Jobs Theory Application Paper
In this paper you will take to heart the notion that ‘people do not want a quarter-inch drill, they want a quarter-inch hole’. This paper will also bring to light that understanding consumer behavior is the causal mechanism of successful innovation and entrepreneurship. Your goal is to write a compelling thesis concerning a particular job-to-be-done that you have recognized (e.g., that you personally experienced, observed firsthand, or have thought deeply about from a consumer perspective).
Your goal is to write a paper about what job(s) a product or service you have used gets done. Recall that a people buy or “hire” products or services to get a “job” done. Why did you hire this product or service? Was it hired for social or emotional jobs, in addition to a functional job-to-be-done? Gaining insight into the jobs underlying why we purchase or “hire” products or services in our lives is critical to designing new innovation solutions (products/services).
Part A – Describing the Job itself
In terms of the identified job-to-be-done underlying a product or service that you are familiar with, please work to develop a thorough ‘job spec’ (e.g., specific details of the identified job) as a blueprint someone might use to understand why someone is ‘hiring’ a particular product or service. Recall that jobs can be described in terms of the functional, emotional, and social dimensions that define the desired progress customers (such as yourself) are seeking, the trade-offs that they seem willing to make when adopting the solution (what really matters to them, what costs are they willing to incur), the full set of competing solutions that must be beaten, and the obstacles and anxieties that must be overcome for someone to adopt a new solution. You may write about his, or any other aspects of the job itself that you deem relevant.
Part B – When Does the Job Arise in People’s Lives? What are competing solutions?
Under what circumstances, that is when, do you believe people will be looking to hire a solution for your identified job-to-be-done? Can you describe these circumstances? Along these lines, what other solutions, such as products/services/work-arounds, etc., have people perhaps tried as a means to accomplish the job? Can you describe some of the other ways people might solve this job when it arises within their lives?
Part C – Understand Why People ‘Hire’ Products/Services using A Documentary Script
Imagine you are filming a documentary of someone trying to make progress in a particular set of circumstances and they are struggling (e.g., your identified job-to-be-done). Please imagine a mini-movie script of someone with the job-to-be-done arising in their life (see chapter 2 for details). *Please note that the aim of jobs theory is not simply to identify who that someone is (their characteristics) or simply what they do (current practices), but to go a step further to think about why they these actors within your mini-movie-script below actually do what they do (so as to better solve their deeper, more fundamental jobs-to-be-done). As such, a fictional documentary can help you better think through and understand the job to be done.
Part D – A New Solution
Please offer your solution, please develop a product resume which captures all of the reasons a customer would hire a new solution you can dream up as an even better means available to solve their job-to-be-done. Are there a particular set of circumstances where your solution is better?
Introduction
Customer satisfaction is a crucial objective that most companies seek to achieve when producing goods and services. This attributes to various benefits that this aspect contributes to its competitive advantage and market share. Besides, understanding consumer behavior is a crucial aspect in driving successful innovation and entrepreneurship. However, understanding consumer needs enormously impacts their purchase behavior. A compelling aspect in the production of goods and services is that consumers purchase products or services with some work in their minds that they aspire to be accomplished. In other words, consumers have a large spectrum of considerations before they purchase a product. Essentially, consumers attach emotional and social jobs among other uses of products before deciding to make a purchase.
The purpose of this paper is to emphasize the notion that consumers yearn for a quarter-inch hole rather than a quarter-inch drill in their purchase decisions. Such is elaborated through a job to be done (JTBD) theory which describes the process undergone by a consumer to change their existing life situation into a preferred one but is restricted by some existing constraints (Ribeiro et al., 2019). In other words, JTBD describes how a consumer changes or aspires to change. Companies’ realization of this gap in the market depicts a potential opportunity to explore and produce competitive products, hence gaining a larger market share. Seemingly, human beings have limited abilities and their aspirations to develop themselves largely relies on others’ abilities. In this consideration, consumers’ needs can be satisfied through the exploitation of other people’s abilities.
Essentially, people attach special value to the products they purchase. Aside from the specific need’s satisfaction, the product is meant for, and consumers consider additional functions that a product may have or other objectives that the product could help to achieve. An example of the product that describes how a job gets done through a product is the Apple iPhone. Apple iPhone was released in June 2007, inducing a drastic change from the stylus style system applied in most phones. The first phone to use a touch screen has evolved with different models, with the latest being 7+. The phone iPhone has numerous benefits, besides being a communication gadget.
