Midtermtest Creativity and Innovation
1. Choose one of the top 10 most innovative Companies attached.
2. Show and explain the innovation of the company those on
a) technology
b) process
c) the product / service
d) business model
3. Make suggestions or predictions of future innovations to the company concerned.
1. Choose one of the top 10 most innovative Companies attached.
NIKE – just do it.
NIKE is an American sporting goods company, which belongs to one of the world’s most prominent suppliers for the industry. Two great visionaries believed they could revolutionize the design and sales of sport shoes. They were right. The idea became Nike, the largest sportswear manufacturer in the world. The company was founded in 1964 by Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight first under the name “Blue Ribbon Sports”. Phil Knight was a talented middle-distance runner from Portland and Bill Bowerman was a nationally respected track and field coach at the University of Oregon, who was constantly seeking ways to give his athletes a competitive advantage. Then in 1971, “Blue Ribbon Sports” was renamed in Nike. The name comes from the Greek goddess of victory Nike. She lived with Zeus on Olympus. In antiquity they flew back and forth from their mountain down to help the Greeks, when they went into battle. NIKE and the belief in the success motivates to high performance. Today the winners will also “inspired” from NIKE. The main focus of NIKE is the design, development and distribution of high quality sports equipment. This includes shoes, clothes, sports equipment and tools, and accessories. The Group is one of the largest distributors of sports shoes and clothing, and markets its products through distributors and retailers, brand stores, over the Internet and various intermediaries in over 170 countries around the world. The different products in the range are produced by external contractors, mostly outside the U.S. Equipment are made both outside and in the U.S.. In cooperation with the subsidiaries and investments NIKE covers a wide range of sports segment. The subsidiaries of NIKE include Cole Haan, Converse Inc., Hurley 999, Umbro Corp. or Savier, Inc. In addition, the Group also manufactures sports goods of different lifestyle products, which depend heavily on the sporty style of the professional range. Headquarters is Beaverton, Oregon
2. Show and explain the innovation of the company those on
a) Technology
The “age of abundance” is over. Conspicuous consumption, wanton waste of natural resources, cheap energy – those days are long gone. In this new world, resources are scarce, and sustainability is a business imperative.
Nike had a deep look at what they need to make process in this new world. One key is: Focus on materials. The choice of materials for their products has environmental implications – implications for water, land, energy and chemical use. Nike wants to take an active role in defining the future of materials. They focus on:
- What materials they use – more recycled and recyclable materials
- Better processes – exploring new ideas of processing with less energy, water, chemicals or waste
- Better choices – creating and applying indexes, restricted substance lists, policies and better ways of operating
- Bringing choices to scale – increasing the scale and availability of new material choices
Innovate
Furthermore NIKE’s corporate responsibility strategy comes from insights they have gained from their experience with innovation. The last three years, NIKE used the new insights to experiment with innovative sustainability solutions. Their long-term vision for Considered is to design products using the fewest possible materials, designed for easy disassembly and capable of being recycled into new products.
b) Process
For NIKE it’s not only about getting better at what they do, it’s more about pursuit for the best, creating value for the business and innovating a better world.
NIKE focus on six impacts:
Energy and climate
The Climate change, it’s nothing new. Global warming is a big issue to handle in our world today. NIKE is reducing the own contributions toward climate change. That’s a primary aim of their sustainability strategy. They want to drive innovation, collaboration and public policy advocacy to deliver carbon reductions across the value chain.
Employment
NIKE had some bad critics in the past about their behavior towards the employee. They were judged because of the bad work conditions. Now they got for a new aim to improve the work conditions in their footwear, apparel and equipment supply chains. They are working with contract factories to build their human resources management skills and help them reach higher levels of economic, social and environmental performance.
Chemistry
NIKE wants to make their products in any ways that protect the workers, consumers and the environment. One point of this is to reduce, eliminate and responsibly manage chemicals in their supply chain.
Water
Water is a low available in the world. NIKE has set itself the task to produce materials with less water and helping material providers to reduce their water-related impacts. They also want to give clean water back to the communities.
Waste
NIKE wants to achieve producing with less waste left. They want to reduce the waste of packaging, shipping material and product sample. Furthermore, they set itself the aim to also reduce the manufacturing waste, such as scrap fabric, leather and rubber.
Community
NIKE believes in a strong human potential. They focus on the development of their employees with focused areas of impact through innovation, partnership, advocacy and movement making.
NIKE has to find answers to business challenges. Innovators have to create new ways to recycle and reduce waste and turn into new products. Designers must look at new sustainable raw materials.
c) Product
NIKE is the world’s leading innovator in athletic footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories. They have a very huge sports variety. You can categorize them into 10 specific parts:
NIKE cooperates with Stüssy to bring authentic street style to any terrain.
NIKE designed a lot of athletic clothes for harsh weather and water resistance.
For their Basketball collection, they have a contract with the famous basketball player Lebron James Diamond.
