bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A research management course
Authors: Alsop K. , Lockwood A. J.
Published: May 2007

This paper describes the origin and subsequent development of the Department of the Environment Research Management Course and its broadening to include participants from other Government research laboratories in the U. K. The method of evaluation and possible future developments are briefly considered.
The tactical control of research projects using research planning diagrams (R. P. Ds)
Authors: Woods M. F. , Tweedie T. P. S.
Published: May 2007

We have successfully used Research Planning Diagrams in our laboratory for the last six years. We see their principal use as communication. They are able to show the steps of complex and uncertain research projects simply and clearly to the planner, his staff and most importantly, to his management. A Research Planning Diagram can convey complex planning on a single side of paper where previously several pages of description were necessary.

Individual researchers approach and plan their work differently. By using Research Planning Diagrams tactical approaches to research can be seen clearly and if necessary, action can be taken at an early stage to alter the detail and so fit the project into the wider context of the laboratory and product area management.
The analysis of technological activity using abstracting services
Authors: Butler J. , Ball D. F. , Pearson A. W.
Published: May 2007

Many organizations are at the present time faced with two problems. First, what are the events that are likely to have important implications for their activities in future time periods? Second, what new areas should they consider entering and how can they make quick appraisal of the potential in such areas? There are no easy answers to either of these questions but a number of methods have been proposed which have been found to be of assistance. This paper outlines an approach based on the use of abstracting services which can provide useful information quickly and inexpensively.
The efficiency‐effectiveness dilemma in managing medical research
Authors: Mackintosh Douglas R.
Published: May 2007

There exists in medical research, and in fact, in other projects involving the delivery of human services or scientific experimentation, a series of decisions regarding the trade‐off between efficiency and effectiveness. The objectives of this paper are (1) to describe the dilemma involving these two measures of performance and (2) to provide a solution to the identified trade‐off.
Book Reviews
Authors: DUCKWORTH W. E. , BALL D. F.
Published: May 2007

The Business of Science

The Chemical Economy
Managers and union membership
Authors: Purcell John
Published: May 2007

White‐collar unions have been growing substantially in the last decade and managerial unionism is forming an important partof the growth. A number of new trade unions designed exclusively for managers and professional workers are expected to have more appeal than traditional unions. The increasing concentration of employment, more favourable attitudes of employers to white‐collar unions, changes in labour law, continuing problems with the managementof the economy and the effecton pay differentials and the developmentof defensive managerial unions with a moderate character are seen as the main factors explaining the growth of managerial unionism. By virtue of their avowed moderation and exclusiveness, doubts are expressed about the likely effectiveness of these unions, and as managers and professional workers are joining the unions for instrumental, rather than ideological reasons, lack of results may lead to further developments toward traditional trade unionism.
Innovation in the UK textile machinery industry: the results of a postal questionnaire survey
Authors: Rothwell Roy
Published: May 2007

The postal survey reported here was undertaken as partof an on‐going three year study into post war innovation and change in textile machinery funded by a grant from the Science Research Council. The prime aim of this study, which is in its final phase, is to discover those technical, production, marketing, managerial and economic factors that facilitate the successful commercialization of innovations and to identify those factors which contribute to failure. In all, a total of twenty organizations are being studied in depth, about half in the UK and half abroad.
Book Reviews
Authors: FISK S. , PEARSON A. W.
Published: May 2007

The Expected Return jrom Pharmaceutical Research

Economics of Research and Development
Empirical approaches to understanding technology transfer
Authors: Fischer William A.
Published: May 2007

Technology transfer has received considerable attention from both practitioners and academicians over the past few years, yet little progress has been made towards establishing a solid conceptual framework for the topic based on empirical evidence. This article reviews the limited amount of multivariate empirical literature on ‘transfer processes in technological change’ existing, discusses the major findings, and suggests directions for future research.
Government policy for technology transfer: an instrument for industrial progress
Authors: Johnston R.
Published: May 2007

Noting the growing interest in technology policy as an instrument for improving industrial performance, this paper examines the role of technology transfer in technology policy. The concentration on the transfer of the results of R & D carried out in government organizations is criticized and a case made for a broader view. The vital role of the technological infrastructure in promoting transfer processes is explored and a ‘transfer’ model for radical innovations proposed. Pciicy implications are drawn from these research findings.
Impact of technology transfer on process engineering in developing countries
Authors: Jones M.
Published: May 2007