While the mobile devices industry is seemingly flooded with numerous types of devices that consumers can choose from, I considered Apple iPhone for various reasons. Firstly, it is one of the best cellular devices owing to its unprecedented cameral quality, compatibility with other devices, prodigious software integration, and distinctive architecture. The first reason for purchasing this product was the purpose of communication. An iPhone would enable me to make and receive calls and texts (communicating) with people at distant places. In the current world, people are sparsely distributed, hence spiking the need to keep in touch through constant communication. As such, iPhone provides an easy strategy to reach out to people, among other benefits.
As noted above, I purchased the phone both for social and emotional purposes. Firstly, iPhone 7+ provides numerous approaches to communicate and interact with people worldwide (Lordkipanidze, 2019). Such includes phone calls, emails, and media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp, among other phone features. In this case, I consider the device as a means to accomplish the goals of social jobs. IPhone 7+ is an ideal status symbol by itself (Lordkipanidze, 2019). Having this phone model enhances self-esteem and ignites one’s social status. According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, this device significantly suggests individual belongingness to the high-income group. In this regard, I felt that purchasing this phone would fulfill my self-esteem and social class.
Part A – Describing the Job itself.
The Apple iPhone entails numerous features that I enjoy while using. Aside from the functions mentioned above, its extreme security is a special feature that drives the job to be done theory in this item, and which is the major reason that led me to purchase the device. The device has multiple uses and apps that enable the user to access social networks, email, log in to the bank’s website, besides taking selfies and storing contacts (Lordkipanidze, 2019). However, the cases of cyberbullying and hacking are on the rise, which threatens the privacy and security of users’ information. As such, Apple iPhone has extreme security which protects my information from potential harms and cyber brooks (Lordkipanidze, 2019). Besides, phones are prone to theft by robbers and this could impart emotional damage to the owner when such incidences occur. As such, the ability of Apple iPhone to safeguard consumers’ information is an interesting feature that enhances confidence in purchasing this gadget.
According to the US Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), even if Apple iPhone is illegally possessed, it is difficult to access the owners’ data and information, unless under assistance of an exceptionally skilled hacker. In other words, if a consumer happens to lose their device, they are assured of their information security which builds up confidence. Further, the use of shared Wi-Fi subjects the iOS apps to security threats. However, Apple takes security seriously by releasing updates to all the iOS devices directly (Lordkipanidze, 2019). Such helps the users to contain breaches immediately after realizing a potential threat and also disinfecting everyone’s device. In other words, the decision to purchase the Apple iPhone was majorly based on its excellent security feature that ensures protection of consumers’ information and data.
Further, the Apple iPhone’s compatibility is another crucial feature that fulfills the needs of the consumers. In essence, the electronic industry is seemingly flooded, increasing the probability that consumers possess devices from various manufacturers. While I considered Apple Company to have the best iPhone I could get in the market, other companies have competitive devices such as iPads and laptops from Samsung and other companies (Lordkipanidze, 2019). However, most of these devices lack the compatibility feature, which plays a critical role in ensuring continuity of tasks even if the other device is switched off. For instance, when working on a note on my iPhone, I have a mac which is it easier to hand the information to the Mac and continue working on it (Lordkipanidze, 2019). As such, I can easily sent and receive messages from my Mac even when the iPhone is miles always or turned off. In other words, the iPhone product depicts user-friendliness and hence a fulfilling device to possess.
Part B – When Does the Job Arise in People’s Lives? What are competing solutions?
Ideally, people buy products to get a particular job done or achieve a certain goal or objective. Such is described as a functional factor whereby consumers purchase products and services with specific aims or tasks to accomplish in their minds. In this regard, some specifics express the presence of a job to be done. In other words, a job arises in people’s lives under various circumstances. For instance, people need to change from one lifestyle to another or from using a certain product to another. This is essentially initiated by a change of technology or fashions, which ignite people’s desires to adopt changes. For instance, in my case, before the innovation of the Apple iPhone, there existed other devices that served similar needs. However, as the device got innovated in mid-2007, the need to change old devices and purchase the ‘new’ one was undoubtedly (Lordkipanidze, 2019). Consumers were and still are willing to purchase the significantly expensive gadget to serve their various needs. In this regard, it is apparent to argue that jobs arise in people’s lives when they perceive a desirable value that can be achieved through using a given product or service.
