood as a basic element of thought that can be visual, concrete, or abstract. Ideation can be contrasted with brainstorming in that brainstorming is a specific instance of ideation. Brainstorming employs specific rules (such as disallowing any contributor to negate any idea offered during a brainstorming session), while ideation encompasses all techniques that can be used to generate ideas. Ideation is also critical to the design and marketing of new products, marketing strategy, and to the creation of effective advertising copy. In new product development, for example, idea generation is a key component of the front end of the process, often called the “fuzzy front end” and recognized as one of the highest leverage points for a company. ○ Sources of generating new business ideas The concept of generating a new business idea is not only essential for intending or prospective entrepreneurs, existing business owners also need to understand how new business ideas can change the level of business operation that invariably will lead to greater productivity and success. It is an established fact that for any existing business to experience growth and expansion, idea generation, creativity and innovation are three necessary factors that must come together in application and practice. Below are some of the more frequently used sources of ideas for existing and prospective entrepreneurs: From consumer or target audience Every creative and innovative entrepreneur must pay close attention to potential customers, client or consumers on a continuous basis. This kind of attention can take an informal approach of personally monitoring potential ideas affecting the needs of customers or formally arranging for customers/consumer to have opportunity to express their opinion. This could be achieved through a comprehensive survey/questionnaire or forum. The ideas or opinion generated from the target audience must be to a large extent represent enough market to support a new business or expand a section of an existing business. From existing products and services Existing products and services could be carefully monitored and evaluated to uncover ways to improve them. This might results in a new product or service that has more market appeal and better sales and profit potential. In this period of advancement in information communication technology (ICT), creative and innovative approach of ICT can have far-reaching effect on existing products and services. Prospective entrepreneurs can therefore take advantage of information communication technology (ICT) to build new variant of old products or services with a more market appeal, better sales and profit potentials. From marketing distribution channels For a product that involve a marketing distribution channel (sale representative group), members of such distribution channels are also excellent sources for new business ideas, because of their familiarity with the needs of the market. For example, let’s imagine that a company has ten sales persons in one zone. In each month, every member of the group can itemize why his/her sales is high, low or below average. Ideas gotten from such analysis could become a source of innovation and creativity that will lead to a better business idea in marketing. From research and development The greatest source of a new business idea is the entrepreneur’s own effort in research and development. The quest to gather information, ask questions from existing entrepreneurs, analyze economic data and information within the market can lead to a unique business concept. The prospective entrepreneur’s creativity and innovation coupled with foresight and much research can be a source of business idea. From the Government of the day The national and county governments can be a source of new products or business ideas in two ways.  First, basis information about products/services is obtained from government data bank or statistical unit like the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). A thorough analysis of such data can provide clear guides to new areas of business Secondly, new product ideas can come in response to government regulations or policies. For example the current regulations by the government that telecommunication operators/company should register their subscribers This could be an open door to greater services by their distributors, even though registration is free. An area of local content management system can also evolve as the result of this government policy, thus creating new business opportunity for the operators in the near future. ○ Methods of generating business ideas Having considered a wide variety of sources of ideas available in the last section, coming up with an idea to serve as the basis for a new business can still pose a problem. Hence the need to clearly understand the several methods of generating business ideas Focus Groups A focus group is defined as a group of individuals providing information in a structured format. A moderator leads the group of about 8 to 14 participants through an open, in-depth discussion rather than simply asking questions to solicit participants’ responses. Brainstorming The brainstorming method allows a group of individual to be stimulated to greater creativity by interacting with each other and participating in organized group experience. Most of the ideas generated from the group have no basis for further development, yet there are times that a good idea emerges. This has a greater frequency of occurrence when the brainstorming effort focuses on a specific product or market area. Problem Inventory Analysis Problem inventory analysis is a method for obtaining new ideas and solutions by focusing on existing problems. In this