Monday 31 August 2015

Journal of Media Watch: Call for Papers: January 2016

Following from Dr. Sony Jalarajan Raj

Journal of Media Watch: Call for Papers: January 2016

Media Conglomeration and Technological Monoliths
The giant media corporations of the world are initiating aggressive merging and acquisition strategies to tighten their ownership control and retain their customer base. Takeovers and buy outs in the media industries are becoming the everyday catch phrases in the global stock markets. Along with business strategies and associations, these acquisitions and mergers bring forward technological innovations to tighten the ownership control, increase profit and widen the user experiences for brand loyalties.
Facebook with its new internet.org and its acquisition of LiveRail, a San Francisco/ California-based online video advertising company, gate crashed into the blue chip 10 most valued stock club among the Standard & Poor's 500 index listing, whereas Google launched its news data center which is labelled as the power plant for the Internet in Alabama to tap the scribes and monitor the news media under their radar. Along with establishing a 'news lab' that collaborates with journalist and entrepreneurs in providing quality news and information to the world, Google is also on its way to an innovative project - Project Loon - a balloon powered internet (wireless) facility to connect rural and remote areas of the world. NBC is undergoing radical shift and remodeling whereas New York Times' collaboration with Microsoft and Apple for their mobile presence is proving successful with its popularity reaching even the Russian readers. Data and value utilization forms the main target for all of these corporations.
It is at this juncture that the Journal of Media Watch designed its next issue on the broad spectrum of media, mergers and innovations.
We welcome empirical and authentic research papers on the following topics:
  • Media corporatization
  • Technological innovations
  • Media ownership and control
  • Media merging and acquisition
  • Media apps and tagging
  • Geo-location and media positioning
  • Market trends
  • Marketing media products
  • Innovative customer drives
  • Changing social media spectrum
  • Media consumer retention
  • Organization makeshifts
  • Social media world
  • Social media developments
Final date for submission : September 30, 2015
For detail information and submission guidelines, please visit the journal website:
http://www.mediawatchglobal.com/
http://www.mediawatchglobal.com/media-watch-issues/forthcoming-issue/
Current Issue: May 2015
http://www.mediawatchglobal.com/media-watch-issues/current-issue-abstract/

Dr. Sony Jalarajan Raj
Editor-in-Chief, Media Watch
Department of Communication
MacEwan University,
Edmonton, Canada
E-mail: sonyjraj@gmail.com

Send your research article submissions to:
sonyjraj@gmail.com
mediawatchjournal@gmail.com
mediajournal@ymail.com

Media Scene in India: Prof K M Shrivastav is no more

Media Scene in India: Prof K M Shrivastav is no more



Following from Joe Pinto:



Re: the late Prof K M Shrivastav:
Your comment: "When we met last time, he had recently came from Jammu after visiting the centre there. J & K was badly affected by rains and floods. He realised that the students were sitting quiet in the centre. He prompted them to cover the situation and write stories. He told them that such coverage would teach them to be dare devil reporters. As I heard him about the incident, I realised that he was not well at all and asked him to take rest. He would not listen to me and went on to tell me about lack of initiative of the students and teachers of journalism."
My dear Kiran -- "Lack of initiative" is common not only among students and teachers of journalism but also among journalists. Look at the stories they are putting out. I have been exhorting my students, who are senior journalists now to go out into the countryside and do stories on "agrarian distress and farmer suicides". But sadly there is no initiative or interest.
Even the few who ask their seniors if they can go to the villages and do stories are told to do corporate stories and plugs that give TRPs. Look at the over-board coverage of the Indrani case!
And I just heard that Prof MM Kalburgi of Dharwad has been assassinated! After Dabholkar and Pansare, he is the third!


Peace and love,
- Joe.

Blog: Against the Tide

Saturday 29 August 2015

Prof K M Shrivastav is no more

Prof K M Shrivastav and I had a special bond. Both of us have been news agency journalists at the beginning of our careers. He was with Samachar Bharati and I with United News of India in early seventies. We met in Delhi. I think it was in 1972 and became good friends. We lost touch because of transfers and change of jobs. In 2007, I had invited him to a round table I had organised as HoD of Communication and Journalism, University of Pune. That was the time I was about to retire, but we renewed our contacts. Last year, I met him at the Indian Institute of Mass Communication last year. I realised that he was not keeping well, but had all the vigour and energy of a budding journalist.

He was constantly moving to IIMC's centres and elsewhere in and out of India. I realised that he did not tire mentoring young colleagues in IIMC, journalists and media teachers across India. When we met last time, he had recently came from Jammu after visiting the centre there. J & K was badly affected by rains and floods. He realised that the students were sitting quiet in the centre. He prompted them to cover the situation and write stories. He told them that such coverage would teach them to be dare devil reporters.

As I heard him about the incident, I realised that he was not well at all and asked him to take rest. He would not listen to me and went on to tell me about lack of initiative of the students and teachers of journalism.

He had told me about the new centre that had come up in Maharashtra's Amarawati. He had visited it several times and spoke enthusiastically about the staff and faculty there. We promised each other to meet. It did not materialise.

He has kept himself busy in teaching and travelling, but had managed to write books for students and teachers of media. And see the range of topics of his books:

News Reporting and Editing (1987, 2003 reprinted 2012), Radio and TV Journalism (1989), Media Issues (1992), Media Towards 21st Century (1998), Broadcast Journalism in the 21st Century (2005), Media Ethics: Veda to Gandhi and Beyond (2005), News Agencies from Pigeon to Internet (2007), Public Relations in the Digital Era (2007), The Right to Information: A Global Perspective (2009) Social Media in Business and Governance (2013)

Recently, I came across his message on social media saying a new edition of his book was published. I sent a message of congratulation, but forgot to place an order for a copy.  

