Module 1 – Case

INNOVATIVE ORGANIZATIONS Assignment Overview This Case Assignment introduces you to reviewing literature that is focused on an innovative organization and how innovation provides competitive advantage. You will find and review several papers or works of literature, including an organization’s website and related documents. And you will review literature that pertains to this organization’s industry. The final part of this assignment is to compare or benchmark the specific organization to the industry. How to benchmark an organization to the industry Decide what data are available and what is relevant. You may not be able to get all of the data you want. When benchmarking in the DSP Chapter 2, the most relevant data are about the research problem and research questions. Search for data about the organization. Use the organization’s website and any documents or webpages that provide information about the products and services, its mission, how long it has been in business, its management or leadership personnel, the organizational structure (specifically how the key departments are structured), financial data, growth data, and strategy. What data are available that provides evidence of the specific research problem? You may also find information about the organization in news articles and other websites. Determine in which industry the organization is situated. Search for data about the industry. IBISWorld is a good resource, and it is available in Trident’s library. Collect data that is provides information about the industry that you can compare to the organization, i.e., data about products and services, general organizational structures, financial data (revenues and profitability), and growth potential. Benchmark the organization to the industry. After you have reviewed the key data and information about the organization and industry, compare. This can be done in a table. Be sure to explain and discuss the table. Point out significant ways in which the organization is better or worse than the industry. Do these differences contribute the research problem? If you cannot find overall industry data for benchmarking, search for regional data, or data about a major competitor, or data that might be available from the industry’s trade organization, which usually has a website. You may have to be creative to find relevant data for benchmarking. If you are having issues with this, contact your course professor. Case Assignment Choose one of the following innovative organizations: Tesla, Netflix, or Teledoc Health. Go to the organization’s website and search for information about this company and what makes it innovative. You may need to search through the website to find specific webpages and documents that discuss the company, its organization, and innovative products and/or services and how innovation provides a competitive advantage. Search for one more literature item that discusses the company and how it is innovative. Then review this literature and discuss what it says about the organization. This literature item should discuss the innovative aspects of the organization and its competitive advantage. Find literature about this organization’s industry. One good source for this is IBISWorld, which is included in Trident’s library. Review the literature about the industry and discuss how innovation is important to this industry. After reviewing the literature about the organization and the industry, write a section with the topic Benchmarking and compare the organization to the industry. Case Assignment Expectations Length: The written component of this assignment should be 4-7 pages long (double-spaced) without counting the cover page and reference page. Organization: Subheadings should be used to organize your paper according to the questions. Grammar and Spelling: While no points are deducted for minor errors, assignments are expected to adhere to standard guidelines of grammar, spelling, punctuation, and sentence syntax. Points may be deducted if grammar and spelling impact clarity. We encourage you to use tools such as grammarly.com and proofread your paper before submission. As you complete your assignment, make sure you do the following: Answer the assignment questions directly. Stay focused on the precise assignment questions. Do not go off on tangents or devote a lot of space to summarizing general background materials. Use evidence from your readings to justify your conclusions. Cite at least five credible resources.