Apply the four P's model of innovation to case studies or companies Assignment

Apply the four P's model of innovation to case studies or companies you are familiar with and critically evaluate the above st - Assignment Example ....................................................................................7 Process.........................................................................................8 Evaluation of the Quote by Gary Hamel............................................10 Conclusion...............................................................................................12 References...............................................................................................13    Apple Inc.: A Study in Innovation Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Four Ps of innovation is defined in his paper as product, process, position and paradigm (Mobbs, 2010). Innovation, in general, consists of common words that might include the word â€Å"new,† â€Å"introduction,† â€Å"markets† and â€Å"process,† and is marked by a willingness to take some risks and celebrate the failures. Innovation also can be incremental or radical. Incremental means that something existing is made better. Radical means that the company is doing something completely different (Mitchell, 2010). Incremental innovation could be extremely beneficial to an industry   - for instance, in the television industry, the advent of flat screens and high definition has radically transformed that industry, for the better (Phi, 2012). Perhaps no company has exemplified the principles of innovation better than Apple, Inc. Its i-Tunes and i-Pod radically changed the music industry, then its i-Phone and i-Pad did the same for the computing and cell phone industries. They have led the way in developing products that could be considered radical, not just a â€Å"tweak† on a product that has already been in place. In the process, they have become one of the most, if not the most, exciting company to watch. Although there are some that might say that Apple has peaked, the company does not buy into this, and innovation continues to be their cornerstone. This paper will examine the company, then examine how the four Ps of innovation apply to it. Apple, Inc. History   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   According to Chapman et al. (2012), Apple began its life in 1976, the brain child of Steve Jobs and Stephen Wozniak. The two men were high school mates, as well as former collaborators. Wozniak had been working on combining computers with video monitors, with an idea towards making computers accessible to the masses and user-friendly. Wozniak was working at Hewlett-Packard at that time, and brought his ideas to HP. HP, however, did not think that personal computers had a future, so rejected Wozniak's ideas. Jobs, however, saw the future, and decided that he was the right partner for Wozniak to begin selling computers. Their first computer was known as Apple 1, and was built in the garage of Jobs' parents. This computer was only intended for hobbyists, as it didn't have an exterior casing, and only was a circuit board. The name of the company was Apple, because Jobs had a job in an orchard while he sought enlightenment, and neither man could think of a better name. The Apple II soon followed, and the duo was able to expand after finding new partners for their expansion plans (Chapman et al., 2012).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Apple II was a hit, according to Chapman et al. (2012), as it was the first computer that had a sleek plastic casing and color graphics. The annual sales for the fledgling company was $10 million in 1977, and thousands of employees were added. By 1980, the company was public, and its stock increased, on the first day of trading, from $22 to $29.