Futuring and Innovation: Relevance of Failed Plans

The aerospace industry is rife with companies that intended well but encountered unexpected challenges due to external factors such as new technologies, shifting markets, the emergence of a more agile rival, and so forth.

Discussion

There have been many studies done on what makes new products successful. Most of these studies have employed a 'matched-pair' methodology, an experimental design in which study scenarios are matched depending on essential factors or shared qualities relevant to the investigated issue. This aids business managers in distinguishing good practices from bad ones and considering other aspects. Several aspects can determine the success or failure of a product:

  • Competitive advantage
  • Market understanding
  • Comprehensive product definition
  • Risk evaluation
  • Product classification
  • Project assets
  • Execution ability
  • Senior leadership and management support

With the best-laid plans and intentions, however, one must consider the potential tripwires or obstacles that must be anticipated in order to manage a team successfully. Everyone has witnessed a team that "went awry." A team's ability to innovate is hindered when one person's way of thinking is prioritized above all others. Sometimes, a set of rules or principles can serve as a guidepost for a team as they grow. (Isaksen & Tidd, 2006) has uncovered several common threads that can be used by team designers, leaders, and facilitators. The authors studied several organizational work groups and concluded that some seemingly minor aspects if ignored in the administration of teams, tend to impair a team's capability to function.

It is simple to regard everyone as a team while leading a group. Managing a group's power is tricky. How much autonomy can this group have? Those who put together teams often "overmanage" them by detailing the desired results and how to attain them. The destination, activity, or boundaries should be set, but the group should work out how to get there (Tidd & Bessant, 2021).

Companies do not always give teams the resources they need to achieve ambitious goals. Successful teams need a rewards system that recognizes and encourages teamwork. They need team-relevant tools and skills training, and excellent information. Great team performance also depends on having enough money and supplies. Simply calling a group a "team" does not ensure they will get the needed resources. Technical ability, domain-specific knowledge, and relevant experience and talents may explain a person's participation in a group. However, they are rarely the only skills needed to participate effectively in a team context. All team members require teamwork instruction (Tidd & Bessant, 2021).

Boeing's mistakes

At the start of 2013, Boing's breakthrough 787 airplane had a slew of issues, and the fleet was grounded due to fires caused by overheated lithium-ion batteries. Denning (2013) examines how the corporation controlled the risks of innovation and how outsourcing contributed to this risk. According to his study, which includes press accounts and public internal papers, the author argues that Boeing's troubles with the 787 Dreamliner, which resulted in its grounding, may be attributed to how it handled outsourcing in the United States and elsewhere. According to the study, the 787 included more than just the outsourcing of a well-known technology. It required critical technological breakthroughs never seen in an airplane. Offshoring is unavoidable when producing a complicated product like an airplane. However, the cultural and linguistic barriers and the physical distances involved in a long supply chain generate extra hazards. Mitigating them necessitates extensive and ongoing communication with suppliers and on-site presence, which incurs additional costs. The author provides advice for corporate executives considering outsourcing significant technology developments.

Sociotechnical system and plan

The mistakes made at Boeing concerning developing the 787 Dreamliner are most relevant to my proposed sociotechnical plan. The concept of a sociotechnical system (abbreviated as STS) is an intellectual tool that can help businesspeople detect patterns in how technology is utilized and produced. The identification of these patterns will assist us in analyzing the ethical challenges related to technology and its social structure. A sociotechnical system combines humans and technology. It is, in reality, a far more sophisticated concoction. Many of the objects that may be found in an STS are listed below:

  • Hardware
  • Software
  • Physical surroundings
  • People
  • Procedures
  • Laws and regulations
  • Data and data structures

Within every sociotechnical system, changes can occur over time. An STS's components are entirely changeable, allowing for modification over time. It is known by customizable that specific things in an STS can vary over time and that even among those items, the configuration of one element can change. A sociotechnical strategy for a technical writing consultancy in the aerospace sector is being prepared for the objectives of this study. This consulting firm (TechCoaches Information Systems Design) will assist a large air-frame manufacturer by creating and maintaining technical documentation, maintenance methods, and spare parts databases.

In terms of a sociotechnical system, if the business gains access to the internet or as additional engineers, writers, and artists begin to utilize the facility to generate documentation for aeronautical products, the specific mix of hardware and software inside the organization may vary. However, this shift may also be represented in changes in method (for example, regulations governing access to specific sites), people (someone may need to act as editor in approving or disapproving sites), and data (downloaded software, spare parts data, technical drawings, and reference content on the machines hard drives).

In the case of developing a sociotechnical plan for TechCoaches Information Systems Design, the Boeing scenario involves a sociotechnical system (and individual plan) that is quite relevant. After all, TechCoaches Information Systems Design will be a crucial component in the 787 Dreamliner supply chain.

At the start of 2013, Boing's breakthrough 787 airplane had a slew of issues, and the fleet was grounded due to fires caused by overheated lithium-ion batteries. The purpose of research by Denning  (2013) is to examine how the corporation controlled the risks of innovation and how outsourcing contributed to this risk. According to this study, which includes press accounts and public internal papers, the author argues that Boeing's troubles with the 787 Dreamliner, which resulted in its grounding, may be attributed to how it handled outsourcing in the United States and elsewhere. According to the study, the 787 included more than just the outsourcing of a well-known technology. It required critical technological breakthroughs never before seen in an airplane.

Conclusion

Offshoring is unavoidable when producing a complicated product like an airplane. However, the cultural and linguistic barriers and the physical distances involved in a long supply chain generate extra hazards. Mitigating them necessitates extensive and ongoing communication with suppliers and on-site presence, which incurs additional costs. These forces are sure to affect the sociotechnical plan of TechCoaches Information Systems Design. It is anticipated that a large portion of the workforce will be offshored. The value of the work done by Denning (2013) provides a compendium of advice for corporate executives considering outsourcing significant technology developments.

References

Denning, S. (2013). What went wrong at Boeing. Strategy & Leadership, 41(3), 36-41. https://doi.org/10.1108/10878571311323208

InterFocus. (2021, December 14). Some of the greatest scientific breakthroughs have been accidentally discovered from within a laboratory. My New Lab Website: https://www.mynewlab.com/blog/accidental-scientific-discoveries-and-breakthroughs/

Isaksen, S., & Tidd, J. (2006). Meeting the innovation challenge: Leadership for transformation and growth. Wiley, 2006; J.R. Hackman, ed., Groups that work (and those that don’t): Creating conditions for effective teamwork. San Francisco: Jossey Bass, 1990. In J. R. Hackman, Meeting the Innovation Challenge: Leadership for transformation and growth. Wiley, 2006; J.R. Hackman, ed., Groups that work (and those that don’t): Creating conditions for effective teamwork. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

Tidd, J., & Bessant, J. R. (2021). Managing innovation: Integrating technological, market, and organizational change (7th. ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

 

 

 

 

 

 


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