Mars,+Incorporated+Case

**Reading: ** Bouquet, C., Birkinshaw, J. &Ken, M. (February 2010). Mars, Incorporated: Building an innovation system. //Harvard Business Review.// Boston: BP. **Who: ** Due to Mars is facing innovaion program problem, the president and team are involved in solving the problems. The team members are including; - Groebl Morel, President of Mars - Rob Berrington, Vice President in Research and Development - Enrico Wolters, Vice President of Personal and Organization - All ambassadors and managment. **Immediate Issue/Problem Being Faced: ** Marketing and product problems: Expanding into south central Europe, showing growth with locally developed initiatives. The innovation program is not perfect in use with Mars CE, it is getting stalled instead of pushing company into success. Internal Problem The main problem still comes from fear and confusion in innovation, lack of communication and drive company with different goals. The company still lacks formal processes when evaluating and promoting ideas from ambassadors and their team**.** **Basic Issues: ** Mars needs to expand their product base in other regions, they also must specialize their products to specific regions. they also wanted to see growth by new product innovation in other markets such as pet food, ect. -Mars started company with innovation since first. They did not focus only innovation on their product (stop chocolate melting), but management, marketing and organization. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">-In 2006, Mars is reaching $22 billion of sale; however, they are getting have many problems since then. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">-Groebl, try to reorganization and fix the problem, but there are so many problems connected to each other. In 2008, Innovation progress started to stall. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">-Chyla, director of innovation, departure in March 2009. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">-Groebl and his team was thinking what is the next step they should do/go in order to make company strong and stable. **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Urgency/Importance: ** <span style="display: block; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px; text-align: left;">This is fairly urgent because if they do not capture this market another company could take over and it would be difficult for Mars to enter the market and be an efficient competitor.<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Also, what should Groebl and his team do in order to make the company more stronger and more stable. **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Decision Criteria: ** <span style="display: block; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px; text-align: left;">1. Can Mars afford to lose their market share, as expansion is key to any company. Alternatively it can lead to the failure of companies as well if they try to expand too quickly and fail to do it effectively.2. Are the expenses of developing and expanding new products and different kind of products worth the potential risks and rewards?3. Mars was operating with innovation program since 1990, but the program seems to have many gaps which can make the company company unstable. What should be the next step in order to drive company to success? **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Alternatives: ** **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">- **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Mars could simply maintain the status quo with the products that have already brought them success and develop new products for those markets rather than trying to adopt new products for new markets. if this type of specialization does not work all the research and development costs would be lost and could cause problems to the Mars enterprise. <span style="display: block; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px; text-align: left;">- Mars' management team should have a meeting to plan and rearrange priorities in what should be changing in near future. Because they are driving the company into confusion and lack a good system, they should all meet and communicate their mission, innovation program and management system in the same way. - As the problem that they have in measurement process, Mars should set the way to measure innovation and management progress daily. Also, they should have a bi-weekly meetings to communicate about this progress in order to make sure that company are driving in the same way. **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Missing Information: ** <span style="display: block; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px; text-align: left;">- Mars case study provide all five principles in shape culture and eight steps innovation program, but they did not show how it work? They have the topic, but how Chyla, innovator director, really do and comunicate with their management team. - During twenty century untill present, they are always having the problem along the ways such as management are fear to fail in driving innovaton, the operation still lack of push from top management, the resource was limited and so on. However, the case did not provide information that what is the company or management team do with this situation, or how do they fix it? or did they fix it at all? **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Assessment of Alternatives: ** <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">1, Mars could lose customer loyalty with their current customers if they use most of their resources and time to develop this new product their existing products could suffer. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Pros <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">-Expand new products in the new market <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">-opportunity to gain more customers and make company more stronger. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Cons <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">-Might loss their loyalty customer <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">2, Mars’s management team should have a meeting plan and rearrange priorities in what should be changing in near future. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Pros <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">-All meeting at one, so everyone will be the same page. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">-More organize and systematic, <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Cons <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">-Consume more time and cost <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">3, Mars should have measurement progress daily and bi-weekly meeting. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Pros <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">-More organize and systematic <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">-Having measurement progress in order to keep up the progress of innovation <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Cons <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">-Too specific <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">-Time consuming, and more costly <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">4, Maintain the status quo. Develop new products for existing market rather than adopt new products for new markets. <span style="font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Pros <span style="font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">-Mars has a relatively complete risk management system to existing market, in other words, the risk controlling capability of existing should be better than new markets. <span style="font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">-Develop new products for existing market that contribute to control or reduce marketing costs and expenses.
 * __<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 18px;">Case Analysis Template __**

<span style="font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Cons <span style="font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">-That would lead to lose the initiative of new market. **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Selection of Preferred Alternative: ** <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">In marketing and product, Mars should stay with the products that have brought them success moving into the dog food and specialized products may not be the best idea when we here Mars we think chocolate and associating dog food or something along those lines with Mars may not be the best decision. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">In management team, they should use both alternatives in order to let everyone in the company understand the same thing, and brainstorm helping the company out of the problem. **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Assumptions: ** <span style="display: block; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;">- Mars will use to much of their resources on creating new products while their customers will suffer.-All internal problems since twenty century were fix every time that the problem occur.- During the critical time that Mars have the problem in resources and management in innovation ways, their team still drive Mars to stable and have less problem. **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Action/Implementation Plan: ** <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">In marketing and product: <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Develop new products in the field that has brought them success in the past rather than expanding into seemingly unrelated fields that they do not have that much experience in. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">In management operation system;Shortly – Groebl Morel, Vice President of Mars CE, should have a meeting with all management team and ambassadors in order to rearrange what priority should they do or change first? What is the problem? and how to fix it? Also, assign main responsible in each task, measure the progress, and communicate bi-weekly.Long-term - continue develop innovation program by look at the progress closely. Try to see the gap or the potential problem, and fix it.