Absrracr

Imperfect o r total lack of any effective technology transfer was a major reason for the very limited usefulness of many post‐war aid programmes. The paper describes the more sensitive regions of oil refining, petrochemicals and industrial chemicals process design, plant installation and operation which bear on the success or failure of the transfer. The first requirement is a satisfactory availability of technical manpower. In sectors where there is a large investment per unit of production a good deal can ‘be left’ t o external engineering organizations but where, as in plastic fabrication, the investment of capital is low the demand on indigenous engineering and science skills will be higher. Some technologies, such as refrigeration or desalination are key ones for seeding the local development of engineering skills. Moreover, with manpower development in mind, the investment programme should be staggered to ensure integration with related sectors. Mechanical engineering is a key skill and plans to develop this in the educational system and investment programme of the receiving country should be part of the strategy. Two very important common failings are inattention to critical detail during the initial stages of a project and the fallacy that the process must be designed to minimize capital investment. Plant reliability in a hostile climate and with poor maintenance is a more important consideration than costs. The paper concludes with lists of critical off‐site and on‐site features and decisions needing attention in the design stage and gives useful guidelines for the selection of plant managers and staff.
Innovation and productivity in R&D: associated individual and organizational variables
Authors: Stahi M. J.
Published: May 2007

The relationships of organizational variables with innovation and productivity of scientists and engineers in R&D laboratories were explored. Peer ratings of innovation (original and useful output) and productivity (quantity of output) were utilized as criteria. Information was obtained on 154 scientists/engineers in 35 work groups in three Air Force R&D laboratories, Significant relationships found between organizational variables and innovation and productivity included: rewards for innovation, communication on technical matters with other scientists/engineers within the work group, and an age‐education demographic group of variables. Level of participation in goal setting and group leader's level of empathy were also consistently related to level of productivity.
Aspects of project control in R&D
Authors: Reader R. D.
Published: May 2007

This paper examines the concept of project control in the context of an R&D laboratory, and reviews some of the methods of presenting control or monitoring information that have been found of use by management for different types of work. The concepts described are those which the author has found of practical value in his own work, and which also figure in some R&D Management training courses within British Gas.
Signals of the future? Towards the establishment of a forecasting standard using signal detection theory
Authors: Lester G. , Rothman H.
Published: May 2007

The paper is an attempt to provide a basis for comparing forecasts from different sources and of different types. Heavy use of an analogy with classic signal theory and methods is made. A measure of a forecaster's sensitivity is developed, as is the possibility of matching this to the implementer's circumstances. An exemplar from the field of food and agriculture is demonstrated.
Closing speech
Authors: Pilliard J. L.
Published: May 2007

English summary

M. Pilliard explained that he was not speaking as an academic, a researcher, a sociologist or a futurologist, but as an industrialist From this starting point he was concerned with broadening the idea of product and extending the role of demand in the search for innovation. He was also concerned with the way in which the different stages of R & D evolution related to the growing interdependence of business with its environment
Cost‐benefit analysis of agricultural research: hybrid maize reconsidered
Authors: Wise W. S.
Published: May 2007

This paper reviews the use of benefit‐cost ratio, and the internal or external rate of return for ex post and ex ante assessment of agricultural research projects. The classic data on hybrid maize are used to illustrate unsatisfactory features of these criteria.

In the absence of practicable optimization procedures, it is suggested that the net benefits of projects might be quantified, then judgment exercised on patterns of resource usage as well as on social consequences. Present value of net benefits is sensitive to discount rate and to the base year taken for discounting, but an ‘equivalent annual flow’ is a useful alternative form of expression.

It is finally pointed out that the rejection of the high rates of return on agricultural research published in many retrospective studies does not weaken the case for investment in agricultural research which has to be determined by national needs.

If, in the past, science was pursued for its own sake, nowadays it is being asked whether national expenditure on scientific research can also be justified in economic terms. Agricultural research would seem to be a particularly suitable area for studying this question since it is largely publicly funded, and agricultural benefits tend to accrue to the community as a whole in its capacity as a consumer of food.
Case history studies in ICI Agricultural Division Research and Development Department 1968–1975
Authors: Sherlock E. , Edge H. A.
Published: May 2007

During the period 1968–1972 several projects which were initiated in Agricultural Division Research & Development Department were studied in some depth, the main objective being to try to establish the reasons for the successes and the failures. A set of six precepts (AGCAST criteria) likely to lead to success was derived from these studies. These precepts were then combined with six precepts resulting from the SAPPHO study of industrial innovation. From 1973 onwards the twelve precepts were applied; firstly to studies of finished projects, with a saving in the effort required, secondly to two ‘live’ projects which were examined so as to make suggestions for improving the management of these projects. Unfortunately, both projects were abandoned before the suggestions could be applied.