That was the first thing that struck me when I received a call this morning about his sudden parting away from us. 
--

Briefly about him: 
More than four decades in Media and Academics.
Current Research Interests: Social Media, Media and Terrorism, Media and Security Forces, Media and Diplomacy, Political Communication, International Communication

Specialties: Media Ethics, Journalism in different media, Right to Information, Public Relations

From IIMC website: 
K.M. Shrivastava, a media professional,was the senior-most Professor at the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), New Delhi. He has worked with or contributed to all types of media and visited media organizations and academic institutions in different parts of the world. He was plenary speaker at the International Association of Media and Communication Research (IAMCR) Conference in Glasgow (1998) on the subject of Constraints in Communication. He was an IAMCR delegate to the UN World Summit on Information Society (Geneva, December 2003 and Tunis 2005) 

Prof. Shrivastava participated in IAMCR Conferences held in New Delhi (1986) Yugoslavia (1990), Brazil (1992), Ireland (1993), South Korea (1994), Australia (1996), Mexico (1997), United Kingdom (1998), Singapore (2000), Hungary (2001), Spain (2002), Egypt (2006) and Sweden (2008). Besides he spoke at conferences organised by Moscow State University (1995, 2002), Canberra University (1996, 1999), University of Leicester (2000), British Film Institute (2001), University of Tampere, Finland (2002), International Institute of Sociology (Cologne 1997, Krakow, 2001), Center for Political Studies, Tashkent (2006) and Asian Media Information and Communication Centre (AMIC), Singapore (1994, 2000). Chaired a session at AMIC conference in Manila (2001) He spoke and chaired a session at the Dialogue on Cultural Diversity at Forum Barcelona (2004). Presented a paper at World Association of Press Councils Conference in Bagamoyo, Tanzania (2004) He also participated in International Press Institute Conferences in Vienna (2002), Warsaw (2004), Istanbul (2007) and Helsinki (2009), Chaired a session at 2nd World Journalism Education Congress, Grahamstown, South Africa (2010), Spoke at Commonwealth Media Forums, Kigali, Rwanda (2011) and Freetown, Sierra Leone (2012) and World Public Forum, Rhodes Island, Greece (2013). Was at WAN-IFRA New Delhi 2014.



Sunday 16 August 2015

Synopsis of doctoral thesis of Nachiket Kiran Thakur on impact of new product design process on automobile & bamboo sector

Nachiket Kiran Thakur
--
Synopsis
Study of impact of new product design process on automobile & bamboo sector in Mumbai-Pune region
  Submitted to
 Savitribai Phule Pune University
for the Award of the Degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
in the
Faculty of Management

By
Nachiket Kiran Thakur
Master in Design, IDC, IIT Bombay

Under the guidance of 
Prof. Dr. B. V. Sangvikar
Head & Professor

Department of Management Science (PUMBA)
Savitribai Phule Pune University
Pune 411007
--


1.     Background
2.     Introduction
3.     Need of Study
4.     Objective of Study
5.     Scope of Study
6.     Hypothesis
7.     Review of Literature
8.     Research Methodology
9.     Data & Analysis
10.                        Discussion & Conclusion
11.                        Utility of research
12.                        Limitation
13.                        Future Scope

 1.      Background

Indian economy is at a very crucial stage. After the IT revolution, ‘Knowledge’ economy became the buzz word. Joining the bandwagon of knowledge and information, “Design” has caught on the imagination of the world. Globally the “Design” based economy has grown multi-folds. It has impacted the social structure of the global society. Countries like Italy, Korea, France and Sweden have become pioneers of Design Economy and set standards for the global citizen. Global giants are coming to India for their design needs.
With a view to enhancing Design consciousness in the country, it is imperative to study the level of design reach in the industry. There should be a constant thrust on innovation and there should be close Industry-Academia tie-up. There have been constructive efforts in this direction by the Indian government by advocating the need for a National Design Policy.  
Design has the potential to create employment, business opportunities and to integrate holistic social development. 
The rate of change in the marketplace of the globalised economy is so rapid that design now becomes a continuous value adding activity which needs commitment and involvement at global, national, regional and local levels.
The prime objective of this study is to find a link between Product Design, Economy and how it impacts the corporate decision making

