KKing's Profile

Great questions! As we have seen in many of our TOM cases, there are certainly tradeoffs made when making key operating model decisions. Although J&J operates in a highly decentralized environment, R&D is centralized by therapeutic areas which allows them to innovate on a large scale rather than within siloed operating companies. Additionally, J&J has recognized the importance of maintaining a strong mission across its over 200 operating companies through its 70-year-old Credo. The Credo is displayed in every conference room across J&J facilities around the world and acts as a north star for all decision-making. As for more specific strategic visioning, J&J senior management at the corporate level set out established company-wide strategic pillars by which each operating model then conforms its specific strategy.

Very interesting post! It was interesting to learn that TOMS is shifting its business model to also focus on helping to address the root cause of poverty in the countries it supports. It is clear to me how they are updating their operating model to align with this new business model through eye exams and creating jobs for local workers, however, I am curious how this shift also affects its other set of consumers – the buyers of the shoes and eyewear. It seems that the shift in the business model and subsequently its operating model requires significantly more capital and resources and the resulting value created for those on the receiving end is clear, but where is the company now capturing the additional value created? Ultimately, it seems that TOMS is providing additional value to its customer base but I wonder where, or even if, TOMS is capturing value to support itself. Are they charging buyers more for the products? Or are they not concerned about the additional value capture because of their social impact motives?

I enjoyed your post on Bonobos and have been familiar with the brand for awhile as my boyfriend is a loyal customer. I echo Dylan’s fear, however, that as the e-commerce bespoke market grows, Bonobos’ value proposition to its male customers may decline. I am also concerned that Bonobos’ business model with its focus on fit and incredible amount of size variations is only a competitive advantage that has translated to the male customer. I know that Bonobos launched a womenswear line last year called AYR and would be curious how their operating model and/or business model have had to adapt to support this new customer.

I loved learning more about Pixar’s operating model in your post! Often times, as consumers of a product, in this case the Pixar movies, we are very aware of the company’s business model but less knowledgable of the details of their operating model. The points you highlighted here are very interesting and clearly tie to Pixar’s business model of “delighting” their customers by opening their eyes to the realm of possibilities. Your post mentions several intangible aspects of their operating model such as the organizational structure, innovation processes, and culture. Some other intangible aspects I would love to learn more about is around their human capital, specifically their recruiting and selection, performance incentives, and skills and capabilities training.

Although very different industries, one can draw similarities between Pixar’s innovation management and one within a pharmaceutical company, most notably the focus on a “blockbuster” end product. In industries with a strong focus on idea generation and as highly creative as Pixar, I would imagine there are some unique human capital practices to incentivize employees to be constantly innovating and finding the next billion dollar idea. As we saw in the Wyeth case, the role of incentives and establishing targets was critical to the company’s operations and achievement of their business model. Additionally, I am curious about how Pixar recruits, selects, and develops top talent. As we also saw in Wyeth, there was a debate between the relative importance of people vs processes in scientific R&D and I am curious how this translates to the highly creative, animated film industry. I hunch that there is a greater importance placed on the people and therefore wonder what recruitment and development practices Pixar has set in place.