approach, the customers or consumers are provided with a list of problems in a general product category. ○ Creative Problem Solving Techniques For Business Organizations Creativity is an essential attribute of any successful entrepreneur. With creativity the Entrepreneur has different understanding of a situation due to varied form of ideas being generated. Creativity can be unlocked, and creative innovative ideas generated using any of the techniques below: Brainstorming This is probably the most well-known and widely used techniques for both creative problem solving and idea generation. Brainstorming can generate ideas about a problem within a limited time frame through the spontaneous contribution of participants. An effective approach to brainstorming is to start with a problem statement that is neither too broad nor too narrow. Once the problem statement is clear, a minimum of six and a maximum of twelve individuals are selected to participate. Reverse Brainstorming  This is a group method for obtaining new ideas while focusing on the negatives. In reverse brainstorming criticism is allowed as against the brainstorming approach. The technique is based on finding fault by asking the question “in how many ways can this idea fail”. With the fact that it focuses on the negative aspects of a product or service, the group’s morale must be maintained in the right direction. Brainwriting This is a form of written brainstorming. Brainwriting differs from the classical brainstorming by giving participants more time to think than in brainstorming session, where ideas are expressed spontaneously. Checklist Method In this method, a new idea is developed through a list of related issues or suggestions. The entrepreneur uses a list of questions or statements to guide the direction of developing entirely new ideas or focusing on specific idea areas. The Gordon Method The Gordon method involves developing new ideas when the individuals are unaware of the problem. This implies that group members do not know the exact nature of the problem. The entrepreneur begins by mentioning a general concept associated with the problem. The group thereafter responds by expressing a number of ideas. This can then lead to a concept being developed, followed by related concept through guidance by the entrepreneur. At last, the actual problem is revealed, enabling the group to make suggestion for the implementation or refinement of the final solution. ○ Types of Innovation in Business Breakthrough innovations are innovation that leads to major scientific breakthrough. They often establish the platform on which future innovations in an area are developed. They are usually very few. Breakthrough innovations include such ideas as the computer, the airplane and the internet. Technological Innovation Technological innovations are in general not at the same level as scientific discovery, but they create technological advancement in product and market areas. Examples include jet plane, personal computer, voice and text messaging. Ordinary Innovation This type of innovation occurs most frequently. Ordinary innovation comes from market analysis and they extend a technological innovation into a better product or service or one that has a different, usually a better market appeal. One unique characteristics of ordinary innovation is that the market has a stronger effect on the innovation (market pull) than the technology (technology pull). Areas of Innovation in Business include: 1. Product improvement 2. Process Improvement 3. New business models 4. Market extensions 5. Socio-organizational ○ Defining a New Innovation in Business  ❖ All entrepreneurs must be creative enough to define their products or services with new innovation in such a way that marketing would be easier. ❖ One of the problems faced by entrepreneurs is defining a new product or identifying what is actually new or unique in an idea. A product or service may not be new, but an innovative approach in it delivery or product design can make such a new product or service. Viewpoints of Innovation Innovation can be looked at from two perspectives: 1. Consumer Viewpoint: Customers may see a product as new if there’s a small change in appearance or design, even if the product itself stays the same. 2. Company Viewpoint: From a business perspective, companies may classify their product as new if they make small modifications to the product's look, packaging, or how it’s sold. Companies use innovation to keep their products competitive and attractive to new customers. Even small changes can give an old product a new image. Businesses should always look for ways to reach new markets or refresh their existing products to increase profits. By making minor adjustments, such as changing a marketing message, packaging, or design, a company can give an old product new life. ○ Recognition of Business Opportunities A business opportunity represents a possibility for the entrepreneur to successfully fill a large enough unsatisfied need that can result in enough sales and profits. The ability to recognize a business opportunity is one fundamental quality of a successful entrepreneur and for a growing Business ○ Types of Business Opportunities There are many business opportunities open out there within and around you if you are creative enough to discover them. Opportunities in them need to be discovered not merely at the surface but in-depth. Opportunities could also be created originally from one’s idea, creativity and Innovation. There are many entrepreneur opportunities you could choose. Here is a brief look at different types of business opportunities available: Buy a Franchise This involves having an opportunity to start your business from already