Use has also been made of case studies and the AGCAST/ SAPPHO list in the design of an internal course for project managers. This is arguably the most valuable application of these studies.
A mathematical model for projecting the demand for scientists and technologists in national R & D institutes
Authors: Joshi Nandini
Published: May 2007

This paper presents an analytical framework for man‐power planning which is being developed as an aid to projecting the demand for scientists and technologists in India. It is presented in the hope that it might be of interest to people concerned with this issue In other developing countries. In using the model the main problem is that of measuring the output in the R & D institutes. In attempting this it is inevitable that some degree of subjective judgment is involved. The method adopted is described in the paper, and using a very simple input—output type of matrix and data taken from five‐year plans, some preliminary results have been obtained which enable an assessment to be made of the demand for various kinds of scientists and technologists in the national R & D institutes in India.
Human aspects of R & D organization
Authors: Parker R. C.
Published: May 2007

Abstract. The organization structure of an R & D Division should seek to establish conditions in which creative ideas flourish. The nature of the R & D activity and needs of its staff must be clearly understood. The essential core of the organization should comprise a number of commercial target groups around which lie a flexible array of disciplinary and service groups. It is essential that group managers are seen to be scientists or engineers of distinctive competence. There should not be more than three tiers of management.
The contribution of ‘new boy’ phenomena to increasing innovation and improvement in new technology
Authors: Goodman Richard A. , Abernathy William J.
Published: May 2007

. The importance of increasing innovation and improvement in support of national priorities and goals is commonly stated, and such importance is, in the main, agreed upon.

Conventional wisdom relies heavily upon competition and direct incentives to be the driving force for innovation and improvement. The data presented herein argues in favor of increasing competition by encouraging new producers, socalled ‘new Boys,’ to enter a specific technological application area. This suggests that a ‘new boy’ policy judiciously applied would increase the rate of change of improvement and of innovation and probably would reduce the costs per unit improvement.

We present analyses drawn from a single industry over a period of approximately twenty‐five years. The study analyzes 237 projects drawn from ten corporations and points to the effects of the ‘new boy’ phenomena at all sections of the technology curve.
Management of large‐scale interdisciplinary environmental programmes
Authors: Winnicki Tomasz , Gtowiak Bohdan
Published: May 2007

Four aspects of uniformity (discipline, institution, type of research and sponsorship) are identified as decisive in the organization and management of large‐scale research programmes: difficulties increase with increasing non‐unifornmty in any of the aspects. Environmental research is an example of a research area in which one has to overcome all of these problems, and this paper describes the authors’ experiences in managing just such a programme. Aspects covered include: the organizational framework chosen and its operation in practice, the selection of research goals, methods of data collection, and manpower and social problems in interdisciplinary research. The degree of generalizability of the observations in the paper is left open for discussion.
Communication patterns in small R & D projects
Authors: Pruthi S. , Nagpaul P. S.
Published: May 2007

An empirical investigation was carried out on the pattern and role of communication in two ongoing applied research projects in one of the national laboratories of the C. S. I. R., India. The overall objectives of the study were:

(1) to investigate the communication pattern and its relationship with parameters like hierarchy, educational status and social relations:

(2) to identify ‘technological gatekeepers’ and ‘isolates’ and study their characteristics and roles;

(3) to study the role of informal communication vis‐à‐vis formal communication in problem‐solving and idea‐generation.

In this paper, the first two aspects are discussed: the role of informal communication in problem‐solving and idea‐generation will be published in a subsequent paper.
The effects of group size and cooperation on the success of interdisciplinary groups in R & D
Authors: Steck R. , Sündermann J.
Published: May 2007

After considering the results of earlier reports on productivity in research, the efficiency of research teams in relation to their size, and the connection between communication and success in R & D laboratories, the authors have developed a mathematical model to analyse the qualitative and quantitative relationships between cooperation among researchers and the chances of success interdisciplinary groups may have.