 2.      Introduction
 Design is a multidisciplinary activity involving masters of various expertises. The designer is an amalgamator / catalyst who creates meaningful products for the society at large
The new world order now influences a country's relative position in economic development. One of the drivers behind this relative differentiation among countries is the design-oriented creative edge that a nation adopts to create global competitiveness and distinctive strategies.
Design has a major role to play in Indian industry at this stage in global competitiveness. Design Enablement would help the country to move away from cost and price based competition to value based competitive advantage
The society needs to create competitive advantage for “Developed India” through its business and industry. Social goal of development, encouraging rural design and products for the needy and the large disadvantaged population in India can be achieved through the use of appropriate design.
Design is a strategic tool for economic progress and improved competitiveness, as well as its undisputable national role in creating employment and business opportunities and upgrading quality of life. Design if used strategically will help Indian industry, commerce and service sectors to compete on value rather than price apart from giving a distinctive position in the market place. Design should be seen today as a deliberate approach by any organization, society, country to create a value-addition strategy in the global arena.
These perspectives have already been understood and appreciated by the academia as well as the industry. Management Science schools, such as WE School – Welingkar Institute of Management Development & Research, Mumbai, have introduced a new full-fledged program called Business Design, where  Design Process is the focal point. Several other institutes have ‘Design Process’ as a separate course in their two year management program. Industry gives preference to these students for handling the assignments involving new product development.
3.      Need for Study
An attempt to derive a relation between the success of an organization and the “design” component of the product or business process, a critical study is desired. How the people involved get affected during the entire design cycle of the product needs to be analyzed. The chain starts from the user aspirations – market requirement – design – engineering – manufacturing – sales and back to the user. This entire value chain needs to be probed. This study would be fruitful with analyzing the data with the help of case studies.
‘USER Centric’
The most important dimension is establishing the involvement of the user in the design process. How is a particular user targeted ?
How does he impact the design process ?
How does he react to a certain product design ?
How does he relate himself to a product ?
How does user profile lead to evolution of a product ?
How he impacts the success or failure of the product ?
A critical probe into the various faculties of design is of primary importance. Selecting the right sample and the sampling plan will determine the success of the study
When we look around we see various design domains like Fashion, Furniture, Interior, Fabric, Electronic Products, Automobile, Craft, Engineering, Software, Systems, Signage and Graphics. From these diversified domains the Automobile design emerges as the frontrunner to affect the society in various ways. Design by far becomes the driving force for a sustainable economy and in turn leads to a progressive society.
A very distinctive example to the effect is the success of Tata’s ACE and Mahindra’s – XUV 5OO. The state of art design inputs from global leaders coupled with Indian talent made these companies competitive the world over. This design-driven product development led to setting up second tier & third tier industries. The overall economy boomed as a result. It boosted the confidence in the Indian Auto industry to match global standards. The user centered design approach created these success stories.
Similarly the traditional craft industry is also looking at Design to give it a new lease of life. Constructive efforts from all directions to promote traditional art are underway. Our cultural heritage can be revived and new platform can be created through design. With specific inputs in creating world class products the Craft Industry can strive for the Auto Sector success story. This unique heritage can be brought into the main stream economic development of the rural sector. Specifically Bamboo craft is focused in this study.
The Auto and Bamboo sectors have been identified for the study of impact of design because Automobile industry involves high technology, design inputs and huge investment for development of product. It requires sophisticated tools and equipment for designing a new product. Its potential customer is by and large defined. The user profile is diversified depending upon the type of vehicle.
The bamboo sector, on the other hand, does not require high technology and investment comparable to automotive sector. It deals with the raw material available from nature. Workforce is not highly skilled as in auto sector. Customer is not defined. In fact designer’s role will be to think of potential customer depending upon the type of design. Success of involvement of designers is expected to have a positive impact on the poor families or artisans.
The study was expected to find out that the impact of product design on these two sectors in India. Effort was to connect parameters of design leading to the product success of automobiles to that of products in bamboo craft.
4.      Objective of Study
  1. To study various new product design processes used in the Industry
  2. To document case studies of design of products for business success
3.      To study the impact of new product design process on automobile sector
4.      To study and analyze the importance of ‘Design’ in the craft and Bamboo sector
5.       To study the similarities in new product design process for these sectors
5.      Scope of Study
  • Studying Product Design Processes used in the industry in Pune region
  • Studying products designed by design companies in Pune
  • Studying vehicles designed and developed in Pune-Mumbai-Nashik region
  • Documentation of success stories of products in craft, bamboo and automobiles
  • Study was conducted for the products designed and launched after 2005
Limitation of Study
·         Funds and availability of time
·         Secrecy and confidentiality of companies
·         Lack of established companies in bamboo sector
·         Availability of literature
6.      Hypothesis
H1 :     A good designed product positively impacts directly as well as indirectly on the society.
H2 :     Good Designed & Styled vehicles in the same segment are more successful than others.
H3 :     Adoption of New Design processes in developing new products in Bamboo craft sector   
          has a positive impact on the success of the artisan entrepreneur.
H4 :     New Product Design Processes are common and can be effectively used for   
           the Automobile and the Bamboo Sector for commercial success.
7.      Review of Literature
There is not enough research on New Design Processes studied by Indian academicians and design experts. This researcher complied various documentations available through secondary data stated bellow.
A.    Design In India
Various design related books, Websites, journals & other publications ( magazines & newspapers ) were studied. Information on Design centric organizations like India Design Council, Association of Designers of India, Design for India, Confederation of Indian Industry, National Design policy.
B.     Product Design Processes
Study of Product design processes at leading design companies world over to understand how the process if followed in development of new products.
·         IDEO, an inter an international design firm and innovation  consultancy founded in Palo Alto, California, United States in 1991 by Tim Brown with other locations in San Francisco, Chicago, New York, Boston, London, Munich, Shanghai, Singapore, Mumbai, Seoul, and Tokyo.
·         Design process followed at the design studios in Pune – Design Directions, Elephant Design, Lokus Design, Onio Design, Ticket Design
C.    Automotive Industry
  • Studied the automotive industry in India with focus on the Western Zone – Pune, Mumbai, Nashik, Aurangabad through newspapers, magazines, websites
  • Policy document like Automotive Mission 2016 by  Government of India
  • Various organizations like Confederation of Indian Industry, Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) , the author is part of the Design Initiative, ACMA ( Association of Component Manufacturers )
  • Information was collected from Product specific broachers, Product specific websites, automotive company websites, books, journals, papers
D.    Bamboo Craft
  • Websites : National Bamboo Mission, KONBAC, INBAR, CIBART,
  • Blogs : MP Ranjan, National Institutes of Design
  • Books, articles, journals
8.      Research Methodology

A. Type of Research: Combination of Quantitative, Qualitative, Exploratory and Action Research
A.    Secondary Data: Websites, newspapers, magazines, books, reports, research papers, and journals
B.     Primary Data through the following methods:
Type of Research
Area of studies in this research
Exploratory Research
Design processes used in the industry
Qualitative Research
Case studies of design impact on product design , automobile companies and craft based industry
Action Research
Evolution of ICAN design process and  adoption of this design process in bamboo and automobile industry – case studies
Quantitative Research
User study for UV (Utility Vehicle ),  LCV ( Light Commercial Vehicle ) and Passenger car segments of automobile industry

The primary data was decided to be collected mainly through following categories of
respondents:   
A.    Product Designs other than automobile industry
a.       Designers – design companies
b.      Design enablers – design users from product manufacturing companies
c.       End users of the product
B.     Automobile Industry
a.       End users of the vehicle: Owners/Drivers of automobiles
b.      Designers – Design strategists
C.     Craft Industry
a.       Promoters of NGOs and Commercial organizations
D.    Bamboo
a.       Promoters of commercial organizations and NGOs
b.      Entrepreneur and crafts man  

B. Research Instruments
            a. Questionnaires : Open ended and close ended questionnaires  used
            b. Interviews conducted
            c. Case Studies : Case study analysis was carried out for successful designs.
C. Sampling methods
Non-probability convenient sampling method was    adopted as follows
            Respondent type (a) : End Users :  50 respondents for each vehicle studied
            Respondent type (b) : Designers& Designer enablers : 20

