WEEK 4

Managing Product and Technological Innovation

Managing Product and Technological Innovation

Introduction

Organisations in this fast competing world of today are constantly faced with the challenge of having a competitive advantage. Innovation in such a time serves as a key strategy for the creation of new markets and for sustaining company growth in the competitive environment of today. Successful companies realise the importance of this strategy for gaining a competitive advantage while those are not attuned to the flow of their respective markets lead to the loss of their place in the market. Managing innovation though does not come without barriers and challenges and thus insights into the innovative potential of a company and the barriers to innovation are essential for making effective proactive strategic choices (Burgelman et.al. 2009, p.8). The purpose of this plan is to take into account the constraints or challenges that the Real Estate Development Investment Department of the Abdullatif Alissa Group Holding Co. face and also to identify the cultural barriers and enablers to innovation, while also providing examples of how these innovation problems could be addressed feasibly.

Context and Background of the Organisation

Abdullatif Alissa Group Holding Co., headquartered in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia since the 1940s, the group is considered to be a pioneer of automotive sales, service, financing and leasing within the Kingdom. The revenue of the group exceeds 4 billion Saudi Riyals while it has a workforce of around 3,000 employees and world-class partners. Run by seasoned management, the group has a respectable position in the Kingdom and is considered to be a benchmark of successful family owned conglomerate while it has been ranked 10th of the 'Top 100 making an Impact in the Arab World' by Forbes.

From its original focus in textiles and food stuff trading, the group started off importing and selling automobiles to Aramco in the 1950s but the interests of the company have now also extended from the Middle East to the Far East in sectors such as real estate, building materials, private equity, venture capital, consumer finance, investment and private banking, manufacturing and services apart from investments in varied asset classes. All these operations of the company are divided into different divisions namely, National General Automotive Co. Al Yusr Instalment, Best Rent a Car, Alissa Information Technology and Investment and Business Development Division (IBDD) and the Real Estate Development Investment Department. The Investment and Business Development Division is the strategic arm of the Group which was created for investing in various sectors and asset classes including new business development, venture capital, green field projects, financial investments and real estate investment and development.

With regard to the real estate division, the Group has a significant portfolio of land and real estate developments in the Kingdom. These properties remain in the process of development for the purpose of selling or for lease purposes which provides long term revenues. The focus of the company is though directed towards developing real estate such as ware houses and workshops amongst ...