Outsourcing of Innovation
Consider how organizations should exercise care when implementing alliances that produce innovation without harming the competitive standing of the
alliance partners.
Evaluate ways in which HR can manage the outsourcing of innovation.
Describe the methods HR can use to manage the outsourcing of innovation as a foundation of understanding.
How can HR play a significant role in ensuring that the organization maintains its competitive advantage when managing the outsourcing of innovation?
Provide a brief rationale.
Introduction
China’s Comac is officially known as the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac) is
in the process of producing the company’s first prototype plane which has been christened
Comac C919. Shanghai Y-10 was the first plane produced in China, Comac C919 would be
China’s second plane produced in China but the largest commercial airplane designed and built
in China. It’s scheduled to make its flight in the year 2015 with deliveries scheduled in the late
2016.
Boeing Company is a multinational company that has its headquarters in Chicago, Illinois in the
US. It’s a public company that’s listed in the New York Stock Exchange and it’s a component of
the S & P 500. It deals in the aircraft production and it’s among the world’s largest producers in
the aircraft industry. In the year 2013 it registered a turnover of $81.7 billion sales.
Using the models in the Baloh, et al., article and your additional research, evaluate ways in
which HR can manage the outsourcing of innovation.
Innovation is basically the lifeblood of corporate expansion and competitiveness, sustainable
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growth and value creation in emerging markets. Continuous improvement in services and
product upgrading processes aim at improving the quality and the reliability of the products.
Managing outsourcing innovation as Baloh (2003) indicates, involves the use of information
technology in harnessing all the activities of the innovation outsourcing processes. Computers
have recently become the basis for information interchange in most cultures and communities.
It’s practically possible to perform several tasks simultaneously as the computers have the ability
to process and store large amounts of data. . (Baloh and Trkman , 2003) Integrating information
technology and outsourced human resources operations reflects the importance of human capital
and management new competencies.
Describe the methods HR can use to manage the outsourcing of innovation as a foundation of
understanding
HR can utilize the latest advancement in technology to develop a world class enterprise and
create opportunities for growth and expansion. HR can significantly improve the company’s
effectiveness when its policies and procedures result in qualified staff selection whose
efficiencies in their job specification may lead to improved production and optimized resource
allocation.
How can HR play a significant role in ensuring that the organization maintains its competitive
advantage when managing the outsourcing of innovation? Provide a brief rationale.
In a market where failures, institutional constraints and governance gaps are experienced
nationally and also globally, HR plays a critical role when making strategic options when its
aiming to strengthen its contribution to the alliance while targeting development in order to
achieve larger scales and systematic success in its operations. Careful and coordinated policies
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when engaging outsourcing of innovation in order to monitor and control the activities of the
outsourced process to avoid loss of company secrets and blue prints, compromised standards of
product quality and deliberate sabotage of the alliance success. (Drucker, 1994)
The main aim of most alliances is mostly to intervene and complement the global market
mechanism in creating a sustainable demand oriented product that would provide a suitable and
profitable investment option for both companies. When Boeing and Comac decided to form a
joint venture or partnership when developing the C919, the main target of the alliance was to
develop an airplane that would provide a suitable competition in the commercial passenger air
industry both in China and also globally. The rationale of the whole idea is to have a business
plan and product that can rival the current competitors in the market. The Comac has developed
a plan that has a higher efficiency in fuel consumption and a lower average cost of production
costs.
To conclude, the partnership between Boeing and China’s Comac is a survival move for both
companies to benefit substantially in both markets. Chinese Comac targets the already
established presence of Boeing in the market, its vast resources and also its global goodwill in
the industry. Boeing on the other hand has its eyes set on the larger Chinese market and its
ability of cost reduction in terms of production costs.
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References
Drucker, P. (1994) The theory of business. Harvard Business Review, 75 (Sept – Oct) 95 – 105.
Baloh and Trkman (2003) Influence of internet and information technology on work and Human
resources Management, Informing Science, June 498- 505