For companies in the developed world, design, if not the norm, is at least an option for enhancing business strategies. Going beyond these traditional venues, Patrick Whitney and Anjali Kelkar boldly explore the contributions design can make to businesses in developing countries, specifically businesses in the slums of India. Their findings convey design's universal value and offer a beacon of hope in an otherwise grim reality.
The illusion of being ''customer-oriented'' ''Customer-centered,'' ''user experience,'' ''delighting customers,'' and ''user-friendly'' have become mantras for many businesses in recent years. They describe important goals that, if achieved, can lead to competitive success. But the goals are rarely realized and these phrases are acquiring an unintended irony, or worse, the empty ring of a marketing slogan representing no tangible benefit to users at all. Why has it been so difficult for companies to actually achieve great customer experiences that lead to above-average growth in market share, profit margin and customer loyalty? If it is so obvious that paying attention to customers is important, why are there not more examples of success? Our contention is that ''customer-centered'' strategies normally fall short because marketing and development teams miss what is fundamentally important to their consumers. They make the mistake of thinking they can achieve customer delight simply by refining research on markets. Companies do market research using as a starting point their current offerings, which are defined by product, distribution, promotion and price. The problem is that the first three are all company-centered, not customer-centered. This leaves price as the only factor that both the company and the customer care about. Companies who do not want to compete on price alone need to find factors that are important to consumers. Discovering these factors will enable companies to create true innovations that fulfill needs and desires before they are expressed by customers. The central focus of this type of research is not the product a company makes, but what activities the customer is trying to accomplish with the product. This is directly related to the argument made by Theodore Levitt in 1975: (Good companies) have succeeded not primarily because of their products or research orientation but because they have been thoroughly customer-oriented also. It is constant watchfulness for opportunities to apply their technical know-how to the creation of customer-satisfying uses which accounts for their prodigious output of successful new products (Levitt, 1975). How companies acted on Levitt's idea three decades ago no longer works because of a tectonic power shift in the relationship between companies and consumers. New methods of being ''customer-oriented'' are needed now. The power shift There has been a power shift from producers to customers caused by decreases in production costs and increases in customer choice. In decades past, production capability was a key strategic advantage. Creating efficient factories making large numbers of similar products was the way for a company to win. During the period, investments in more powerful
This article argues that we are in a transition from an economy of scale to an economy of choice. It presents the historical context of how design relates to the economy of scale, and why underlying forces of that economy reduced the relevance of user experience and focused design practice on appearance. It discusses why manufacturers now meet the desire for more consumer choice through over-production. It explains how this leads to an "innovation gap" in which companies know how to make anything without knowing what to make.This article presents a model of the core capabilities of design, showing how they relate to economically viable ways of providing choice. The model involves a closer fit with emerging production processes related to platforms, the maker movement, and open innovation. In this model, such capabilities provide more exploratory and responsive ways to create innovation than a reliance on the predictive methods inherent in the economy of scale. This leads to a "whole view" model of innovation.The model proposes a way of "sketching" innovation initiatives that involves fundamental questions: What is the offering? Who is it for? Why will it create value? How will organizations make it a reality? KeywordsEconomy Process Value Creation Strategy Management
New ideas and information services will be best served when they are examined from both the users' and the corporate perspective. It is imperative to identify what best serves the needs of the user while understanding the corporate context that would allow these products/services to be sustainable. The desired result is for users to feel included and become more active and involved in their lives and to be able to do so at a reasonable, sustainable price point. This collaboration is illustrated by several examples of health care product development including the development of a medication management system for patients and a diet assistance program for cardiac patients. In these examples, success is dependent on a solid relationship between people who have the methods to understand users and to develop products and people who have knowledge of the health care field and understand it in a business context.
administration on stimulation day 1 (S1) or flexibly. In the flexible group, GnRH antagonist was started when the leading follicle reached 12 mm in diameter. Stimulation outcomes were compared between both groups. RESULTS: As expected, both groups were comparable in terms of age, body mass index, antral follicle count and AMH levels. Despite different timing in GnRH antagonist initiation, the duration of ovarian stimulation and total amount of gonadotropins were comparable between S1 and flexible groups (11.0AE2.5 vs 11.05AE2.2 days and 3530.6AE1357.0 vs 3446.3 AE 1207.7IU, respectively). Finally, the mean number of recovered oocytes and vitrified oocytes at metaphase 2 stage were similar in both groups (12.9AE10.3 vs 14.3AE8.6 and 10.3AE9.9 vs 10.2AE6.9 respectively). The mean day of antagonist introduction in the flexible group were the 6.7th day. CONCLUSIONS: Flexible GnRH antagonist initiation during luteal phase ovarian stimulation may not impact negatively FP outcome when compared with simultaneous administration with exogenous FSH.
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