Liverpool Virtual University

Master's Degree in Leadership

FINAL WORK

Case. Innovation at Timberland: Thinking Outside the Shoebox

PSYCHOLOGY OF WORK GROUPS

Student:

Gervacio Villeda Nely Leticia

Date:

AUGUST 02, 2020

 INTRODUCTION

Innovation is an important factor in the development of the globalized world. For many years now
it has been pointed out that the economic growth of a country and of its companies. The
following is a list of some of the concepts of what innovation According to (Martínez and
Fernández 2009)

"Innovation is the process by which, from an idea, invention or recognition of a need, a useful
product, technique or service is developed." (Gee, 1981).

"Innovation is the set of activities, inscribed in a certain period of time and place, that lead to the
successful introduction in the market, for the first time, of an idea in the form of new or improved
products, services or management and organizational techniques" (Pavón and Goodman, 1981).

"Innovation is an idea transformed into something sold or used" (Piatier, 1987). According to the
definition included in the third edition of the OECD Oslo Manual (2005),

"Innovation is the introduction to the market of a new, or significantly improved, product (good or
service) of a process, of a new organizational method, in company practices, workplace
organization or external relations."

Innovation is the process that tends to improve the competitive position of companies through the
generation and incorporation of new technologies and knowledge of different types. This process
consists not only of scientific and technological activities, but also of organizational, financial and
commercial ones, capable of transforming the productive and commercial phases of the
companies. Innovation is the basis of the knowledge economy and is also one of the drivers of
globalization. In any case, it turns out that many companies in the world know that exports are of
great importance for business success, which is why the most productive and well-resourced
companies are those that manage to overcome export barriers through innovation.
It should be noted that innovation in companies is born from a set of ideas of both employees and
managers, these ideas are sometimes not implemented for fear of change because there are
already established processes, therefore, they are denied.

Case. Innovation at Timberland: Thinking Outside the Shoebox

 1. Draw up a timeline showing Timberland's 3 big ideas during its trajectory.
 Timberland was established in 1952 by Nathan Swartz
 In 1973 the first private label products and its flagship product, Timberland boots "The
Timberland Company", were launched.
 In 1978 timberland began selling clothing and accessories.
 In 1985, Jeffrey Swartz took over the leadership of the company,
 In 1988 Timberland first met City Year (the company with which he would begin his
community service).
 In 1992, PATH OF SERVICE, Timberland's own community service, was created.
 In 1997 Timberland created its urban line.
 Since 1999, when Fortune named it one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For for the
first time, it has consistently appeared on the list. And in 2004 it was named one of the
best companies for working mothers by Working Mother magazine.
 In the year 2000 Timberland assumes its commitment to environmental, and creates a
department called "Environmental Affairs".
 In 2001 Timberland publishes its first social responsibility report
 In 2006 it launched more environmentally friendly packaging for its footwear, and a label
detailing its green efforts, as well as its environmental and social footprint.
 Since 2008 it has had a line of shoes whose soles are made from Green Rubber, a recycled
tire material. It also received two awards for its efficient use of energy at two of its
branches in New Hampshire, USA.

2. Identify what Innovation Policy has been defined? Please give reasons for your
answer, including an example

Timberland's work in making quality products is shaped by the company's philosophy of Doing well
and doing good, forging important partnerships between employees, customers, consumers and
others to transform the communities in which they live and work.

Timberland makes products that do not harm the environment, it is a 100% sustainable company,
for that reason it innovates in each of its sectors so that its products are environmentally friendly.