D. Geographical Area of research
            Research was conducted in the Mumbai – Pune region as follows
            Mumbai Region – Mumbai, Thane, Konkan, Kandivali, New Bombay
Pune Region – Nashik,  Bhor, Welha, Mulshi, Maval

E.     Conceptual Framework
Product design is a process of creating a new product for the users for commercial gain. It is directly related to the effective, efficient generation and development of ideas to create new products. Design is a multidisciplinary activity involving masters of various expertise. The designer is an amalgamator / catalyst who create meaningful products for the society at large. Design is the best creative and feasible solution for a given problem for commercial success.
Product designers conceptualize and evaluate ideas, making them tangible through products in a more systematic approach. Their role is to combine art, science, and technology to create tangible three-dimensional goods. Product design is the process that brings that sort of artistic form and usability usually associated with craft design to that of mass produced goods.
The stages of the present study were as follows:
·         An initial desk research project for the background study summarized the evolution and development of design process methodologies from an academic perspective as outlined in this chapter above. This data was collected from brochures, annual reports, and websites of the companies.
·         The researcher took face-to-face interviews with the design or creative heads of the users of design, and sought and received responses through email or telephone.
·         Prior to each interview, basic corporate data and information was gathered for each company. This was useful to understand the strength of each company.
·         This was used both as a background for the interviews, and in the formulation of the summary report and the case studies. With this background and methodology as its starting point, the interviews were planned and conducted.
To study the Design processes used in the industry the researcher felt the need to study various design processes used in the design companies. He felt that it will help to substantiate the use and impact of the design process to create successful products. He selected 6 design companies, Tata Elxsi, Lokus Design, Elephant Design, Onio Design, Design Directions and Ticket design operating from Pune for this study. The consumer products studied by this researcher as part of this case study were from the industrial, consumer durables, automobile equipment, medical device, home appliance and FMCG sectors. The aim was to study product design processes deployed in a various different field of the industry.
This researcher then focused on design processes of automobile companies around Pune, Maharashtra. He faced several problems, mainly because of the copyrights and confidentiality concerns of the designers. Design professionals and corporate leaders were reluctant to part with the data on design processes because of, mainly, the confidentiality restrictions. Some professionals did agree to respond to questions raised during the interviews by this researcher. Their responses have been part of the data included in the chapter Data and Analysis. 
The next part of the study was to study the craft sector in general and bamboo craft in particular. Since the bamboo craft is not an established industry, it was pertinent to first evaluate the craft sector for the use of design processes in developing products.  Prominent companies using design in the craft sector in India were identified. The researcher collected secondary data from websites, portals and primary data through interviews of key decision making people in the following organizations – Industree, Fab India, INTACH & Crafts council of India for the craft based industries and bamboo product based organizations like Bamboo Masters, Bambooed, VEDA, Rhizome, KONBAC.
The conceptual frame discussed earlier indicates that the present research has to be multi-disciplinary. This study explores product design processes that have been researched only by a few academicians in the world. (Candi & Gemser, 2010).This study’s focus was to explore impact of product design and its performance. 
The study was divided into four segments as follows:
  1. Study of Product Design processes adopted by various companies and its impact on various product designs other than Automobile
  2. Impact of new product design process on Automobile sector
  3. Impact of new product design process on Craft and Bamboo sector
  4. Action research for design of a mini tractor and a bamboo craft product
Conclusion of the study on each sector was drawn separately. These conclusions were compared to find if the new product design process had similar, identical or different impacts on the two industry sector
F.     Explanation of the method of research
1.      Study of Product Design processes adopted by companies
The study was descriptive and exploratory as was carried out by the UK Design Council. It was aimed to understand the design process adopted by companies to design products of different sectors. Interviews were conducted with design heads of design companies in Pune to explore how a design process is formulated and executed on a design project. Impact of the process was assessed by the final outcome of the design. Interviews were conducted with the senior executives of the product companies ( Design Enablers ) to gauge the utility of ‘design’ for their respective products and the company. Interviews were also conducted of the End users. The study was qualitative and exploratory.
2.      Impact of new product design process on automobile sector
The study was descriptive and exploratory. It was aimed to find if the new product design process impacts the stakeholders - Users :  Designers, Producers & Buyers
It was a combination of qualitative, quantitative research, and case studies. 
 Methodology adopted for this study
A.    This researcher first studied the Design Process &  Design Thinking along with its impact on creation of good Product ( Product Design ). It ensured all aspects /attributes of user needs were captured toward evolution of the ideal product.

B.     This study concerned itself with Ergonomics, Aesthetics / Styling which are the two of the three pillars for success of a product. The third pillar, namely Technology was not consider for this study. Amongst these aspects of good design, the primary impact which was decided to be accessed from the actual ( Owner / driver ) user was selected for the study.
C.     The researcher selected two leading companies having their design centers in the area of research – Mahindra & Mahindra – Kandivali, Mumbai and Tata Motors – Pune. These companies constitute major market share (SIAM report) in number of units manufactured in the Pune-Mumbai region. The Utility vehicles, Passenger  and the Light Commercial Vehicles segment were selected for this study. Vehicles were selected for the study on the basis of  number of units sold. Success of the vehicles were determined by the number of vehicles sold in the same vehicle segment. The vehicle under study was compared against a similar vehicle under the same segment. A detailed design analysis of the vehicles – successful as well as not so successful was conducted.
D.    Vehicles selected for the study according to segments were as follows


Segment
Under Study
Comparison against
1
Utility Vehicle
XUV 500
Tata Safari / Sumo Grande
2
Compact Sedan Car
Tata Manza
Mahindra Logan
3
Light Commercial Vehicle
Tata Ace
Mahindra Maximo

E.     A detailed Design analysis of vehicle features from design & styling standpoint was conducted
F.      Vehicle Sales Data for these vehicles was studied and analyzed to define the success of the products
G.    To access the impact following types of users were selected with the sample size as follows: The sample of the users was purposive and snowball sampling. The following number of users were selected as per the categories mentioned below:
a.       Owner/Driver : 50 users for each vehicle studied
b.      Designer – Design strategist : 20

