Answer To: THE CREATIVE CULTURE Term XXXXXXXXXXGroup Assignment – Report – 4,000 words (25%) This assignment is...
David answered on Dec 20 2021
Creativity and Innovation – Nike 1
Creativity and Innovation - Nike
Creativity and Innovation – Nike 2
Introduction:
In the globalization era, competitive pressures are compelling business organizations to be in
state of constant change. Changes are bound to occur on account of global exchange of
information, knowledge explosion, cross cultural revolution, rising customer expectations and
increasing competitiveness.
CEO of a company plays a crucial role in designing the success of the company. A CEO with his
will power can make or break a company. He plays a major role in the company. With his tactics
and strategies he is able to bring the company at great heights. This paper brings into picture the
traits of Mark Parker, CEO of Nike.
We will bring into picture how the creativity and innovation of Nike and the way innovation and
creativity of Nike has helped the company to have a competitive edge in the market of the
operations:
Company Overview:
Nike Inc. is world‟s leading company in sports industry. The company was established in the
year 1968 in the state of Oregon. It is one of the leading players in sports footwear, apparel,
equipments and accessory products. Nike, the name of the company is taken on the name of the
Greek Goddess of Victory. With its strong marketing strategy, Nike Inc. has been successful in
stretching its reach globally. Nike has followed the innovative strategy and has captured the
market by introducing different athletic brands such as Nike Air, Max Air, Zoom Air, Nike Golf,
Nike Pro, Nike +, Air Jordan, Nike Skateboarding and Nike Shox. The company operates in over
170 countries globally with company operates retail outlets, and independent distributors and
licensee. The principle activity of the company is design, development and worldwide
marketing of its products which includes sports footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories.
The company produces its footwear and apparel products outside United States, whereas the
sports equipments are manufactured in United States as well as other parts of the world.
With its highly recognized slogan “Just do it” and its distinguish swoosh logo (representing the
wing of Greek goddess NIKE), Nike has been successful in building up a strong brand image
which successfully captures maximum sports market and sponsors different athletes and sports
Creativity and Innovation – Nike 3
teams around the world and has evolved into one of the biggest multinational corporation in
sports industry.
The products of Nike are specifically designed for athletic purpose, but they are generally used
for leisure and casual purposes. The footwear at Nike is specifically designed for different sports
activities. The apparel and accessories at Nike are generally sports inspired lifestyle. The apparel
and the accessories at Nike are designed in such a way that they complement their footwear
products. „The company also markets its products and apparel with licensed college and
professional team and league logos.‟ (Nike Annual report, 2011).
„The company sells a line of sports equipment under its brand name such as bags, socks, sports
balls, eyewear, timepieces, electronic devices, bats, gloves, protective equipment, golf clubs, and
other equipment specifically designed for sports activities.‟ (Nike Annual Report, 2011)
The company also designs and sells casual footwear, apparel, accessories and dresses for men
and women under its subsidiary Cole Haan and Bragano.
Background of Mark Parker:
Mark Parker was born in New York and gained his bachelors in the field of Political Science, he
joined Nike in the year 1979 as footwear designer and product tester. In the year 1981 and 1982
he designed Odyssey and Pegasus, the most popular running shoes. In 1987, he focused on
designing cross training shoes Visible Air technology. In 1988, Mark Parker became the Vice
President of Nike and he signed up a deal with Michael Jordan and launched Air Max, based on
Visible Air Technology, with the launch of Nike was able to generate the revenue of $2.2 billion.
In mid 1990‟s Parker began commissioning artists who created limited edition sneakers. In the
year 1996, Parker helped Nike in signing the deal with Tiger Woods for endorsement deal.
Parker also initiated to purchase Cole Haan, Hurley and Converse. In 2000 the revenue of Nike
reached upto $9 billion dollars. In 2002, Mark Parker, designed an exclusive range of product
HTM. In the year 2003 it also signed multimillion dollar endorsement deal with LeBron James,
Kobe Bryant and Serene Williams. In 2006, Mark Parker became CEO and launched Nike+iPod
and designs first Nike + shoe. Nike‟s revenue reached $19 billion in the year 2010. Mark Parker
is associated with Nike from last 30 years, with his strong dedication and innovative ways to
Creativity and Innovation – Nike 4
work he has held various position in his tenure with Nike. He became CEO of the company in
the year 2006. With his innovative ways and designs he has successfully taken Nike to new
heights.
