NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND MANAGEMENT AS SURVIVAL STRATEGIES FOR AN ORGANIZATION A CASE STUDY OF 7UP, LAGOS IDDO PLANT

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

In competitive market, the best and strongest firms sustain growth and maintain profitability over the longer term through successfully development a steady stream of new product. Firms must develop new products or services because of rapid changes in customer tastes, technology and competition. One of the major challenges in marketing planning is the development of new products and to launch them successfully. The company will have to find a replacement of the product that have entered the company the decline stage. A new product is one that is new to the company, but not necessary new to the market where the generic product may already exist.
New product development is a means of enlarging the size of product portfolio of an organization, that has not recorded as much success as the worsening economy situation with demand. After all it is said that necessity if the mother of invention and motivation.

One thing that is clear with the worsening marketing environment is that new products provide an organization foundation for the establishment and maintenance of success in any profit oriented business.
According to Kotler (1999:23), new product developments original products, products improvements, product modifications and new brand that the firm develops through its own research and development effort. Product development helps in improving the overall satisfaction of customer by predicting and keeping up dynamism of customer needs and wants which giving coverage to customers expectation. Organizations are to expand their overall business in each by venturing into new areas to take advantage of new opportunities.
The organization is also able to grow in her business depth stimulating further segmentation of their existing market through new product development. Under modern condition of competition, companies that will not develop new product risk much, such companies will find their product falling victims of changing consumer needs and taste new technologies shortened product life cycle and increasing domestic and foreign competition.

According to Armstrong (2001:21), company can obtain new products in two ways. One is through corporate acquisition and through new product development department. Acquisition can take one of the following ways amongst these three mentions. Firstly, the company can pursue a corporate acquisition by which it search for small or companies that have attraction product lines. Secondly, the company can pursue patent acquisition program in which it buys the right new product from their patent holders. Thirdly, company can also purchase a license acquisition programme from manufacturing various products.
In all three cases, the company does not develop any new product but simply acquires the right to existing ones. On the other hand, the new product write can take from: the company can purchase internal new product development by operating its own research and development department or its can pursue contract new product development in which he hire independently research on new product development agencies to develop specific product for the firm.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Despite the central position of new product development in the perpetual of a company, marketing professionals have not achieved much success in this direction. The question are; is it that companies do not or did not appreciate the importance of new product development? Could it also be that marketing practitioner or managers around whom new product generation process responsibility resolves are not alive? If the answer to the above question is yes, the what effort are being made to create awareness of the important and if no what are the constraints or barriers that tend to militate against new product development. These are some of the problems which this research intends to find answers.

1.3 Objectives of the Study

The objective of this study is to examine the new product development and management as survival strategies for an organization with respect to identify problems and possibly prospects, which are inherently in it. The 7up company is chosen for the study. The study is designed to;
To determine the level of awareness by organization of important of new product development and management as survival strategies for an organization.
To identify problems or constraints that tends to militate or inders against new product development.
Suggest prospects inherent in the adoption of the strategies
To measure the impact of new product development on the effective running of a profit oriented company.

1.4 Statement of Hypothesis

Hypothesis One
Ho: New product development enhanced marketing efficiency in an organization.
Hi: New product development does not enhanced marketing efficiency in an organization.

Hypothesis Two

Ho: New product development wastes organization’s resources.
Hi: New product development does not wastes organization’s resources.
Hypothesis Three
Ho: New product development boosts sales and quality of the organization product.
Hi: New product development does not boosts sales and quality of the organization product.