3. Elaborate a scheme with the communication process, as well as, a scheme with the
decision making process that allows the efficient work of the teams in the most
demanding environments of innovation in Timberland.
 Comunicación

Juntas ejecutivas

Platicas informales Salas de conexion

Discursos/conferencias despues de las juntas Plenarias
oficiales

Their communication was as follows with lectures and speeches demonstrating with quantitative
and other experience-based data how including services that help the community benefits a
company in multiple ways:

Improved leadership and citizenship skills in employees

Develops workers' sense of belonging.
Staff turnover and consequently recruitment costs,
Improvements in the company's image,
Access to new markets.
Recognition for its work with the community
Healy also held informal discussions, as Healy would follow up with the head of the men's team
and ask him about his concerns and ideas.
 toma de desiciones
Al momento de implentar sus innovacion la marca
paso por el proceso de riesgo.

Adaptacion al cambio.
Recurso financieros escazos
Idear un producto duradero

Buena aceptacion del producto.

lograr una buena relacion entre departamentos.
llevar al limite a los equipos

4. What aspects of organizational culture stand out in fostering creativity and innovation.
Argue your answer and give at least two examples:

Timberlan has a clear commitment to corporate social responsibility based on its corporate values:
humanity, integrity and excellence, one of the successes in its organizational culture is the
commitment of senior management, as well as community service and sustainability.

The president's commitment to his company and also to his employees gives the advantage that
they have the commitment to give their best for the company that treats them with kindness and
understanding. He also motivates his employees, by example, to bring out their human spirit, as he
helps many community projects. The president of this company has the basis of ethics to keep his
integrity and his human aspect clear. He believes in the efficiency of workers, their productivity
and loyalty by providing them with better conditions and treatment in the company. 75% of
employees would like to return to work there.

5. Integrate a table in which you include the types of teams that were formed in
Timberland. Describes their roles, cohesion, norms, and team skills. Write down at
least one example that includes these aspects.
Trans-functional Skills Cohesion Standards
product equipment
Line equipment: Identification with This helped
"owners" determined the specific Timberland
to a single group of consumer and improve its gross
consumers therefore tried to margins and
Equipment: boots. meet their needs. explore efficiencies
Men's casual wear Brand and for its core
equipment. product products.
Women's casual wear management
equipment.
Outdoor performance
equipment.
Children's equipment
Equipment for
professionals and
garments.
Travel equipment
Interdivisional project
team

Assessment and growth Collaborative

team work
Timberland added It created an opportunity to strengthen
production to factories policies and standards for partner factories
in the Far East and to innovate programs to improve workers'
quality of life. In the late 1990s, the company
formalized a Code of Conduct that embodied
Swartz's philosophy of "doing good and doing
well" and clearly defined the performance
expectations of potential business partners.
They also created an assessment tool to rate
the environmental performance of each of
Consumer-focused their tanneries, footwear and apparel
equipment for new Implementing a suppliers.
segments (youth line, consumer-
athletics, oriented strategy
mountaineering and that would open
the Pro-industrial line). doors to new and
previously
unidentified
markets

6. Elaborate an outline including how the FI innovation teams were formed and how you
would explain the new formal innovation process they implemented (understand;
observe and visualize; evaluate and implement and transition).

Equipo de linea:
se enfocaron fuetemente en la
segmetaicon de consumidores globales
y en el mercado de marca, investigaron
segmentos de consumo alrededor del
mundo, probaron hipotesis acerca de
las necesidades de los consumidores.
Equipo de velocidad:
fue formado para manejar la
respuesta a las tendencias de moda
con productos que pdoan ser
colocados en un calendario más
corto, desarrollo más rapidamente, y
enviados inmediatmante al mercado
po de velocidad:

Equipo de conceptos avanzados:

se enfoca a nuevas ideas que reqierian un mayor

desarrolo, nuevas alizanza de fabricas, mayores
riesgos, nuevas plataformas, y tal vez, producira un
gran producto innovador y conceptos de proceso en
Timberland

1) Understand: During the understanding phase, members will conduct market research and
define the problem.

2) Observe and visualize: The observe and visualize stage required Clark's "duct tape" analysis of
learning from the user through observation, a clear problem statement, and a list of conceptual
solutions flowing from three-day brainstorming sessions with supply chain members, external
market vendors, and partner factories.

