In: Operations Management
What is an ideal response for this discussion?
One of the biggest reasons I think organizations redesign their products and services is to stay ahead of competitors and to keep high market shares. There are so many different options for consumers to pick now a days, and things are always changing. New technology, new research, and new brands are a threat to current companies. In order for a company to keep enticing their customers and keep them in the long run, organizations are redesigning products/services. So many companies will use phrases like "New & Improved", or "New Look, Same Great Taste". This all goes back to keeping buyers interested.
Concurrent engineerings, or "bringing design and manufacturing engineering people together early in the design phase to simultaneously develop the product and the process for creating the product" (162) can create a competitive advantage for companies by producing a great product, faster. The goal of concurrent engineering is to achieve product designs that reflect customer wants as well as manufacturing capabilities. By having designers and manufacturing working together early on, the chances of producing and releasing a great product faster increase.
Reverse engineering is "dismantling and inspecting a competitor's product to discover product improvements" (141). The ethical concerns that could arise from this practice is the intent to "steal" idea of competitors. Although not fully illegal, reverse engineerings isn't always ethical. Instead of thinking of ones own ideas, a company purchases a competitors product and takes it apart for the intent to inspect it and search for ways to improve its own product.
In my response, the present discussion effectively elaborates
the idea of product redesign. It provides the reasons why the
company should be engaged in redesigning of the products. According
to this essay, redesign and ideas help the company to stay ahead of
their competitors. It also helps them to maintain their market
shares high. Innovative ideas and planning are essential for every
business in this era of globalization.
I feel the essay has described every single necessary point
regarding product and service design precisely. It demonstrates the
goal of concurrent engineering, which is to achieve new product and
service design based on the customer’s demands. The company can
obtain competitive advantages by producing and developing products
faster. It also increases their profit shares in the market.
The discussion is also concerned about the drawbacks of reverse
engineering. It tends to steal ideas and designs from others to
achieve the fastest product delivery. It is, however, associated
with several ethical issues.
Hence, I can firmly mention this brief discussion as an ideal guide
to getting a preliminary idea about reverse
engineering.