As the results show, this model can answer questions like: To what degree does the probability of success of inter‐disciplinary research groups depend on the size of the group, the number of disciplines involved and the willingness of the individual members of the group to cooperate with colleagues within the group? or ‘How great is the marginal improvement in the probability of success of an inter‐disciplinary group if two members of the group, which did not previously cooperate at all, start to cooperate, and are then joined by the third and so on, until full cooperation is reached? Is it the second, third or fifth researcher who makes the greatest contribution to the success of the group through his decision to Cooperate with the others?’
Application of research
Authors: Alsop K.
Published: May 2007

The paper draws on the experience of the Building Research Establishment in seeking to apply the results of research work, and outlines ways in which the possibility of application can be helped right from the selection of the research itself. The various applications media used by the Building Research Establishment are described, and an example of their use given.
Some aspects of the present‐value criterion in research planning
Authors: Wise W. S.
Published: May 2007

The classic analysis of a potato harvester by Grossfield and Heath is reworked. The present value of the benefits is shown to depend on the way capital costs are handled and on the way the benefits are identified. It is concluded that, by 1965, the harvester had not, in fact, yet generated positive benefits. Attention is drawn to the ambiguities of interpretation which can arise from the choices of discount rate and base year. Finally, some difficulties in extending the analysis to incorporate social effects are mentioned.
The structure and management of government research institutes: some problems and suggestions1
Authors: Toren Nina
Published: May 2007

The open system model is applied to examine government industrial research institutes. Their observed ineffectiveness is in part accounted for by a growing discrepancy between organizational structure and activities and rapidly changing task environments. A number of suggestions for reorganizing the research institutes are offered. It is, however, indicated that in a change program aimed at promoting organizational effectiveness: (a) the focal organization's management could assume a more active role; (b) relevant parts of the environment should also be considered as targets of change.
The ecology of organizations and the concept of acceptance change
Authors: Woods M. F. , Hyde S.
Published: May 2007

We see in analogy an effective and creatively led organisation as a thriving and successful tree. To understand a'successful tree' we need to study the ecology of the tree—the tree's own fundamental characteristics and how they relate to the total environment. We also need to understand how the tree adapts and renews itself in the continual battle for survival. We see some possible adaptations as being readily accepted by the tree while others as being resisted to the extent that if forced will result in its death. Relating our analogy back to organisations we have developed a system by which senior managements can study the ecology of their own organisations and give priorities to particular courses of adaptive action for survival. We also consider two methods by which managers can assess the acceptability of particular changes in their organisations.
The implications of research on the R&D manager's role to the selection and training of scientists and engineers for management
Authors: Manners G. E. , Steger J. A.
Published: May 2007

A methodology for improving the process of selection and development of scientists and engineers for management is presented. This involves (1) specifying the R&D management role in terms of both behavior and style; (2) utilizing such a specification to estimate ‘probabilities of trainability’ and (3) employing the probabilities as criteria for the allocation of resources among managerial selection efforts versus training and development.
The functions of project evaluation
Authors: Brunsson Nils
Published: May 2007

In trying to explain the difficulties of implementing evaluation models it can be useful to study how evaluations of product development proposals are carried out in practice when they are not influenced by normative models. In this article some results are reported from an in‐depth study of how project proposals were evaluated in two Swedish companies operating in the same industry. One was among the most innovative in the industry, its product development activities had led it into a series of new products and had resulted in a very high profitability and an extremely high rate of growth. The product development of the other company had resulted much more in variations in existing products than in major innovations. Growth was very slow and profitability was approaching a critically low level.

The way project proposals were evaluated in the companies proved to differ substantially. In one company the dominating evaluation mode was one where the task is considered to be to estimate what effect an acceptance of the project proposal will have on overall goals, such as profitability and growth. This is called the rationalistic approach.

In the other company an evaluation mode with the opposite characteristics was used. The evaluators consider a few conspicuous or at least easily visible characteristics of the project proposal. On the basis of these a picture of the project is created which is perceived as good or bad. This picture is the basis for the decision. This is called the impressionistic approach.

In the case reported here the rationalistic mode was used by the least successful and least innovative company while the impressionistic mode was used by the most successful and most innovative company. The paper presents arguments for interpreting the relationship between evaluation mode and performance not as coincidental but as causal. It is argued that even if the impressionistic mode may seem irrational from a traditional point of view, it is superior to the rationalistic one in some important respects.
The Creativity Audit: introduction of a new research measure during programmes for facilitating organizational change
Authors: Rickards T. , Bessant J.
Published: May 2007

A programme of intervention research is described centred around the application of a new instrument, the Creativity Audit. The audit has been administered to managers across a range of environments.

Respondents indicate their perceptions of their organization's characteristics; results are fed back as profiles of mean scores and compared to data base standard profiles. Major deviations between the two profiles are taken as indicators of starting points for consideration in change programmes.