3) Evaluate and implement: The evaluate and implement phase helped the group close options
and evaluate and test various prototypes. Finally, the transition phase would complete the design
and development of the product and move toward delivering the concept to the teams in line to
go to market.

4) Transition: They also created an integration team consisting of members from both online and
iF to alert product category managers in the functional flow. All new concepts were tracked on a
dashboard that identified where each project was in the 4-phase process, its chances of success,
projected resources, as well as its impact on the online teams.

7. What would you suggest to Jeff Swartz and Ken Pucker for their culture to generate
more impact and influence innovation among work teams?

Continue to allow line group representatives to participate in decision making in the product
design and design process they undertake, this allows their ideas and concepts to be introduced
prior to launching a product, plus marketing adjustments would be taken into consideration in
advance and effectively considered for line group members who specialize in the area.

8. If you were a consultant, what suggestions could you propose to Timberland to

guarantee innovation among the work teams, as well as to have a deeper leadership
 and influence in the results obtained, thus achieving that all the areas involved
participate and feel "passion to innovate"?

a). Timberland managers must identify and assign personnel to line teams that are able to balance
fashion and functionality so that they can be the bridge that bridges the current gap between the
areas and therefore have an excellent ability to relate to the rest of the organization.

b). It must seek integration so that the team enters into the decision-making process.

c). Periodic feedback and evaluations of projects in order to achieve Timberlan's objectives and
customer satisfaction.

d). Have the ability to to oppose opinions that go against the implemented strategy, but always
be open to make adjustments to these new ideas.

9. What is the role of the team leader in building effective teams? Support your answer
by writing down at least 5 aspects of this role. Explain at least one example.

Facilitator: Involves extracting knowledge and ideas from the different members of a group,
helping them to learn from each other and to think and act together, providing all the necessary
tools for their team to learn.

Impulsive: They provide the necessary energy to ensure that the team does not lose momentum,
so they are generally identified as challenging people and this may offend the feelings of certain
teammates.

Implementer: It is necessary to plan and implement practical, flexible and effective strategies
because it transforms ideas into actions. Although it is slow to respond to new initiatives.

Coordinator: They are essential to focus the team on the objectives, involve team members and
delegate work appropriately. On most occasions he is perceived as a manipulator and is often
unloaded with personal work.

Cohesive: They help the team to feel more united by their diplomacy in listening, which helps to
prevent confrontations. On the contrary, he is very indecisive in crucial situations.

10. What leadership styles do you consider most suitable for supporting and directing
efforts to achieve results? Write down the why for each leadership style you include.

I consider that the most suitable types of leadership are:

Transformational leadership:

Those who inspire their followers to transcend their self-interest and are able to have a profound
and extraordinary effect on them.
- It provides vision and sense of mission, conveys pride, earns respect and trust.
- Inspirational motivation, communicates high expectations, expresses important purposes in a
simple way.
- Promotes intelligence, rationality and problem solving.
- Gives personal attention, treats each employee individually, directs, advises.
Situational leadership:
The model allows the leader to analyze the needs of the situation and then use the most
appropriate leadership style.
Depending on employees' capabilities in their work areas and commitment to their tasks, their
leadership style should vary from one person to another. The leader may lead a person in one
way, and in another way at other times.

11. What is the organizational role in building effective teams? Write down at least six
aspects of the role. Explain at least one example.

Interpersonal roles: Representative, leader and liaison

Informative roles: Monitor, disseminator and spokesperson.

Decision roles: Entrepreneur, problem manager and the one who allocates resources.

Representative Role: When acting on behalf of the organization in legal, social, ceremonial or
symbolic activities. For example: signing official documents, chairing meetings, recognition
ceremonies.

Leader Role: Encompasses the performance of administrative functions to operate effectively. For
example: hiring and training, coaching, performance evaluation, among others.

Liaison Role: When interacting with people outside their organizational unit. Participate in
committees with members outside the organizational unit, attend professional or trade
association meetings.

