The Dandelion Principle: Redesigning Work for the Innovation Economy Case Solution And Analysis, HBR Case Study Solution & Analysis of Harvard Case Studies

In May 2013, the multinational software corporation, SAP took an initiative of hiring many individual diagnosed with autism, a neurodevelopmental disorder, and announced to have 1% of its workforce with such individuals by 2020. However, at the time such approach was confusing for other competitors as they did not hire such individuals, but the management of SAP utilized this untapped advantage. The company’s management announced that it had found that individual with autism are absolutely effective for some of their information technology work. However, this approach led to a new management principle as the authors, Thorkil Sonne and Robert D. Austin, called it “the dandelion principle”- and provides a unique way to utilize the human capital. It transformed as one of the fundamental principle in hiring and managing individuals inside out. The dandelions are utilized as a metaphor by authors, as according to them, they are nutritious -but treated as weeds. The authors note that in the industrial age, the companies want to compete its competitors through efficient operations. However, in the current era, it cannot be enough. The companies now needed to expedite the innovation process along with offerings at lower cost to sustain and lead the industry that required to incorporate effective approaches and new procedures. The authors argue that developing innovative cultures is not entirely about averages, but more about examining outliers that how they can enhance the value. In an emerging innovation age, technology companies could gain advantage by motivating its workforce in various ways. Recruiting the workforce and trained them to fit for a particular job has become a traditional approach in HR practices. The dandelion principles define the need to hire multi-talented individuals, evaluating the competency carefully, managing the responsibilities around the workforce to increase their competencies in order to increase value, and then building the natural skills to sustain the value-creation process in future.