The methodology of developing a research instrument at the same time as it is being applied in intervention activities is presented as a legitimate one, and preferable to present designs for studies if the focus of attention is primarily to assist change. It is suggested that the more traditional validatory exercises can still be conducted if further refinements in the instrument are required.
A goal‐oriented pharmaceutical research and development organization: an eleven‐year experience
Authors: Stucki Jacob C.
Published: May 2007

Pharmaceutical R & D effort is multidisciplinary and matrix in management form, but variable in organizational detail. Upjohn's discipline‐oriented organization (coordination matrix) of 11 years ago is compared to its current organization consisting of a goal‐oriented, leadership matrix and a simultaneously existing coordination matrix. Product development success and individual performances were similar for the concurrent coordination matrix and leadership matrix. Consensus on candidate product identification and execution of development plans is easier with a leadership matrix than with a coordination matrix, but flexible response to new or changing goals seems more likely with a coordination matrix. The location of candidate product advocacy differed in the two types of organization. Strategies effected over the 11‐year period to overcome inherent limitations of goal‐oriented organizations and functional organizations included the maintenance of competing yet synergistic, functional, and goal‐oriented organizations, a strong publication and basic research policy, and a Troika’ approach to candidate selection and development in the functional organization.
Inter‐location technical communication in a geographically dispersed research organization
Authors: Tomlin B.
Published: May 2007

A survey was carried out of all graduate research workers in a multi‐location agricultural research organization. An analysis was conducted of all possible pairs of research workers. This paper examines the probability that a pair of individuals will communicate if they are at different locations. The probability is very low, and is substantially increased only if both are members of the same department, especially if one is head of the unit. Project bonds have a much weaker effect on communication between major locations. Close similarity in work‐focus has a moderate effect.
The concentration of research funds: the case of the Science Research Council
Authors: Farina C. , Gibbons M.
Published: May 2007

Abstract. A perennial problem facing an R & D effort is the allocation of scarce resources amongst competing proposals or projects. One conceptualization of this problem evolves from the notion of concentration of resources. That is, the balance between more and less expensive projects. The Science Research Council (SRC) has pursued a policy of concentration of resources within both selected areas of research and specific research units for a number of years. This paper presents both a technique for monitoring the concentration of resources and an analysis of the effect of the SRC's policy on the distribution of grants for the years 1964 to 1974 inclusive.
Mobility and its alternatives in a national R & D system
Authors: Goldberg A. I. , Kats R. , Weinreb B.
Published: May 2007

Abstract. A framework is presented for understanding the relationship between the mobility of researchers and the effectiveness of an R & D system. Alternative structural factors that can provide similar results are described. Data taken from a study of Israel illustrate the extent to which mobility and its alternatives are found in this country, which has a particularly effective national R & D system.
Project management for R & D equipment: a prescriptive attack
Authors: Walsh M. , Wearne S. H.
Published: May 2007

The authors review statements from industry on the problems of procuring physical equipment for research and development, and list the lessons of project management that can be applied
Technology transfer and applications
Authors: Beaumont C. , Dingle J. , Reithinger A.
Published: May 2007

Using case histories, the conflicts inherent in these points of view are analysed in order to show the conditions which seem to be necessary to achieve success in international technology transfer, in a world where trends in techno‐economic evolution are seldom in tune with trends in political aspiration.

Transfer of technology is examined from three points of view:

(1) The international political framework within which tendencies towards co‐operation or confrontation between the ‘developed’ and the ‘developing’ world are largely determined;

(2) The commercial framework in which the interplay of corporate motives and negotiating strategies determines the outcome of individual projects;

(3) The operational framework in which the transferred technology may contribute‐or rnay fail to contribute‐to the recipient's economic and social development.
European Economic Community industrial research priorities for the early 1980s
Authors: Bradbury F. R. , Bodroghy B. G. , Clarke F. J. P. , Jervis P.
Published: May 2007

Respondents claimed that European effort on basic research rnay have so diminished that the long‐term competitiveness of its industries is endangered. They saw a major role for the Commission in redressing this imbalance. There was little support for Commission sponsorship of applied industrial research. Some respondents felt that this could even be counter‐productive by diluting effort in areas seen as important by industrial management. A role was seen for the commission in supporting more research on the legislative context and general environment in which industry operates (‘contextual research’). The need for such research imposes a growing burden on industry and diverts scarce resources from work directly related to competitiveness.

