Reference no: EM133725920

RATIONALIZATION ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS

OVERVIEW

Many individuals or firms, over time, have developed unique products or services that in some cases have been revolutionary. However, many, if not most, have failed to gain commercial success either as an issue of timing or of management of the innovation. For example, the first electric vehicle capable of transporting people was developed in 1881 by Gustave Trouvé but electric vehicles were not effectively commercialized until 2009 when the Tesla Motor Corporation began mass production of the Tesla Roadster. In this instance it took more than one hundred years for the concept to become commercially successful In this instance, Elon Musk, as the CEO of Tesla, not only commercialized the concept but also applied extensive operational, marketing and engineering processes to support the introduction of the vehicle which has led to Tesla becoming leader in global electric vehicle production.

The major element of Tesla's success versus Trouvé's invention was that consumers were prepared, in fact wanted, an alternative to traditional combustion driven vehicles. This was driven by global environmental concerns as well as potential government regulations and a changing mindset to environmental stewardship. The business concept rationalization assignment is designed to evaluate the "alignment" of the business concept developed in the first part of the integrated business plan development project with potential customer and market reception. This is a critical step in understanding whether a new product or process is potentially viable and what steps might be needed to commercialize the product or process.