H.    Field Research was conducted as follows:
a.       Questionnaire was prepared considering the objectives of the study
b.      The questionnaire was pre-tested among a select group of  users known to the researcher
c.       After analyzing the results, the questionnaire was modified for different set of users as described in G above
d.      A pilot study was carried out for all the user segments. With a favorable outcome as per requirement the questionnaire was administered for the chosen sample size.
e.       Field research was obtained through a questionnaire to get data from Owner. ( Annexure 1 )
f.       The Designer-Design strategist views / comments were recorded through interviews via mails and personal interactions ( Annexure 2 & 3 )
g.      Field research captured the following issues thru the questionnaire
Success parameter
Attributes
Aesthetics
a.       Looks / Styling
Ergonomics
b.      Comfort
c.       Noise level
Technology
d.      Mileage
e.       Safety

       Aesthetics and Ergonomics were taken as the key features describing ‘Good    
       Design’ of the product.
h.      Feedback on impact of the good design of the products was sought from senior executives, business development & marketing professionals via email and face to face interviews.

3.      Impact of new product design process on Craft & Bamboo sector
a.       Study of craft based industry was carried out which used Design as a core strength of doing business
b.      Case studies of products developed at Design lead organisations working in Bamboo Craft were carried out
1.      National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad
2.      Bamboosa, Bamboo Factory at Lavasa Corporation, Pune
3.      KONBAC, Kudal
4.      Sangaru Designs, Banglore
5.      Rhizome, Ahmedabad
The type of research done was Qualitative and Exploratory
4.      Action research
a.       Orchard Tractor: A case study was done to explain the design process in detail for the development of mini-tractor for Mahindra Gujarat Tractor, designed and developed at Mahindra Composites Ltd., Pune as part of the action research. 
b.      Bamboo : A case study of design and development of terra-bamboo pendent under Bamboo Vishwa and Bamboo Masters, at Hadapsar, Pune.  The development team began its study with the principles enunciated in the NID’s Model of Design and implemented I-CAN design process as part of the action research.
The study project was undertaken to evaluate the hypothesis of use of design process for automotive and bamboo sector.
Prof. Rory O'Brien, the faculty of Information Studies, University of Toronto, has explained the salient features of Action Research. He says action research is known by many other names, including participatory research, collaborative inquiry, emancipatory research, action learning, and contextual action research. These are variations on a theme. Put simply, action research is “learning by doing” - a group of people identify a problem, do something to resolve it, see how successful their efforts were, and if not satisfied, try again. While this is the essence of the approach, there are other key attributes of action research that differentiate it from common problem-solving activities that we all engage in every day. A more succinct definition is,
 "Action research aims to contribute both to the practical concerns of people in an immediate problematic situation and to further the goals of social science simultaneously.  Thus, there is a dual commitment in action research to study a system and concurrently to collaborate with members of the system in changing it in what is together regarded as a desirable direction.  Accomplishing this twin goal requires the active collaboration of researcher and client, and thus it stresses the importance of co-learning as a primary aspect of the research process." What separates this type of research from general professional practices, consulting, or daily problem-solving is the emphasis on scientific study, which is to say the researcher studies the problem systematically and ensures the intervention is informed by theoretical considerations.  Much of the researcher’s time is spent on refining the methodological tools to suit the exigencies of the situation, and on collecting, analysing, and presenting data on an ongoing, cyclical basis.
Several attributes separate action research from other types of research.  Primary is its focus on turning the people involved into researchers, too - people learn best, and more willingly apply what they have learned, when they do it themselves.  It also has a social dimension - the research takes place in real-world situations, and aims to solve real problems.  Finally, the initiating researcher, unlike in other disciplines, makes no attempt to remain objective, but openly acknowledges their bias to the other participants. (O’Brien, 2001)
Method adopted for the action research
The I-CAN design process for development of new products was evolved by the researcher, as part of his profession and was deployed on a live case to understand the impact for Design of
Mini Orchard Tractor and Design of Terra Bamboo pendant


 
 


















Figure : 19: I-CAN design process formulated by the researcher
a. Research Questions for the Mini Orchard Tractor design team
1.      Will ICAN design process be successful in the design & styling of a small tractor?
2.      Will this process be profitable to the product company?
3.      Will it help the product company as a brand developing contemporary products?
4.      Will it help the design & manufacturing company of the styling components get to establish itself as a design led organization and increase the value addition for its customers?
b. Research Questions for the Terrabambu pendant design team
1.      Will ICAN design process be successful in a small cottage unit of bamboo products?
2.      Will this process be profitable to the entrepreneur and will it improve the skills of the artisans in making bamboo products?
3.      Will it improve efficiency of the artisans?
4.      Will it increase earnings of the artisans and the profitability of the entrepreneur?
Similarities or differences in the Design processes used in the automobile and the bamboo craft sector will be compared as the concluding part of this research.

9. Data Analysis
Product Design Process case studies
To substantiate the importance of design and the design processes used, the researcher felt the need to include research of some design companies in  Pune.
Includes discussion of case studies of different products designed by various design companies using a defined design process, its development journey, impact on products through user feedbacks and views expressed by senior executives of the respective product companies

Automobile case studies
  • Vehicle segments studied – Passenger Car, Sports Utility Vehicle, Light Commercial Vehicles.
  • Design Processes executed by Mahindra and Tata Motors
  • Products commercially successful were selected and compared with similar vehicle in the category using defined parameters
  • Design Audit (analysis of design features) was conducted on selected vehicles in the above segments by this researcher.
  • User survey conducted to access the buying decision which eventually helps the vehicle to succeed in the market was conducted
Design for Bamboo Craft
·         Discussion about various craft forms and craft based industries
·         Discussion on how design has helped the enterprises to grow
·         Bamboo Craft industry in India
·         Various bamboo craft based organizations and its journey through design
·         Case studies of design process used in organizations and its impact
Action Research case study of I-CAN Design process for Mini Orchard Tractor and TerraBambu Pendant
A.       Product Design Process case studies
Various design processes adopted by organisations are analysed


The design process used has helped this organisation to bring successful products to market, which has significant impact on the fortunes of the company. Case studies of successful products and its design process were generated. A field survey of actual users of the products was conducted and the data analysed to study the impact of design.
  1. Automobile Sector
  • Vehicle segments were studied – Passenger Car, Sports Utility Vehicle, Light Commercial Vehicles.
  • Design Processes executed by Mahindra and Tata were studied
  • Products commercially successful in the given segment were selected and compared with similar vehicle in the category using parameters mentioned above. Six vehicles in three categories were studied.
  • Design Audit ( analysis of design features ) was conducted on selected vehicles in the above segments.
 