However, although the consumers’ objective highly influences their purchasing decisions, there are other competing solutions. These include the economic factor, particularly the opportunity cost. People are compelled to purchase the products and services that fit their budget regardless of their value to the product they aspired to acquire. Although the need for a product or services plays a role in the job to be done, affordability is a critical factor of consideration. Therefore, consumers will purchase the next best alternative that fully or partially gets their job done while forgoing the product they had in mind or longed for. The cultural factors are also a competing solution that is capable of changing a consumer’s purchase decision. Each individual lives in a complex cultural and social environment which influences the kinds of products and services they purchase. In other words, although an individual may consider a certain product to have the capacity to satisfy their needs, the overall cultural context in which they live may ‘allow’ or ‘deter’ them from purchasing.
Data and information security is my identified job to be done, and people would be compelled to look for this solution, especially if the data is highly confidential. If individuals consider their private and confidential information, they would not want any unscrupulous authority to access it. They hence would prefer products that assure them of this satisfaction. A simple example is intimate texts or conversations between sexual partners or couples. Admittedly, intimate conversations are essentially private, and hence couples or partners would prefer electronic gadgets that assure inaccessibility to third parties. Most phone manufacturers have attempted to accomplish this task by providing the feature of instilling passwords on the phones. However, with the heightened cyberbullying incidences, consumers still feel that their information is not safeguarded enough against unauthorized access.
Part C – Understand Why People ‘Hire’ Products/Services
People hire various products and services for different purposes. Ideally, it is illogical to argue that products and services are meant to satisfy a single need or purpose. While a product or service may be meant for a specific purpose, most consumers purchase them with different objectives besides the primary purpose. For instance, a loaf of bread is arguably produced as an accompaniment for breakfast. However, some people consider the benefits of the ingredients used in producing the bread, such as wheat and margarine, and hence consider the products with a high concentration of these products. Similarly, films’ production is a rapidly growing industry that paves the way for the utilizationutilization of talents and skills in film production. The eligibility for awards depends highly on the production of original content and its ability to influence a large audience through impactful information.
However, a variety of attacks against movie production and delivery system have proved successful. In other words, the creativity and innovative strategies expressed by movie producers lack information security, poising a critical threat to their success. Resultantly, this negatively impacts the consumers who yearn for innovative products in the film industry. While the products may be appealing, the consumers’ lack of creativity and originality would initiate a loss of value. Another example entails the need to fulfill the task of remote working through the use of video conferencing. Jack is the head of the IT department of a cosmetics company that comprises other head of departments – Mary, Tonny, Joe, and Mark. With the recent onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the need to work remotely has increased exponentially as a measure to curb the spread of the virus.
Robin, the company manager, has ordered Jack to develop a technology-based collaboration tool that would enable the heads to communicate and interact with employees to give instruction, supervise work, and receive feedback. Jack considers ‘zoom’as the most appropriate videoconferencing software which ensures the achievement of ‘job to be done, in this case, communication and interaction without physical contact, due to the social distance health measures (Archibald et al., 2019). The software depicts effective interaction, ensuring the continuity of work as the employees operate from their homes. Admittedly, the software achieves crucial goals, including ensuring that employees do not spread the virus to each other, and yet work progress continues. However, the software still presents the challenge of privacy and confidentiality of the company’s information.
Cyberbullying remains a critical threat to the company’s information since the digital waves can be hacked or hijacked, hence providing unauthorized access. Besides, the trustworthiness level intertwined among department heads cannot be assured by a hundred percent. This may initiate leakage of information to the competitors since remote work was abruptly introduced without prior preparation. In other words, some of the heads of departments may have negative experiences with the company and hence opt to retaliate, since their role in ensuring work progress still remains crucial. Besides, strangers may access the meeting through the simple links or codes embedded in the calendar invites or email threads (Archibald et al., 2019). Notably, the access to meetings does not require authentication, and this poses a risk of access by third parties. This may lead to mishandling of information and allow the competitors to learn the company’s products and competitive strategies. In other words, the misuse of unsecured meetings risks the organizations in allowing unscrupulous access to sensitive information, discussions, and materials. The information regarding the competitive strategies of the company is crucial and requires security. However, the critical need to videoconference subjects the information to hacking, and this could lead to leaking it to unauthorized access who would utilize it against the company. In any case, video conferencing does not consider the kind of people that access the conversation and hence a critical threat.
