The Contact Sensor Project free essay sample

In today’s world Canon has been one of the most innovative high technology companies and has epitomized the business Information products, cameras, optical and other products. Innovation has been a key to Canons success throughout its history. Canon is one of the most prolific inventors of consumer and professional imaging solutions. Between 1989 and 1993, Canon was among the top six companies for total number of patents received annually in United States. The company conducts RD in five centers internationally (UK, US, France and Australia) as well as numerous sites within Japan, and has used globalization, alliances and innovation in a well-coordinated manner. Canon prides itself in being the first to market a number of consumer and personal products that we use in our every day lives. Figure 1 illustrates new products successfully launched by Canon. It is Canon’s strategic focus on innovation that has led them to be a corporate leader and one of the most prolific new product companies. INNOVATION AT WORK: Canon is a leader in both technological as well as corporate innovation. The company adheres to the Japanese philosophy of kyosei, meaning living and working together for a common good. Canon entered Phase III of its Excellent Global Corporation Plan, a mid- to long-term management plan that outlines the company’s vision of continuing to contribute to society through â€Å"technological innovation† in accordance to this philosophy. Using these guiding principles Canon has developed key steps focusing on technical innovation: 1. Management Directive: Top down approach exists, which provides executive support and awareness, as well as accountability for both products and projects. 2. Creating a consensus: Teams must agree on the direction of a product or project before proceeding to the next step. This provides a solid foundation for common goals, increasing team commitment to the project and removing communication barriers. 3. Team Harmony: Canon allows teams to select their team leaders, providing the sense of democracy in the otherwise top-down culture. Teams feel empowered and accountable for their products, increasing each team member’s commitment to the project and the team. 4. Product Focused development: This increases the success rate for the product and sets clear boundaries for the team. The overall product development process can be characterized into three stages: A. Application Oriented Basic Research (Amorphous Silicon) B. Targeting a single product (CS-I) C. Diversification to other products (Copier Machines, Thin Film Transistors, etc. ) 5. Development at country of discovery: The product development is carried out in the country where initial discovery / research took place. It enhances the sense of ownership, leverages the knowledge of the local market and reduces the inter team communication challenges. Figure 2 Canons Global Presence 6. Product Development Methodology: Canon’s methodology lays out pre-defined phases and associated deliverables. The phases (named DA, DB, DC etc. ) provide the structure needed to support the product development processes, and ensure there are checkpoints and evaluations before a decision to proceed to the next phase is made. Figure 3 Comparison of Stage-Gate ® Canons Product Development Guideling There are many similarities between Canon’s product development process and Cooper’s Stage-Gate ® process, including: ? Distinct Serial Phases ?Specific Evaluation / Checkpoints after every single phase ? Channeling of the basic science to new products while harnessing the product innovation. ?Pre-defined parameters to decide continuation or termination to the next stage. However the two processes are not identical and there are some marked differences between the two: ? Cooper’s process includes a distinct stage set out for testing and validation in the stage gate process which is included in various phases of Canon. ?Focus on manufacturing and post production adjustments in Canon’s process. 7. Institutionalized Innovation: In todays hyper-charged business environment, innovation is an integral component to any organizations continued long-term success. For example, to thrive at Google, employees have to learn to work, and to innovate, on a much larger scale. Google has institutionalized policies that allow some of their employees to spend approximately 20% of their time pursuing independent projects of their own choosing, allowing employees to be innovative. KUDOS FOR INNOVATION With an outstanding and crystal-clear focus on innovation, Canon clearly stands out as a candidate for receiving the Outstanding Corporate Innovator (OCI) Award, PDMAs (Product Development and Management Association’s) highest profile programs that is awarded to Companies that are most successful in developing new products. The critical differentiation between Canon and another company that gets the award would be to compare the product developed and extent to which it touches the society. In order to be a candidate of the OCI Award; consideration of the following characteristics must exist: 1. Sustained Success in Launching New Products over a Five-Year Time Frame. Canon’s basic philosophy is that the company has an eternal existence and it will last for one thousand years. Such a company can not be built upon a single product. As illustrated in Figure 1, Canon has launched dozens of new products in last couple of decades. 2. Significant company growth from new product success. Patents are a revealing indicator of technological capabilities. In competition with the world‘s leading companies, Canon has secured a spot among the top three recipients of U. S. patents for the past 15 years, a testament to Canons status as a technology leader. Canon aims to achieve the top position in existing businesses that have supported growth to date. To enhance market competitiveness, Cannon will secure a new technological edge through the development of key components and key devices and the reinforcement of platform technologies. There are also three additional businesses currently under development that will be critical to Canon’s ongoing success: SED, organic LED displays, and projection displays. 3. A defined new product development process, which can be described to others. Canon’s new product development guideline is a generic process defining phases, including elemental research and mass trials, being applied across different geographies (sectors) and product lines. For example, in the imaging area, Canon’s Five Imaging Engines, Image Capture, Electro-photography, Inkjets, Photolithography, and Display, are pillars for enhancing current operations. Similarly, these guidelines can be applied to a cross section of industries and companies. 4. Distinctive innovative characteristics and intangibles. Canon links development and production divisions, promoting concurrent processes to ensure cooperation starting from the initial product concept stage. Early-stage consideration of production processes and identification of problem areas has led to significantly shorter lead times as well as considerable cost reductions. HINDRANCES TO ADOPTING CANON’S NPD GUIDELINES While Canon’s processes have led them to be very successful, these may not work in other corporate cultures. Canon has a rigid, layer corporate hierarchy that may not always breed success. The top down flow of ideas risks fostering resentment among technology engineers and hindering true entrepreneurial thought. Many companies employ a more flat structure to address these issues. Canon’s process would not be prefereable in many small companies with limited financial and human resources. In a small corporate environment, the team dynamics may already be predefined. TAKEAWAYS (FOR NEW PRODUCT MANAGERS): The Canon case illustrates several key guiding principles for new product development: 1. Focus on innovation – Canon’s impressive record of patents ensured there was a pool of technologies that could be used in creating various products which could not be easily duplicated. . Executive focus – Despite being a multi-product, multi-market company, Canon maintains tremendous focus and accountability by having executives champion products and monitor success at various phases, or stopping development at a â€Å"gate†, after review. 3. Diversification – Since Canon is a large company it has the resources to focus on multiple products concurrently. Canon is a great example of a company that went after multiple revenue streams and entered new markets through research, new products and partnerships. CONCLUSION Canon has long been recognized, not only as a leader in the technology field, but also as an innovator and a company competent to successfully deliver new-to-the-world products. Based on Canon’s own corporate vision of being a leading company for a thousand years, they will need to continue to invest heavily in innovation and research and development. However, engineers and human capital alone are not the only requirements, the company also must maintain a strong corporate strategy, a clear vision and a true focus on innovation, so that every level of the organization commits and contributes to this principle.