  • Data analyzed shows definitive trends in features a vehicle should have which makes it a success. These Design ‘USPs’ – Unique selling propositions are found to be important factors for buying decisions when other technical parameters are at par with each other.
  • Following is one example of the outcome of the field survey of users of Mahindra XUV 5OO compared against Tata Safari/Sumo Grande.
  • These set of 20 users rated Styling/Looks and Comfort as in important parameter for their buying decision. This shows the direct impact on higher sales of the XUV 5OO in this segment of vehicles
  • The success of a product from ‘Design’ perspective co-relates to the ‘Commercial’ success of the product as one of the important factors. It shows how the Design Process adopted has a leading impact to the success of a vehicle compared to the other equivalent products.
  • With the success of a product the allied industries also flourish. It was evident with the data analyzed of the Tier 1 suppliers to the Auto OEMs through data made available from ACMA (Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India.
C.      Bamboo Craft Sector
·         Action Research lead to the outcome of the research in the form of a detailed case study
·         This case study involved the use of the ICAN design process to develop the product. Operational management for manufacture of the product with spoke and wheel supply chain arrangement was deployed. It  involved the community house holds for the project execution. Financial analysis of sale price against development & manufacture cost was arrived at. The success of the product in market with livelihood development for the manufacturer was achieved
  • Similar case studies were analyzed with commercial organizations dealing with bamboo craft products using industrialized ( mass manufacturing ) approach
  • Sangaru Designs is one of the leading organization working in Banglore which works with similar design approach. A case was studied of  a product designed by them.
  • The development of craft industry in India was studied as an overview. Specific Bamboo craft design interventions were studied. Prof AG Rao’s efforts thru IDC, IITB and Prof MP Ranjan’s initiative at NID were studied. The use of Design Process for evolving a contemporary product was analyzed with case studies  done by them.

D.    Action Research

A very important part of the present study was Action Research. As explained by Prof. Rory O'Brien, the faculty of Information Studies, University of Toronto, the action research is known by many other names, including participatory research, collaborative inquiry, emancipatory research, action learning, and contextual action research.
It is “learning by doing” - a group of people identify a problem, do something to resolve it, see how successful their efforts were, and if not satisfied, try again. While this is the essence of the approach, there are other key attributes of action research that differentiate it from common problem-solving activities. A more succinct definition is,
 "Action research aims to contribute both to the practical concerns of people in an immediate problematic situation and to further the goals of social science simultaneously.  Thus, there is a dual commitment in action research to study a system and concurrently to collaborate with members of the system in changing it in what is together regarded as a desirable direction.  
Accomplishing this twin goal requires the active collaboration of researcher and client, and thus it stresses the importance of co-learning as a primary aspect of the research process."
What separates this type of research from general professional practices, consulting, or daily problem-solving is the emphasis on scientific study, which is to say the researcher studies the problem systematically and ensures the intervention is informed by theoretical considerations.  Much of the researcher’s time is spent on refining the methodological tools to suit the exigencies of the situation, and on collecting, analyzing, and presenting data on an ongoing, cyclical basis.
Several attributes separate action research from other types of research.  Primary is its focus on turning the people involved into researchers, too - people learn best, and more willingly apply what they have learned, when they do it themselves.  It also has a social dimension - the research takes place in real-world situations, and aims to solve real problems.  Finally, the initiating researcher, unlike in other disciplines, makes no attempt to remain objective, but openly acknowledges their bias to the other participants. (O’Brien, 2001).

The philosophy of the I-CAN Design Process is explained as follows
Initiate it at the Start
Involve design thinking at the very start of the development process. Ideally should be done before any bias is built for the direction to take. Design thinking will help exlore a wheel barrow of ides more quickly than you one could otherwise do.
User centered approach
Human behavior, needs and preferences to be given equal importance along with Technology and business economics. This will allow the development team to differentiate between the needs and the wants of the user. It captures the unexpected insights’ and helps us to conceive a product which correctly reflects the aspiration of the user.
Fast Prototyping and testing
The wheel barrow of ideas needs to get tried out at quick succession. The cycle of rapid prototype, experimentation, re-modification has to be fast. Teams should be given sufficient freedom to make quick prototypes to test out your ideas which helps finalise the design quickly
Expert opinion
The design ecosystem has to be nurtured by taking in inputs of the entire spectrum of experts. The quantity and quality of these inputs from diversified individuals helps in arriving at the best solution. Use what every modes of communication to get maximum participation and inputs for the development program. Understanding different materials, processes and methods of creating a product from the subject experts helps in converting ideas to reality in a better way.
Co-create
Always respect the other person for their capability and capacity to deliver. Plan to create in a team with parallel working with as many diversified inputs as possible.