In the history of NIKE’s products they opens first-ever football store to serve football athletes with the best products for the game.
The Football (Soccer) collection is the most famous of NIKE’s products. Many famous soccer players all over the world have a contract with NIKE to represent their brand.
NIKE has also a lot of clothes designed for every kind of sports.
Some of the greatest tennis-players are in contract with NIKE, like Roger Federer or Serena Williams. They represent NIKE as the best brand for sports.
NIKE has also a category only for woman. The organize a lot of marathons for woman for donation in cancer research.
Most innovative product of NIKE is the Fuelband ‘Ice’ and the Sportwatch GPS Collection. They help during sports to know its limitations and to go beyond its limits.
d) Business model
OUR MISSION:
TO BRING INSPIRATION AND INNOVATION TO EVERY ATHLETE IN THE WORLD*
*IF YOU HAVE A BODY, YOU ARE AN ATHLETE
Transnational Company
NIKE is aimed at local adaptability with the advantages of a global Coordination to unite through a network of resources and capabilities. In this act, the individual national business units to a certain extent independent of funding. This will enable individual Branches according to their core competencies or national benefits in the interest of entire group specialize. The Headquarter is coordinating this interacting network of companies. In such transnational companies a cross-border value chains can be established and combined with the benefits of individual sites.
Organization of NIKE
NIKE invested a sustainable business model that is called Sustainable Business and Innovation (SB&I). They figured the SB&I from different separate functions: the former Corporate Responsibility team, and the Lean, Energy and Compliance teams that work with the suppliers.
The strategy focus on three aspects:
- Sustainable products
- Sustainable manufacturing
- Sustainable marketplace
The Report of the SB&I is reported to the vice president of Sustainable Business and Innovation, who reports directly to the NIKE CEO and to the Corporate Responsibility Committee of the Board Directors.
Strategy of NIKE
NIKE wants to get into a sustainable economy. They have three main focuses how to get there:
- Innovate to deliver enterprise-level sustainability solutions
- Integrate sustainability into the heart of the NIKE business model
- Mobilize key constituents (civil society, employees, consumers, government and industry) to partner in scaling solutions
For Nike Innovation is the heart of their business growth strategy. They focus since a long time to be better and helping to create the world’s most innovative products for consumer all over the world. This same philosophy and determination is driving change in how they approach corporate responsibility in today’s marketplace. To be the leading athletic brand in the world – today and into the future – they have to deliver innovative new products and experiences in a more sustainable way. Nike believes in the universal power of sport to create positive social change, to build teamwork, leadership, self-confidence and fitness, and to break down barriers such as discrimination and racism. And their slogan “Just do it” is not only for marketing purposes, but they also fixed component of the company’s internal structure because the staff is delegated responsibility by the staff is a high degree of initiative expected. So a company’s success is primarily due to the successful development of its own corporate culture and brand system. Nike’s corporate culture is the personality, the pursuit of his very personal brand. With this culture they are very successful.
3. Make suggestions or predictions of future innovations to the company concerned.
The game has changed, forever.
NIKE has set ambitious targets: By 2011, all the shoes meet to the “Considered” standards: Lower pollution, eco-friendly materials and full of innovations, such as water-based adhesives. By 2015, all the clothes should follow and until 2020, all of the NIKE products. Anyone can see that NIKE is on an educational way: The first “Considered” Shoe-saw right from eco, the new models are designed, how you just wish for sneakers. Whether the Pegasus 25 running shoe (the best-selling running shoe), the Air Jordan XX3, or free hybrid.
Michael Braungart advised Nike for this plan already in the nineties and helped in the selection of non-polluting materials. Why is the whole then called “Considered” and not Cradle to Cradle? Because NIKE would have to pay royalties, and there were differences over the contract. Now the sneaker producer from Oregon convert the “cradle to cradle” principles without any label. This includes a comprehensive recycling program, wherein a new sports ground floors is making out of old shoes, as well as the intention to be carbon neutral by 2017. One can only hope that not only the Nike shoes are copied, but also the “Considered” principles.
In my opinion, NIKE has to face with different problems of their innovations, like environmental problems. The material resources of the world are getting less and rising energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions lead to increasing pressure on traditional production and manufacturing. Their challenge is now to innovate consistently and systemically throughout their business; the circle from the beginning of designing to manufacturing to marketplace to recycling and reusing and to bring discipline and focus on systematic change. They can’t achieve this alone and have to get new partnerships and collaborations to find creative solutions. That also will take new models of innovation, new forms of collaboration, new financial instruments and new business approaches. NIKE has to change some points in their public policy because the company is among others accused in the “Black Company” of exploitation, child work and other abuses supplier factories. But above this, their vision is clear: to thrive in a sustainable economy where people, profit and planet are in balance. Over the past few years NIKE has achieved really much success and is now the dominance in the in the field of sporting goods manufacturer.
Sources:
http://www.nike.com/
http://shoes.about.com/od/athleticshoes/a/nike.htm
stephanieschuessler 