Proctor and Gamble

1.

What is Procter & Gamble's business strategy? What is the relationship of collaboration and innovation to that business strategy?

P&G’s business operations are divided into three

main units: Beauty Care, Household Care, and Health and Well-Being, each of which are further subdivided into more specific units. In each of these divisions, P&G has three main focuses as a business:

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maintain the popularity of its existing brands, via advertising and marketing;

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extend its brands to related products by developing new products under those brands;

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innovate and create new brands entirely from scratch. Having R&D teams spread throughout 30 sites globally, P&G is in strong need of collaboration tools that allow researchers, marketers, and managers to easily gather, store, and share knowledge and information. At 3.4 percent of revenue, P&G spends more than twice the industry average on innovation to support its business strategies.

2.

How is P&G using collaboration systems to execute its business model and business strategy? List and describe the collaboration systems and technologies it is using and the benefits of each.

To support the business strategy of innovating and creating new brands entirely from scratch, P&G must find the right tools to support collaboration and innovation. Some of the collaboration system the company's employees and partners use are:

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Social networking and collaborative tools popularized by Web 2.0: Allows researchers and scientists from inside and outside the company to work together more easily and efficiently while reducing research and development costs.

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Microsoft services that include instant messaging, unified communications, Microsoft Live Communications Server functionality, Web conferencing with Live Meeting, and content management with SharePoint: Reduces the time and effort necessary to share data and information between employees and others involved in the company's R&D effort. For...