The present study included two projects of action research as follows:
1.      ICAN  design process for small tractor
2.      ICAN design process for bamboo product

















10           Discussion and Conclusion

A.    Design
  • ‘Design’ is the key differentiator for the product success which  impacts the commercial success of the organisation
  • Design Processes in different organisations differ in execution but the intent is same
  • Design Processes focuses on ‘User’ as a focal point for product success
  • Good design product has better chance of commercial success

Conclusion of Product Design processes case studies

To study the Design processes used in the industry the researcher felt the need to study various design processes used in the design companies. Methodology adopted for this research was Qualitative. He selected 6 design companies, Tata Elxsi, Lokus Design, Elephant Design, Onio Design, Design Directions and Ticket design operating from Pune for this study. The products studied by this researcher as part of this case study were from the industrial, consumer durables, automobile equipment, medical device, home appliance and FMCG sectors. The aim was to study product design processes deployed in a various different field of the industry.
It was observed that all these companies had their individual Design Processes suited for their respective philosophies. All the design processes were based on the Double Diamond model of Discover, Define, Develop & Deliver.
The use of the design process for developing the product is useful and ensures that all the aspects of the product requirement are taken care off. The design processes of all the companies are focused on satisfying the needs of the user.
A robust design process followed judiciously ensures a good designed product. A good designed product positively impacts the design company, product company and the user. The entire ecosystem revolving around the product gets positively impacted due to good design. The key constituents of the society get directly as well as indirectly impacted as a result of a good designed product. The good designed product is developed and brought into the market with a view of satisfying the needs of the customer. A happy customer who is referred as ‘user’ in this study gets directly impacted positively with a good designed product. His / her needs and wants get satisfied.
The design company and the product company get the indirect benefit of increase in business due to a successful good designed product. Since the company manufacturing and selling the product grows the cycle of the industrial output increases impacting the entire value chain positively, thus positively impacting the society

This proves the hypothesis
H1 :     A good designed product positively impacts directly as well as indirectly on the society.

B.     Automobile
  • Dealers and sales representatives find it easy to pitch for vehicles which has better aesthetic and comfort features.
  •  Convincing the ‘User’ – buyer of a vehicle, is easy in case of a better designed vehicle
  • Esteem value of the ‘User’ is high due to the feeling of being pampered – taken care of his needs through design in a Good designed vehicle
  • ‘User’ takes good care of a better designed vehicle – thus increasing the life of the vehicle
  • In a better designed vehicle the service centre mechanic also is satisfied and happy due to better accessibility, ease of operations
  • Marketing team has the confidence of convincing the buyer due to design differentiators in a better designed vehicles having technical parameters similar to competition
  • XUV 5OO – due to its radically new contemporary styling & design features gained significant edge in establishing itself quickly. It helped Mahindra & Mahindra to consolidate its position in the market with record sales
  • TATA ACE – with its unique positioning, car like comfort features first time in LCV, unique styling with white body helped to create a niche segment which did not exist in the market at the time of its launch. The product helped Tata Motors to create a new segment and help revive its sales figures.
  • The Tier 1 suppliers to the market successful vehicles also saw a change in fortune. Riding on the success of the Vehicles, the supplier for components also had increased sales. Mahindra Composites, supplier to TVS registered 35% increase in sales in their auto component business. Tata Composites supplier to ACE has 40% of their business increase. They also had to expand their operations in Uttarakhand with the phenomenal success of their product
  • The industry at large had a positive impact due to the success of these products

Conclusion of Automobile Sector

This section dealt with case studies of design processes of in-house designers of the auto makers in the Pune – Mumbai region. The researcher selected two leading companies having their design centers in the area of research – Mahindra & Mahindra – Kandivali, Mumbai and Tata Motors – Pune. These companies constitute major market share in number of units manufactured in the Pune-Mumbai region. The Utility vehicles, Passenger  and the Light Commercial Vehicles segment were selected for this study. Methodology adopted for this study was Quantitative and Qualitative.
The basis for success of the vehicle was the number of units produced for a certain vehicle based upon the data available from SIAM. With this background the following successful vehicles were selected for study and compared with a competition vehicle from the same segment.



Segment
Successful Vehicle :
Considered successful on basis of number of units sold than the comparison vehicle in the same segment
Comparison vehicle
1
SUV
Mahindra XUV 500
Tata Sumo Grande
2
Light Commercial Vehicle
Tata Ace
Mahindra Maximo
3
Passenger Car - Sedan
Tata Manza
Mahindra Logan

The study of these successful vehicles involved the following steps :
Vehicle Segment understanding, Product details, design audit, design process used for the development, interaction with senior design team to understand the evolution of the product, factors affecting buying decision, user survey through a questionnaire, T-test on the data collected, verbatim user feedbacks, interaction with the senior marketing executives of the company to know the impact on the market and the effect of the success of the product on the associated component manufacturing sector.

The analysis of the data collected from the above study led to the following conclusions
1.       Design process for development of a vehicle is very critical and important parameter to launch a successful product.
2.       The core of any design process for having success is ‘User Centricity’. To satisfy your user – the customer is the driving factor to achieve commercial success.
3.       Every successful vehicle company has a defined and very robust design process.
4.       Good looks and user comfort are equally important factors for the buying decision of a vehicle for the customer in addition to the performance and safety of the vehicle.
5.       The efforts of the marketing and sales team becomes easier if it has a better designed product to sale.
6.       The brand value of the company increases with a satisfied user which is possible when the company takes efforts to fulfill the emotional needs and the experience of using the product. This is achieved by a better designed product in addition to the performance of the vehicle.
7.       As per the T-test analysis, one of the major factors affecting the success of the Mahindra XUV 5OO was due to the good design of the vehicle compared to its nearest competitor the Tata Safari.
8.       As per the T-test analysis, one of the major factors affecting the success of the Tata ACE was due to the good design of the vehicle compared to its nearest competitor the Mahindra Maxximo.
9.       As per the T-test analysis, one of the major factors affecting the success of the Tata Manza was due to the good design of the vehicle compared to its nearest competitor the Mahindra Logan.
10.    The entire value stream of any successful vehicle impacts various stake holders. It helps everybody associated with the successful product to grow. The Tier 1 component manufacturing industry grows with the succes of a vehicle model. This in a way impacts the society at large, the people involved and the allied industries systematically shows progress.

This proves the hypothesis
H2 :     Good Designed & Styled vehicles in the same segment are more successful than others.