Part D – A New Solution
Security is a crucial part of video conferencing, and this requires the test for hardware vulnerabilities in the cameras. The type of software is also a critical aspect of consideration to avoid strangers accessing the company’s meetings. Typically, this requires the management to identify the most sensitive meetings such as financial updates, board meetings, or merger and acquisition conversations. Realistically, these kinds of meetings take up about 10% of all the conversations that take place in a day during video conferencing meetings. In this regard, developing a viable solution that captures the protection of information is a crucial aspect of consideration. Firstly, authentication is an effective factor that could aid in achieving this goal. Realistically, millions of zoom users are added to the platform daily, and this depicts the possibility of criminals bruiting forceful access to virtual meetings. To aid the company in enhancing the security strategy for private meetings, possible solutions should be adopted.
For this case, a Session Border Controller (SBC), a special-purpose device used to protect the flow of IP communications, should be implemented (Kaul & Jain, 2018). SBC is deployed at the network borders to control the sessions of the IP communications. The tool provides security and protection against toll fraud, attacks, and service theft by signaling the encryption (Kaul & Jain, 2018). This assures the use of protection and confidentiality against impersonation. Cyberbullies can attack the communication waves and impersonate themselves to attend the company meeting. In this consideration, implementing SBC would enable the heads of departments to sense this unscrupulous behavior and hence respond accordingly. SBC also terminates a received call that initiates a second call leg to the destination party to protect the service provide and hide the network topology (Kaul & Jain, 2018). This is described as a back-to-back user agent which signals the traffic and media traffic, which would enable the in-network call signaling elements to assume control over their path. In other words, the tool enables information to flow only across the authorized personnel while limiting unauthorized access. As such, SBCs are largely effective in cases where the users wish to control the kinds of calls that can be conducted (Kaul & Jain, 2018). This presents an appropriate approach to regulating or monitoring the kind of persons who access the information available through video calls. In Jack’s case, adopting this tool would ensure that only the selected or authorized employees – heads of departments access the company information hence increasing security and protection of data.
Conclusion
In retrospect, consumers place special considerations on the products and services they purchase. Such indicates a crucial strategy that companies should consider while seeking to enhance consumer satisfaction. The theory of job-to-be-done ascribes that the consumers consider a product or service as a medium to achieve specific targets or goals. This means that they have a job that they aspire to get done through a product or service they purchase. This paper researched the essence of this theory and its applicability in various consumer targets and motivations for purchasing products and services. An Apple iPhone is an ideal example discussed in the essay to describe how ‘job-to-be-done is achieved, in this case, information security through the product, despite numerous other uses. Further, video conferencing is also an example of areas where the protection of data is crucial. Session Border Controller (SBC) explains an effective approach to restricting the accessibility of video calls, hence enhancing data security.
References
Archibald, M. M., Ambagtsheer, R. C., Casey, M. G., & Lawless, M. (2019). Using zoom videoconferencing for qualitative data collection: perceptions and experiences of researchers and participants. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 18, 1609406919874596. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1609406919874596
Kaul, S., & Jain, A. (2018). Study On: Session Border Controllers and Impact on Voice and Video Conferencing. http://www.ijrar.com/upload_issue/ijrar_issue_734.pdf
Lordkipanidze, R. (2019). Our Innovative Joys of Epoch: New York-Big Apple and iPhone-as well Apple. Tbilisi, General Coordinator of International Charity Scientific-Research Partnership, As E-Article, 10. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Revaz_Lordkipanidze/publication/333881729_Our_Innovative_Joys_of_Epoch_New_York_-_Big_Apple_and_iPhone_-_as_well_Apple_-_Tbilisi_General_Coordinator_of_International_Charity_Scientific-Research_Partnership_As_E-Article_June_20_2019_10/links/5d0a9531299bf1f539d16fe3/Our-Innovative-Joys-of-Epoch-New-York-Big-Apple-and-iPhone-as-well-Apple-Tbilisi-General-Coordinator-of-International-Charity-Scientific-Research-Partnership-As-E-Article-June-20-2019-10.pdf
Ribeiro, Á. H. P., Monteiro, P. R. R., & Luttembarck, L. (2019). The Use of the job to Be Done methodology to identify value co-creation opportunities in the context of the Service-Dominant Logic. BBR. Brazilian Business Review, 16(1), 32-45. https://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?pid=S1808-23862019000100032&script=sci_arttext