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Also, the write-up tends to show the importance of Human Resources Management in any organization by giving the definition of Human Resources (HER) , stating why HER is mostly needed in organizations and why processes in HER are needed to be automated. Then, the adoption of automation of the HER processes leads to the fact that companies or HER departments can actually automate their processes to streamline those processes ND remove whatever bottleneck always encounters during the course of work which could help companies experience efficiency and end up reducing unnecessary overhead costs and reaching the bottom-line by maximizing profits.
It is imperative to state here that there are many technological or automated systems companies deploy to automate their processes but this write-up tends to go with one of the world’s biggest Enterprise Resources Planning (ERP) suits called SAP. Therefore, for the benefits of the readers of this work, it would be useful to bring to light what SAP s, what are its pivotal benefits, what it does in HER and how it can help to automate and streamline the HER processes.
Lastly, the author will be using the experience of one of the leading banks in Nigeria and West Africa- The Oceanic Bank Intel Pal: How the bank made use of SAP HER to automate its back end processes in HER in order to achieve results in managing its leave requests and approvals. The write-up tends to see how the life cycle of this change management or automated leave management is being characterized in Oceanic bank among the stakeholders (Vanguard, 2010) . Also, this task tends to make the readers see if the whole banking industry in Nigeria does embrace the use of this leave automated system.
In conclusion, it would be very key to ascertain who and who accepts the adoption of the leave automated system in Oceanic Intel Bank Pal or the Nigeria banking industry and see the life cycle of this adoption so as to draw line of conclusion regarding the level and rate of adoption, and what leads to the adoption . Also, to see if there are some banks in the Industry that do not fancy the using of the automated system at all. What about the staff of the Oceanic Intel Bank Pal? Was it an out-right acceptance of the new system by dumping the legacy (old) system.
This write-up tends to highlight all these to show the marketability of the adopted innovation in Oceanic Bank Intel Pal and the Nigerian banking industry at large. 2 LITERATURE REVIEW The theoretical work here is centered major around the work of Everett M. Rogers called the theory of Diffusion of innovations’ in which this paper shows the key elements of the processes of a new innovation to a particular social system, describes the adoption process in form of product life cycle, highlight the different adopter disagrees with their unique attributes.
Then, ensures the key stage of this process is tend to be showcased by giving a life scenario of a particular product idea, a product or invention, and analysis the key stages of the commercial success of a product and the rationale for such. Before going in-depth into what Everett Rogers’ notions are on this theory, it is quite imperative to define what diffusion and innovation are. Rogers defined diffusion to be a process by which innovation is communicated through certain channels over time among members of a social system (Rogers, 2006).
And he equally saw innovation to be an idea, practice, or object that is perceived as new by an individual or organization(Rogers, 2006). Academic studies had revealed that there are two units of innovation diffusion research and this research is pointing towards two directions, which are : Individual research and organizational research. The individual research examines adoption pop innovations by individuals while the organizational research examines adoption by organizations or departments or unit within an organization.
We may need top ask these two questions: What factors determine whether an individual adopts cell phones or when an individual adopts call phones. And what factors determine whether companies adopt ERP or when companies adopt ERP? One can possibly say, it is both individual’s innovativeness and organization’s innovativeness that are responsible for such adoptions. According to (Rogers, 1983) Innovation diffusion theory has received considerable attention since its inception in the sass’s. Therefore, he defined diffusion of innovation as the process by which an innovation is imparted on members of society through certain channels over time .
It is discovered that when a new product or invention enters into the market or a certain social system, all the agents or member of the system do not necessarily act alike. So, diffusion of innovation examines in greater detail and focuses on at what rate a new product or idea spreads through a certain group. Having said this, some of the members of the social system are seen to key in into the new invention or product right immediately, while the others do wait a long before embracing the new innovation in the social system.
From time memorial to the recent era, the companies’ production operations managers have long been battling tit huge concerns about new product development, and the life cycle of these products, this is Just because many products are not sold off at constant levels throughout their lives, therefore product life cycles must be considered when developing sales forecasts (Cross, 2003). The talked about social system is not necessary restricted to an organization or an industry, it can also be geographical area like a region, city or country.
Example of this will be given later in this write-up. 2. 1 THE FOUR PARTS OF INNOVATION OF DIFFUSION THEORY These four parts of innovation diffusion theory is the bedrock of this theory. They are the key elements by which new ideas or products or inventions are diffused. 1 . Perceived Attributes of the Innovation: Relative Advantage: Degree to which an innovation is perceived as better than the idea it supersedes, Compatibility: Is the degree to which an innovation is perceived as being consistent with the existing values, past experiences, and needs of potential adopters.