C.    Bamboo Craft
  • Craft sector at large has benefited by use of ‘Design Processes’ for new product development.
  • Design interventions at various levels have helped the craft sector to grow.
  • Design gives a key differentiator for product and an enterprise commercial success.
  • Organisations like FABINDIA, Mother Earth, Ether OR have benefited by making ‘Design’ as a central focus. 
  • It has impacted the society at large due to these interventions.
  • Bamboo craft sector is at a very nascent stage with respect to number of organisations working in the organised sector for business growth.
  • Bamboo sector is destined to grow with the help of learning’s from the more organised sectors like automobile

The craft based industries have benefited with the use of design in its operations. The use of good design practices in the craft sector has helped develop contemporary designs using traditional skills. The importance of design has been acknowledged in the revival of many craft form in India. Dedicated efforts have been done by commercial organizations to develop products with modern products with contemporary designs.

Organizations like INTACH has worked with traditional copper ( Tambat ) ware benefiting the revival of the dying craft. With the modern products getting designed by trained designers, INTACH was able to popularize these traditional crafted products globally. Fabindia is one of India’s very successful brands built on the unique combination of co-operative societies of artisans and modern designs using traditional crafts. Industree works on the principle of empowering the rural artisans using design as the focus of livelihood development.

The projects worked on by NID ( National Institute of Design ) students and faculty utilizes the design thinking and design processes to develop unique products for the modern day urban user. In these efforts, design opens up the possibility of getting instant market for the bamboo products. The unique approach of involving the rural artisan, working with him in their own local setting and deploying modern design process helps create products which have success in the urban market.

Commercial organizations like VEDHA, KONBAC, Bamboo Masters, Bambooed, Sangaru Designs, and Rhizomes have used ‘design’ to their advantage to develop and sell contemporary products in the commercial market. The success of these organizations have shown how design helps in creating commercial success out of products made out of bamboo.

This proves the Hypothesis :
H3 :     Adoption of New Design processes in developing new products in Bamboo craft sector has a positive impact on the success of the artisan entrepreneur.


D. Conclusion of Action Research

The action research on design of the TerraBambu pendant , a bamboo product shows how the ‘design process’ – ICAN Design is effectively used to develop a successful product. This product has helped the artisan – entrepreneur to succeed and has positively impacted him. He is able to demonstrate how he can effectively manage a group of artisans for livelihood development for him as well as for the fellow artisans through a good designed product.

The outcome of this research helps to prove the hypothesis
H3 :     Adoption of New Design processes in developing new products in Bamboo craft sector has a positive impact on the success of the artisan entrepreneur.

The case studies of Orchard Tractor and the TerraBambu pendant shows how the ICAN design process is effectively used to create the products. It also demonstrates in a sequential manner how the different stages in the design process help the development of a product.

It is concluded that the ICAN design process can be successfully used for the design of the Orchard Tractor which is an example of an automobile as well as the TerraBambu pendant a bamboo product. This shows that the design processes for developing any product is similar and can be used to create successful products.

This proves the hypothesis
H4 :     New Product Design Processes are common and can be effectively used for the Automobile and the Bamboo Sector for commercial success.

Conclusion:

H1 : A good designed product positively impacts directly as well as indirectly on the society
Hypothesis Proved

H2 : Good Designed & Styled vehicles in the same segment are more successful than others.
Hypothesis Proved

H3 : Adoption of New Design processes in developing new products in Bamboo craft sector has
        a positive impact on the success of the artisan entrepreneur.
Hypothesis Proved

H4 : New Product Design Processes are common and can be effectively used for the
        Automobile and the Bamboo Sector for commercial success
Hypothesis Proved















Conclusion of the Research

The output of the above study on design processes used in the industry gave the researcher the confidence and proof that the new product design processes have a positive impact on automobile and bamboo sector. To substantiate the research a study of product designs from the consumer goods sector was also conducted along with automobile and bamboo craft sectors. The positive impact of good designed products was seen in all the cases studied. The impact on the user, manufacturer and the entire value chain of the product was clearly visible and was proved .

The research proved the following hypothesis

H1 :     A good designed product positively impacts directly as well as indirectly on the society.

H2 :     Good Designed & Styled vehicles in the same segment are more successful than others.

H3 :     Adoption of New Design processes in developing new products in Bamboo craft sector has a positive impact on the success of the artisan entrepreneur.

H4 :     New Product Design Processes are common and can be effectively used for   
           the Automobile and the Bamboo Sector for commercial success.


The analysis of the design processes used by the three sectors studied in this research confirmed that the design processes are similar and can be adopted to design any products. The researcher concludes the research with the following analysis about commonality of design processes for any product to be designed and the importance of the ‘user’ in the design activity.


 

‘User’ centric
A good designed product is considered to be commercially successful if it satisfies the user needs. The users of the product have multiple profiles. All these users become the focal point of the universal design processes of Discover, Define, Develop and Deliver, which has to ultimately help to produce a successful product of any sector.
  1. Utility of  Research

  • The aim of the research was to study the impact of  New Design Processes on success of automobile products leading to success of the automobile industry.
  • The outcome of the study will be helpful to understand the interdisciplinary nature of users which impacts the success of the product
  • It gives insight of various users categories of the same product to help evolve/develop a better product taking care of different perspectives
  • ‘Design Analysis’ of a product will give an added dimension to the Marketing research activities in order to be able to find the correct pulse of the multidisplinary nature of the users defined in this research
  • With the utility of the New Design Processes established uptill now for a high-end industry like automobile will give impetus to find ways and means to suitably adopt and deploy  the learning’s to the craft sector. These inputs will provide a platform to start the efforts towards more industrialised ‘Craft industry’ in general and Bamboo Craft in particular

12.           Limitations of the study
  • Due to high secrecy ( intellectual property rights issues ) of the companies R&D and Design activities, the information shared was limited regarding the processes followed for a particular product category. The research was based on general processes rather than specifics.
  • Since there is no major company working with bamboo craft on a commercial scale the impact of design processes was not  able to be analyzed beyond the case under study
  • The Design process deployment experiment was conducted only at one location in Pune

13.           Scope for Future Research
  • Co-relation of addressing  soft issues – empathy  of users in vehicle design
  • Capturing multidimensional user segments
  • Exploring the field of ‘Design Management’
  • Importance of ‘Design’ Thinking in Business excellence
  • Analysis of Design Processes used in the industry.














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