set-up business. It is expected that such entrepreneurs buy a franchise opportunity. A franchise is an existing business with a solid business plan and process already in place. An entrepreneur can operate a new business under a recognized business name and receive support from the franchise headquarters with marketing, promotional materials, new business products or services, etc. Good examples of popular franchises are McDonalds and Subway restaurants, home cleaning businesses, 100 bob Store, or fitness centers. Distributorship or Dealership An important business opportunity is with distributorships and dealerships. A distributor is a person or business agent that has an agreement to sell products or services produced by another Company. A dealer is much like a distributor, but gives more focus to a single/specific product or service. As an Auto dealership, he may sell only Toyotas or as an insurance agent, he might consider only life insurance Network Marketing In addition to distributing the product or services offered by the parent company, a network marketer also endeavors to recruit other distributors, hence creating a network of distributors and earning considerable income through residual commission. This approach is also called Multilevel Marketing.  Licensing Licensing is another business opportunity. Opportunity through licensing offers an entrepreneur the right to be creative and invent a product or service, but retaining the name brand, icon or trademark of the widely recognized business. Finding and Filling a Niche Another area where opportunities find attraction to the entrepreneur is in finding or filling a small niche. A niche is small area where a business opportunity is likely to bring profit. The superior idea does not always win. A well-timed product or service has a greater likelihood of success. Marketing the right idea into the right niche at the right time is an awesome combination. ○ Opportunities Analysis Plan ○ Business Opportunities Guide ○ Basic Foundation for Successful Business ○ Opportunity Analysis Plan Opportunity analysis is very important to both the prospective entrepreneur and the existing business owner. Every innovative idea and opportunity should be carefully researched into. This can be done by developing an opportunity analysis plan. An opportunity analysis plan is not the same as a business plan. Its main focus is on the idea and the opportunity for the idea (i.e. market). In layout and presentation, opportunity analysis plan is much shorter than the business plan. The primary objective of an opportunity analysis plan is to serve as a basis for the decision to either act on the opportunity or wait until another better opportunity comes. Generally an opportunity analysis plan consists of four sections as described below: The Idea and its competition In this section, the product or service needs to be described in as much detail as possible. There is also the need to have a prototype or schematic of the product so that a full understanding of all aspect and features of the product is attained. There is also the need to identify and list all competitive product and competitive companies in the market. Finally the new product/service idea should be compared with at least three competitive products/services that are most similar in filling the market needs. The Market and the Opportunity The opportunity analysis plan addresses the size and the nature of the market. There will be need to collect market data (i.e. secondary data – published) for at least the past three years so that a trend is identified for the overall industry, overall market, the market segment and the target market. Entrepreneur and Team Assessment The entrepreneur together with a team should be involved in the opportunity analysis process. It is advisable that at least one person on the team must have enough experience in the industry area of the new idea. This is one factor that correlates with the probability of success of the business. The Next steps (How to achieve and implement) The last section of an opportunity analysis plan delineates the crucial steps that must be taken to make the idea a reality in the marketplace. The steps must be clearly identified and stated in sequential order, together with the time frame and money needed for each. ○ Business Opportunity Guide Below are business opportunities guide for prospective and existing entrepreneur. 1. Create a Business/Service from your passion, talents, skills & natural endowment 2. Create a Business/Service solving peoples’ problems. 3. Create a Business/Service from the questions people ask 4. How can I avoid carryovers during my stay in the university? 5. Create a Business/Service from your personal experiences 6. Create a Business/Service from seasonal opportunities, economic opportunities, crisis opportunities etc. 7. Create a Business/Service to improve on an existing business/service. ○ Basic Foundation for a Successful Business The basic foundation of every endeavor is very important and cannot be overemphasized. You desire the much needed assistance for all the information you need to start your own business; To start a new business, there are basic foundations that must be laid. Becoming self-reliant and be self-employed is not as very difficult as you might think. Your dream to become a business owner or an entrepreneur can be achieved if you follow the right path. All depends on the concept of hard work, brain work, persistence, perseverance, creativity and innovation. These ingredients are part of the basic foundation for successful entrepreneurship. If you are ready to play the game according to rules and do what successful people do, you can achieve your financial freedom.