Monitor role: These leaders gather information. Observe, visit a competitor's store to compare
products, prices and business processes. Attends meetings inside and outside the organization.

Disseminator role: These are the leaders who send information to others within the organizational
unit.

Spokesperson role: These are the leaders who provide information to people outside the
organizational unit.

Entrepreneur: shows a spirit of entrepreneurship, willing to take risks. Encourages creativity and
innovation among its employees.

Problem manager: handles and seeks solutions to conflicts in a timely and assertive manner.

Negotiator: uses the necessary negotiation styles based on the type of situation that arises.

Allocates resources: responsible for the optimization of the resources under his/her charge, such
as material, technological, human and financial resources.
 12. Based on your experience, answer: from your teams, what are the essential elements
to drive Timberland forward?

1.Understand the unlimited human factor options available: performers, influencers, ambassadors
and full-timers, and from that, create a talent model around your values that considers each
person's capabilities, experience and goals.

2. Look for opportunities to create direct, face-to-face engagement with your people. Building
relationships is something that cannot be automated or done exclusively through technology:
invest time to build loyalty.
3. Understand how to engage the team's expertise to add more value to the customer experience.
4. Serve as a facilitator to help the team understand their connections to customers; help increase
understanding of the talent experience across leadership.
5. Ensure that the brand purpose and values are maintained inside and outside the organization,
throughout the workforce and partner relationships.
6. Advocate for customer and workforce perspectives in strategic decision making.

13. How does Liverpool promote innovation-oriented teamwork? What aspects do you
think can be improved?

Liverpool promotes innovation with brainstorming forums, highlighting the ideas and suggestions
of each member and makes them participate in the decisions, resulting in innovation in 3 ways:

Firstly, innovation in the organization: everything related to new forms of organization, changes in
the organization of work, new product distribution, opening new markets, greater relations with
co-workers, customers and suppliers.

Secondly, process innovation by modifying or replacing machinery, tools and equipment.

Finally, product innovation, innovation ranging from totally differentiated products in terms of
color changes, sizes, drawings, shapes, etc., to the improvement of product quality.

With the help of their teamwork, the leadership of senior managers, the talents they have
developed, and their ability to

14. Reflect and write down the main lessons you have learned personally throughout the
course, and how you can apply them in your work.

The reflection I am left with is that when people work together as a team and we know the role we
must play, each one benefits from the knowledge, work and support of the other members, which
leads to greater productivity than what would be achieved by each person than what would be
achieved by each person working to the best of his or her ability as an individual.

Also that we can have high performance teams that have common characteristics such as small
size, members with different skills, have common commitments and common purpose.

The importance of the role that work teams play in the organization as they support the
achievement of organizational goals through increased employee motivation, achievement of
higher levels of productivity, greater employee satisfaction, common commitment to goals, better
communication, greater job skills and organizational flexibility by orienting efforts towards
processes rather than functions.

That learning to work effectively as a team requires time, given that special skills and abilities must
be acquired for the harmonious performance of their work.

I must learn to inject team members to be able to: manage their time to carry out their daily work
as well as participate in team activities; switch easily between various thought processes to make
decisions and solve problems; and understand the decision making process by communicating
effectively to negotiate individual differences.

As a change agent I have the obligation to design a map or outline with the current and future
skills to understand my work team in this way I will make them enhance their skills and perform
their roles properly.

CONCLUSION TIMBERLAND CASE

The environmental initiative increased efficiency, productivity and cost reduction, and
strengthened the brand's image.

It was understood that community support activities are a fundamental part not only to increase
revenues but also to serve as a strategy for the company to become one of the major players in
the industry.

Deliver products that are innovative and exceed customer expectations.

It is the benchmark brand for socially responsible companies worldwide.

BLIBLIOGRAPHY .

Martinez E, Fernandez I. (2009). Basic concepts of innovation. Colombia.

John C. Maxwell (2016). What every leader needs to know. Nelson Group, Mexico-