Some widely used organisational structures for planning, developing and managing new products are :
1. Product managers : many companies assign responsibilities to new product ideas to their product managers. Because these managers are close to the market and competition , they are ideally situated to find and develop new product opportunities.
2.New product managers : New product managers report to group product managers. Disposition professionalizes the new product function. On the other hand, new product managers tend to think in terms of product modifications and line extensions limited to their current products and markets.
3.New product department : Large companies often establish a new product department headed by a manager who has substantial authority and assess to top management. The department's major responsibility includes generating and screening new ideas, working with the R&D department, and carrying out field testing and commercialization.
4.New product committees : in new product committee's option, decisions are made by a committee whose members are borrowed from other departments within the company. For example, a company may initiate a new product committee whose members are drawn from such departments as production, engineering, purchasing, sales koma marketing research and R&D.
Typically, these people are involved in a temporary capacity in various areas of product development in addition to performing their normal duties. The basic purpose of such approach is to ensure representation of involved functional areas in the decision. It encourages representatives of involved departments to work closely, together without being hindered by internal organisational boundaries and constraints.
Although, conceptually sound, this approach often has serious implementation drawbacks. Since the committee is temporary in nature, members often lack commitment, responsibilities are often unclear and functional departments sometimes assign lessor qualified personnel to serve. For example, there may be little incentive for an engineering department head to assign his top engineer to such a temporary appointment, and the engineers involved may be reluctant to serve in such a temporary capacity, as it may be inconsistent with career path objectives.
5. Project teams : The new project team is an extension of the new product committee. Responsibility for new product is assigned to a separate units that may report to top management at the same level as other functional departments.
Again, specialists from other departments are assigned to the project team, and a project manager is appointed. Typically, members are appointed to the project team for a longer time and usually see the project through to completion. Members' job in this other departments are held open while they serve on the project team. In essence, the project manager is a variation of the product manager.
The project team concept has merit, in that it permits the communication and coordination of the new product committee but overcomes the temporary status disadvantage of the latter. The concept, however, has its limitations. Truly, competent personnel may not be attracted to it and due to its relative permanence objectivity is sometimes lost.
6. Venture teams : The venture team is a new approach to product management and is an extension of the project team. Typically, it is used to develop a new product or service or a new business that is completely different from the company's present line of business. Its basis is more permanent than the project team's basis.