William D. Perez:
William D Perez became associated with Nike in the year 2004, after the resignation of Knight.
He focused on the marketing and sales of the company. The company was able to increase the
sales by more than 14% in 2005 and focused on future increase of 9.60% in the sales of the
company. During the time of William being the CEO, there were different management issues
that were hampering the growth of the company. There were several leadership issues between
William and Philip which led to the resignation of William. During that time, Mark was co-
president of the company and as Mark was associated with the company from last 30 years, he
was the most competitive man to know the working of the company. Mark has always been
associated with the company and have been the main reason for the success of the company
through his most significant product innovations and integrated brand campaigns. He has been
one of the major players in leading the company‟s long term strategic planning.
Mark Parker - CEO
Mark Parker became the CEO of company in the year 2006 when William Perez resigned as a
CEO from Nike, prior to this he was holding a strong position as a Co-President. Mark Parker
has been giving various inputs in the company since he had joined the company, He has a strong
sense of creativity and puts his input in designing shoes that are sold by the company.
Mark Parker’s New Perspective about Shoe Industry:
Mark Parker has shook the Shoe Industry by his innovative and creative means to develop Nike.
He has been marked as the most creative CEO of the world. „Nike‟s Mark Parker brings together
extreme talents, whether they‟re basketball stars, tattooists, or designers obsessed with shoes.‟
(McGrit, 2010).
Creativity and Innovation – Nike 5
Mark Parker focuses on routinely modifying his shoes so as to come up with innovative
measures to design better performing shoes. He has designed enormous kinds of shoes which has
helped in Nike to become one of the best performing athlete footwear company.
After being CEO of the company, Parker has focused on reorganizing the company into different
units that are categorized in different particular sports. Mark Parker says, “a conscious decision
to sharpen each piece of the business so we're not some big fat dumb company,". He has put
strong emphasis in new global market and have made a strong emphasis on the nations like
China and Japan because they are nations on low cost production, Mark focused on eliminating
the middle management and restructured the organization by down turning it. It helped in
increasing the earnings by 35% in the most recent quarter.
Mark Parker has opened up an Innovation Kitchen, which is a think tank where all the designers
work on their creativity and enhance their skills. „The Kitchen is a free-range creative playpen,
with every type of tool, material, machine, toy, instrument, software, game, and inspirational
image at the ready.‟ (McGrit, 2010). Kitchen is one of the most secured place in the organization
where not all the employees are allowed to enter the organization. Mark Parker focuses on open
communication so as to facilitate innovation in the organization. He wants all his employees to
share all their thoughts and imagination so as to build innovative company.
Mark Parker focuses on collaboration as he thinks that collaboration is key for better
performance. He gets highly inspired by animals, weather and nature to focus and building on
designs. He is quite attracted to simplicity and sleek aggressiveness. According to him,
Aesthetics is the main thing which matters to an athlete, he focuses on analyzing the psychology
of its consumers as design the products and marketing activities accordingly.
Personality Traits of Mark Parker:
Mark Parker, has several personal traits and leadership skills which has helped Nike to become
one of the most successful organization. Mark Parker believes in creativity and that is the reason
he has been marked as one of the most creative CEO of the world by „Fast Company Magazine,
September edition, 2010‟. According to him, Creativity is essential to the performance of new
product development teams. In the rapidly changing, more competitive new economy, teams
Creativity and Innovation – Nike 6
need to engage in divergent thinking in which they put aside typical assumptions. Mark think
creativity as a competency which comprises a set of knowledge, skills, behaviours and attitudes,
which is within our ability to develop rather than as a gift granted to the special few. He follows
five P model of creativity i.e. Passion, Persistence, Persuasion, Playfulness and...