Complexity: Is the degree to which an innovation perceived as difficult to understand and use. Traceability: Is the degree to which an innovation may be experimented with on a limited basis. And Absorbability: Is the agree to which the results of an innovation are visible to others. 2. Communication Channel: Here, communication channel can be through the mass media for awareness or going by the evaluation of innovation not based on scientific research by experts but through the subjective evaluations of near-peers who have adopted the innovation. 3.
Nature of Social System: This has to do with compatible with the social norms; also change agents target formal social networks for initial adoption, if change agents equally target opinion leaders in informal social networks for widespread adoption. The Opinion leaders adopt the innovation or reject the innovation is also a big factor. Adoption Incentives and mandates, increase quantity of adopters, but may not increase the quality of adoption. 4. Rate of Adoption of Innovations by individuals: The relative time speed at which an innovation is adopted by members of a social system.
This shows that most innovations have an s-shaped curve, which plots the number of adopters as a cumulative frequency over time. A useful theoretical framework that is often employed by the marketers is the Rogers’ hero of diffusion of innovations, which holds that the diffusion takes place in a Bell shaped, or an S shaped curve. Figurer :sources:http://Stuart-McIntyre. Com/ reviving-social-business-adoption/(26. 12. 014) In the diagram above, the Bell shape curve is the one draw with blue line while the S-shape curve is illustrated in gold color. If you look closely at the chart above, you will notice an S-shaped curve in addition to the normal bell curve. That S-curve is the sum total of your adopters as your organization progresses along the adoption curve. You can use this curve to elf you determine when it is time to switch tactics (Information week, 2013) The initial adopters or the early adopters give way to the early majority who comprise the highest number of consumers relative to the other categories.
Once the innovation is in the market, the early adopters and the early majority spread the word about the product to a wider audience, wherein the late majority or those who take to the product after some time is now induced to test the product (Rogers, 2006). Apart from this, Rogers also defined the early category called the innovators who are among the first consumers to try out the product. Of course, most marketers factor in the innovators either because they are testing the product based on them being in the test market or are anyway those who are the first to try out all products.
This is the reason Apple initially restricted its release of the Smartened (phone) to a few test markets so that it can gauge the reactions from the consumers. Next, the company ventured into a more open marketing strategy where the early adopters were located. Now that the company has established its presence around the world, it releasing the latest version simultaneously. 2. 3 ADOPTERS CATEGORIZATION An Individual’s innovativeness is determined by when they adopt innovations, which is the time an adoption of new invention is made and it is seen to be continuous in nature.
This leads to categorizing the adopters and highlight the characteristics of each of these adopters. Figureheads:http://education. De. Pacific. Du/ibis/ workshop/adoption. HTML (26. 12. 2014) Innovators (2. 5%) – the risk takers are willing to take the initiative and time to try something new. They have venturesomely drive in them, and they are cosmopolitan in the social system. Early Adopters (13. 5%) – tend o be respected group leaders, the individuals essential to adoption by whole group. Unlike the innovator, they are locals in the social system.
Early Majority (34%) – the careful, safe, deliberate individuals unwilling to risk time or other resources Late Majority (34%) – those suspect of resistant to change. Hard to move without significant influence. They are always skeptical of new innovations. Laggards (16%) – these are those who are consistent or even adamant in resisting change. Pressure is needed to enforce the change. They have lengthy innovation-decision style and possess limited resources. They do relate well with others with similar traditional values. 2. THE IMPORTANCE OF DIFFUSION -KEY ELEMENT OF THE PROCESS It noticed that when organizations actuality knowledge management systems, they need to consider the ways and means through which the innovations pioneered by them diffuse into the markets and the wider world. This means that organizations have to not only innovate but also consider how these innovations are communicated, implemented, and accepted by consumers and society (MGM, 2014). The (MGM, 2014) equally stated here that diffusion in this regard, is referred to the remission of the innovation through the markets that are intended to be targeted.
For diffusion to occur there must be a well thought-out plan in place to target the early consumers (known as early adopters) who try out the product or the service and by this consumption helps in the initial diffusion. More importantly, researches have it that this tends to be the reason why many mega brands like Apple, Nikkei, Gap, Samsung, Monika and Milliner try out their innovations on test markets where the early adopters are present and by gathering feedback from the early adopters ensure that the brand or the product starts the process of diffusion (MGM, 2014).
According to (Middleton, 2014) the Product Diffusion Curve is seen to be a useful model that helps you think about who you should be targeting at different stages of the life of your product or service. With an understanding of the Product Diffusion Curve, you can target your marketing efforts intelligently, getting the best returns from your effort.
More than this, you can maximize the chances of success for your product, for example, by pinpointing the most influential target clients right at the start of your marketing effort. Diffusion of innovations can be also understood to be the process of transmission through which the marketers and the innovators use the “push” and the “pull” strategy to reach out to the intended markets. For instance, the marketers have to “push” the product into the wider market and once demand is generated, the “pull” factor comes into effect.