1) Collaboration is described as the act of working together with one or more people in order to achieve something. The term is used interchangeably with teamworking and partnering and is always connected with words collective and cooperative. In an organizational setting, the description extends merely from the people to specific functions, groups, units and/or departments. The collaborative environment supports collective actions for the purpose of benefiting from a particular system, process or expertise that either parties or all the factions involved could demonstrate and make use of.
As Jac Fitz-Enz puts it, functions are central to collaboration. The conception that ‘together everyone achieves more’ holds true for collaborations. Collaboration could be either observable or unobservable. Observable collaboration happens between groups within the organization. For example, in effort to develop a new marketing strategy, the marketing department would collaborate with the sales department and further collaborate with advertising and promotions department.
Unobservable collaboration transcends beyond the corporate map and the communication systems. It springs from the cultural values and, ironically, becomes the core of it. The author maintains that ‘collaboration is more an ethics than a system. As such, unobservable collaboration is spread around the organization and becomes a sort of ‘silent battlecry’. Put simply, unobservable collaboration is what makes the organization alive.
The value of collaboration is evident on the outcomes of combined efforts, knowledge and proficiency. To wit, collaboration compensates the shortcomings of a particular group through another group. Through this, the organization won’t need to outsource a function since groups could work at it internally and remain intact since external forces could not contaminate the organizational processes.
Since the engaged individual or group of people understand their organizational objectives and purpose, the collaboration between them could generate more efficient, value-centered solutions to their predicaments. The constant close contact between them could effectively melt down barriers, errors and confusion; hence, collaboration could lead to harmonious interactions and better performance.
2) The importance of defining customer requirements, along with competitor activities and market changes, makes sense for high-priority, qualitative input-output and for the development of customer mindshare. The premise embraces the three necessary actions for an effective discovery of customer requirements. These are gathering data and developing the ‘Voice of the Customer’ strategy; developing performance standards and requirements statements; and analyzing and prioritizing requirements and evaluating per business strategies.
To apply the concept and deduce the worth of these specific activities, let’s take the case of a small local car rental company. Let’s assume that I have been employed as their new researcher. My task is to identify the level of customer satisfaction with regards to products and services. Until now the business has been content with gaining feedback only through monitoring of customer complaints and compliments.
I will gather necessary customer data so that I can develop the business’s VOC strategy. Prior to data collection, I will study the nature and trends of this business and its market segment first. I will identify the roles of internal and external customers also. Then choose among the array of traditional and modern data gathering techniques.
I will employ a mix of paper-and-pencil and virtual customer satisfaction surveys. I could use mindshare research to determine customers’ awareness of our products and services and data warehousing and data mining. In addition, I could employ “opt-in” mailing list sign-up forms, email sign-up sheet near cash registers, members-only section in company site, online message boards and tell-a-friend options.
The value of these methods is fundamental to seeking specific data inside and outside the organizational borders that facilitates sound decision-making. The process could also enable us to educate rented car users on how can they identify own car rental needs and how to deliver their concerns regarding services and products. The use of these techniques is critical to satisfy the customers’ needs and expectations through an actual feature-benefit grid.
Next, I will distinguish output and service requirements for our clients. An example of service for the business is the luxury car rental. The requirements would be booking facility, pick-up service, rates and choice of vehicle. The output is the luxury car and the requirements would include navigation system, mileage, engine and convertibility.
The value of this initiative is to develop clear-cut strategies based on these two separate constructs. Monitoring both could deliver improvements and could link strategies that quality of service and output at the center. An effective measure of the two also hones an efficient management of total customer experiences. The organizations could, in a way, shift their focus towards recognizing other areas that should be developed.
Either for output or service, requirement statements should define specific customer necessities. These statements are detailed yet concise, observable and measurable and they link different outputs with moments of truth. And since they establish level of acceptable performance, there would be a possibility for benchmarking employee, products and services performance.
For the car rental business, the moments of truth are the legitimate complaints that include inconvenience through breakdowns and unavailability of the requested vehicle. Example statements for these moments of truth are as follows: Breakdowns will be compensated with upgrades at no cost. When the requested vehicle is unavailable, the company will provide another vehicle of equal capacity and will cancel charges.
The next step is to analyze and categorize the data gathered. The three categories are basic, variable and latent. These are your company’s performance, the ‘accessories” that comes with it and how you can surpass their expectations. The importance of this activity is evident on the employee treatments to the customers’ needs and wants. It also enables the business to distinguish multifaceted customer satisfaction levels and act on it.
3) Radical changes should not frighten people inside an organization. Risk and innovation are now recognized as necessities to survive the volatile marketplace. Organizations, then, must be willing to reorganize to the extent of hacking down old structure and rebuild a different one. The main point is that successful companies are those that are willing to embrace changes and take risks and that those companies wherein employees are punished for risk-taking are therefore not likely to succeed.
One example of a company which embarks on the legacy of innovation as their main source of income is Starbucks. Starbucks Coffee Company ‘provides an uplifting experience through their extraordinary cup of coffee’. The company believed that Starbucks has the position to innovate, execute and focus the entire organization on the customer.
The company had announced earlier this year that they are planning to improve the current state of the US business. Their agenda include refocusing customer experience in the stores, introduction of new products and improving store designs. The company also plans to develop new trainings and tools for their partners (employees).
Starbucks will reallocate resources to key value drivers and re-align the organization and streamline the management to better support customer-focused initiatives. The company also states that they will re-ignite their emotional attachment to their customers and restore customers’ connection with the products, the brand, the people and the stores.
The Company has plans for store-level units in the US as well. They will slow the pace of store opening and will close a number of underperforming US store locations. Outside the US, they will accelerate expansion and increase profitability through redeploying a portion of the capital to international business.
Evidently, there is a clear diffusion of innovation within the company. Starbucks continuously creates awareness inside and outside their confines. They uphold the interest of their people through providing them the necessary expertise and knowledge and building trust on them. They are not neglecting the role of their people to take part in risk-taking as they recognize that their most important asset is their partners.
For their customers, the company never seized to experiment and tinker with new ideas and enveloped them to their financial capability. They are not afraid to adopt many differing strategies. They are always dissatisfied with current systems concerning customers and the company is always future-oriented. The company is risk-driven and it shows on how they mentally anticipate the outcomes of their alternatives.
Bibliography
Fitz-Enz, J. (2005). The 8 Practices of Exceptional Companies: How Great Organizations Make the Most of Their Human Assets. American Management Association. AMACOM Division.
Pande, P. S., Neuman, R. S. & Cavanagh, R. R. (2000). The Six Sigma Way: How GE, Motorola, and Other Top Companies Are Honing Their Performance. McGraw-Hill Professional
Starbucks Reports First Quarter Fiscal 2008 Results. Starbucks Corporation. Retrieved on 6 February 2008 from http://www.starbucks.com/aboutus/pressdesc.asp?id=821
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