Largo Corporation Technology Innovation Case Study Paper

Technology Innovation TI
TI Case Study Description
Background of the Corporation
Largo Corporation is a major multinational conglomerate corporation which specializes in a wide array of products and services.These products and services include healthcare, finance, retail, government services, and many more.The annual revenue is about $750 million and it has about 1,000 employees.The parent company is located in Largo, Maryland and its subsidiaries are headquartered throughout the United States.
The mission of the corporation is to bring the best products and services to people and businesses throughout the world so they can then realize their full potential.
The corporate vision guides every aspect of their business to achieve sustainable, quality growth:
Productivity: Be a highly effective, lean and fast-moving organization.
People: Be a great place to work where people are inspired to achieve their maximum potential.
Partners: Nurture a winning network of customers and suppliers, together we create mutual, enduring value.
Responsible: Be a responsible citizen that makes a difference through ethical behavior.
Revenue: Maximize long-term return while being mindful of our overall responsibilities.
The company’s culture is reflected in their corporate values:
Leadership: Courage to shape a better future.
Collaboration: Leverage collective intelligence.
Accountability: Own up to your responsibility.
Passion: Committed to excellence.
Diversity: Provide new perspectives into our business.
Quality: We will want quality as part of our brand.
The corporation consists of the parent company and the following subsidiaries:
Healthcare – Suburban Independent Clinic, Inc. (medical services)
Finance – Largo Capital (financial services)
Retail – Rustic Americana (arts and crafts), Super-Mart (office products)
Government Services – Government Security Consultants (information security)
Automotive – New Breed (electric cars)
Systems Integration – Solutions Delivery, Inc. (communications)
Media Design – Largo Media (website and app design)
The organization is headed by CEO Tara Johnson who completed her Master’s degree at UMUC and eager to make worthwhile improvements to the corporation.She rose through the ranks of Largo Corporation starting with systems integration, then retail and her last position before becoming CEO was in finance.
The corporation is in a highly competitive environment so the CEO wants savvy employees at many levels to make wise judgments and take an aggressive approach and deliver results towards improving the bottom line yet maintaining corporate social responsibility.
Corporate Issues
Ms. Johnson is very concerned about the outlook of her company. Revenues recently declined and she felt that the organization needed a transformation for the company to do well over the long term. In thumbing through some readings she was inspired when she uncovered the following:
We live in a business world accelerating at a dizzying speed and teeming with ruthless competition. As most of the tangible advantages of the past have become commoditized, creativity has become the currency of success.A 2010 study of 1,500 CEOs indicated that leaders rank creativity as No. 1 leadership attribute needed for prosperity. It’s the one thing that can’t be outsourced; the one thing that’s the lifeblood of sustainable competitive advantage.
Unfortunately, most companies fail to unleash their most valuable resources: human creativity, imagination, and original thinking. They lack a systematic approach to building a culture of innovation, and then wonder why they keep getting beaten to the punch. (Linkner, 2011)
One issue that can be addressed with original thinking is how to reduce energy consumption across IT and the business as a whole. With escalating energy cost, this represents a low hanging fruit for successful innovation.
She decided to establish a team responsible for an innovation proposal that would address these concerns.
You have been chosen by the CEO as the “Innovation Team” leader.All members of the team need to understand the process of environmental scanning and technology trend scanning in order to identify innovative technologies that allow the corporation to respond to dynamic changes in the global marketplace. Further, she has directed you to provide solutions robust enough to address unforeseen market choices and demand. Hence, you should always allow for serendipitous discoveries, that is, ideas that you stumble across which have potential future benefits which may not be immediately aligned with the current mission.
This learning activity establishes your understanding of how innovation is accomplished in an organizational environment. As you quickly discover, innovation hinges on providing an environment that nurtures and values creativity and innovation. Fresh ideas often arise from solving problems nagg