B339: Hydra Inc. is an Established local Multinational Company that Specialises in Oral: Organisational Development and Change Management Assignment, RP, Singapore

Assignment Brief:

• Apply a suitable system archetype to describe Hydra’s strategy to grow its revenue through its products.
• Apply Design Thinking and SCAMPER as problem-solving methods to develop the Power X4. Recommend a suitable consultant to lead an initiative to develop new and innovative products.
• Create a project plan for the manufacturing of this new toothbrush. Evaluate the project status report.
• Format, including Structure/ Organisation, Clarity, Grammar & Spelling Coherence and logical flow of ideas
• IndividualReflection

Background:

Hydra Inc. is an established local multinational company that specializes in oral hygiene products, including toothpaste, toothbrushes, electric toothbrushes, and mouthwashes. The company invests heavily in research and development and has many patents, a lot of confidential and proprietary information. In recent years, the company faced strong competition and has seen a drop in its revenue. To address the decrease in revenue, the company started to launch more products. Hydra hoped to increase its revenue by expanding the range of products offered.

Starting in 2017, Hydra launched its first electric toothbrush, Power X1, followed by Power X2 in 2018, and Power X3 in 2019. Each newly launched toothbrush had additional functions to showcase the latest technology that the company was capable of.

While these toothbrushes did bring in additional revenue when they were just launched, the functions offered in Power X1, Power X2, and Power X3, were not what the customers were looking for in an electric toothbrush. The customers were dissatisfied with all the 3 electric toothbrush models. As a result, after 3 to 5 months following the launch of each new electric toothbrush, Hydra’s revenue continued to fall. Their customer base started to shrink which eventually led to a further decrease in their revenue.

At the start of May 2020, Melvin assigned a Project Manager to work on developing a new electric toothbrush, i.e. Power X4, which was to be launched by the end of December 2020. Melvin wanted the project team to study the results of the 2019 customers’ survey on an electric toothbrush. He was also eager to adopt the Internet of Things (IoT) technology into the Power X4, as well as include an app for the toothbrush so that consumers could have an electric toothbrush with more functions. A budget of $180,000 was allocated for the Power X4 project. He stressed that the company’s future survival in the market would be dependent on the success of the Power X4. As such, he wanted to have regular updates on the status of the project.

For Hydra to be a market leader, the company needed to launch innovative products that could capture new segments of the market. Apart from using market surveys, Melvin was keen to explore other ways in which the company could identify and develop new innovative products through a consultant.

Based on the concepts learned from this module and additional information given in the exhibits below, work on the following:

a. Apply a suitable system archetype to describe Hydra’s strategy to grow its revenue through its products.

• Reinforcing: The increased range of products generates a customer base which in turns increases revenue
• Balancing: Which system archetypes the best cover? -> type of system archetype (6 of them) choose one that best fits then dive in reinforcing and balancing Made up of several loops,

b. Apply Design Thinking and SCAMPER as problem-solving methods to develop the Power X4.Recommend a suitable consultant to lead an initiative to develop new and innovative products. (16 marks)

Empathize: Through the survey, Hydra could understand more about toothbrush users and the problems they face through these questions.

• What are the most common issues users face when using an electric toothbrush?
• What are some key features that users would look for in an electric toothbrush?

Define: From the results collected by toothbrush users in the survey, Hydra found out that

Organizing and analyzing the research information to produce a concise problem statement and possible solution or hypothesis.

Ideate: The brainstorming phase. Designers think of a wide variety of possible solutions and evaluate each one.

Prototype: Turning ideas into a physical representation of the product that will solve the user’s needs, slowly adding greater detail and complexity as designers move between testing and iteration.

Test: Putting the prototype in the hands of the user and determining whether the product has solved the problem at hand and reduced friction or frustration.

• Prototype: come up with a prototype, appendix, and scenario

Create a project plan for the manufacturing of this new toothbrush. Evaluate the project status report.

Exhibit K: Guiding Questions

• Which is the system archetype that describes Hydra’s strategy to launch new products?
• How can causal loops be used to illustrate the system archetype?
• What are the important considerations in selecting an internal/external consultant to lead a project?
• What are the important considerations for planning and tracking a project to ensure its success?
• What table(s)/chart(s)/network node(s) can be constructed to explain the project plan?
• What risk factors could have a negative impact on the project?
• What analysis can you derive from the project status report?