Rubbermaid has consistently received awards as a well-managed company. It made t
ID: 3864627 • Letter: R
Question
Rubbermaid has consistently received awards as a well-managed company. It made the Fortune magazine list for three consecutive years in the early 90s. It posts growth rates of 15 percent, even in tough times, with important contributions from new products. About 200 new items are introduced each year. Some are line extensions and others enter, or even create, entirely new markets.
The rm’s success is based partly on creating and producing high-quality, functional plastic products for the housewares, the ofce, the industrial, and the farm markets in addition to specialty products such as toys, educational and recreational products, and furniture. In recent years items have ranged from a spatula to a cooler used on a golf course and from a child’s 15-pound minicar to lawn furniture. Category brands include Little Tikes, Gott, Blue-Ice, Sunshine, and others.
The rm makes almost a half-million different items, boasts a 90 percent success rate on new products, and obtains at least 30 percent of its sales each year from products less than ve years old.
The rm’s new product strategy is to meet the needs of the consumer. The new product rate is high, and diversi cation is desired. It is market-driven, not technology-driven, although in recent years the rm has identied such technologies as recycling new plastic parts from old tires for which it is seeking market opportunities. This practice of seeking opportunities for specic technologies will increase as a fall-out of the rm’s current use of simultaneous product development.
For idea generation, Rubbermaid depends on nding customer problems that can be built into the strategic planning process. Problems are sought in several ways, the principal one of which is focus groups. It also uses comments and com-plaints from customers, an example of which came when then-CEO Stanley C. Gault heard a Manhattan doorman complaining as he swept dirt into a Rubber-maid dustpan. Inquiry determined that the doorman wanted a thinner lip on the pan, so less dirt would remain on the walk. He got it.
Each complaint is documented by marketing people, and executives are encouraged to read the complaints. One complaint by customers in small house-holds, who found the traditional rack-and-mat too bulky to store, led to a compact, one-piece dish drainer. The Little Tikes toy division actually molds a toll-free number into each toy to encourage complaints and comments. They have to watch the legal rami cations, of course, and may require idea submitters to sign a waiver giving up their rights to their ideas. The rm generally nds its problems by using problem analysis in focus groups and solves them internally. They occasionally use scenario analysis to spot a problem. But scenario analysis is much less useful than problem analysis because the lead times are so short; their new products cycles make them concentrate mainly on already existing problems. The organization is kept conducive to newly created ideas by promoting cross-functional association among workers. Problem-nd-solve is encouraged at all levels.
Some other new items have been:
Bouncer drinkware was created for people who fear using glassware around their swimming pools.
A lazy susan condiment tray and other patio furniture products came from studies of lifestyle changes.
People working at home told of problems that led to a line of home ofce accessories, including an “auto-ofce,” a portable device that straps onto a car seat and holds pens and other ofce articles.
The rm also runs a day care program, where researchers observe children having problems with toys and test their new toys.
Generally speaking, Rubbermaid does not make much use of attribute listing and other fortuitous scan methods of ideation, including the various mapping approaches. It does nd that product life-cycle models can be useful, and it closely tracks competitive new product introductions.
Rubbermaid is, however, always looking for new ways by which it can come up with good new product concepts. They know from experience, for example, that there will be new ways by which problem-nd-solve techniques can be used. And perhaps the fortuitous scan methods can be of greater use than now perceived.
For case studies, the write-up must at least answer the following questions:
What are the main problems or issues of the case?
What alternatives have been attempted to resolve the problems or issues?
What recommendations can be made to resolve the case?
Relevance of the issues raised in the case to real life business problems and applications.
For this assignment, following APA style, answer as comprehensively as possible the questions after each case summary.
Explanation / Answer
3. What recommendations can be made to resolve the case?
A:- There will be new ways by which problem find solve techniques can be used.The fortuitous scan methods can be of greater use than now perceived.
2.What alternatives have been attempted to resolve the problems or issues?
A:-Bouncer drinkware was created for people who fear using glassware around their swimming pools.
4.Relevance of the issues raised in the case to real life business problems and applications.
A:-People working at home told of problems that led to a line of home ofce accessories, including an “auto-ofce,” a portable device that straps onto a car seat and holds pens and other ofce articles.
The rm also runs a day care program, where researchers observe children having problems with toys and test their new toys.
1.What are the main problems or issues of the case?
A:- Rubbermaid does not make much use of attribute listing and other fortuitous scan methods of ideation, including the various mapping approaches. It does nd that product life-cycle models can be useful, and it closely tracks competitive new product introductions.
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