A study sponsored by the Commission of the European Communities aimed to identify the types of R & D activity in aid of European industry that the Commission might support over the next three or four years. The findings are based on interviews with senior managers from some fifty firms, representing eight sectors of manufacturing industry in five European countries.
Management of Scientific Staff at the Harwell Laboratory of the U. K. Atomic Energy Authority
Authors: Low G. G. E.
Published: May 2007

Harwell's primary role. is to serve as the main research laboratory supporting the U. K. nuclear power development programme; in addition it undertakes research and development outside of the nuclear field for Government and industrial customers. Overall, there is the need to manage a very large number of separate and often disparate items of work and to ensure effective communication with senior managers of the nuclear power programme and with commercial customers on allocation of resources and technical progress. This is done through a version of “matrix management”. A large proportion of the technical, commercial and staff management decisions are devolved within Harwell's matrix organisation where teams of staff required for particular items of R & D are formed by arrangements agreed locally between the two axes of the matrix. The smaller groupings of staff created in the matrix are important in providing environments where good staff management practices can be established and where a team spirit aids motivation and technical initiative.
The R & D/Production Interface—United Kingdom and West German practices and achievements in the scientific instrument industry
Authors: Bergen S. A.
Published: May 2007

A number of hypotheses are stated relating company technical sector success in the generation of new products to factors at the R & D/ Production Interface. Statistical differences and correlations between these factors are used to evaluate the hypotheses.

The results suggest a strong link between productivity and expenditure per head in the R & D function, the unique fitness of the German Ing. Grad. engineer for the role of Project Manager and the importance to U. K. industry of project integration, flexibility of operation, absence of status consciousness and clarity of problem definition.
Railway innovation and uncertainty
Authors: Taylor C. T.
Published: May 2007

This paper outlines two innovative projects carried out within the same organisation, but with markedly differing results. One has been satisfactorily completed while the other, although having run for much longer, is still experiencing technical problems. The two projects, British Rail's Advanced Passenger Train, and High Speed Train, are examined in relation to the concept of uncertainty. It is suggested that many of the points upon which the projects are differentiated can be attributed to the degree of uncertainty to which they were subject. It is concluded that one means of handling the uncertainty associated with development programmes is to adopt a flexible approach. It is noted, however, that flexibility may not be simply a question of personnel or organisational disposition, but can be influenced by the characteristics of particular projects.
Technology transfer from government laboratories to industry: Canadian experience in the communications sector*
Authors: Bhaneja B. , Lyrette J. , Davies T. W. , Dohoo R. M.
Published: May 2007

ABSTRACT Successful innovation is a complex process. It involves a multitude of factors usually coming together over relatively long periods of time. Neither governments nor industry can realistically aspire to manage all aspects of it. Although each case of technology development and its subsequent exploitation has its own unique set of variables, shaped by the nature of technology being developed, the mandates of the research organization and the technical and commercial competence of the recipient, there are common factors which can be identified as having Important bearings on the level of innovation.
The Impact of Labour Markets on Specialist Manpower
Authors: Gunz Hugh
Published: May 2007

ABSTRACT A major problem to be faced in the coming decade is ensuring an adequate supply of trained staff to innovate and exploit new technologies. Historically this has often been defined as a macroeconomic supply‐demand issue, to do with generating people from the educational sector with the appropriate mix of expertise in the numbers required to meet demand in the industrial sector. In this paper the author makes the case that the concept of ‘expertise’ is not as simple as a supply‐demand view assumes. The definition of what is appropriate expertise for given jobs—technical and managerial—seems to be heavily influenced by who is trying to gain control over whom, a phenomenon that can also be seen at work in situations as diverse as shopfloor demarcations and the behaviour of professional bodies. If this is the case, the solution to the supply‐demand problem may well lie in the hands of the individual firm and its manpower policies, rather than in the overhaul of national systems of education.
Synthesizing R&D planning and business strategy: some preliminary findings
Authors: Liberatore Matthew J. , Titus George J.
Published: May 2007

The need for firms to compete in the longer run by offering superior products at competitive prices requires better integration of R&D, and technology in general, into business strategy development. A survey based on personal interviews of 40 respondents from “Fortune 500” U. S. industrial firms reveals that their shift in emphasis toward new product/process R&D is providing the impetus for placing R&D in a strategic context. However, R&D has not been fully integrated into the strategic planning process of many organizations. The results of the survey reveal that certain communication channels can be more fully utilized to meld R&D planning into business strategy. Specific suggestions to facilitate information exchange, dissemination of planning data, and integration of various R&D plans into a cohesive technology strategy are given.
Technology—An increasingly dominant factor in corporate strategy
Authors: Wilkinson A.
Published: May 2007

The paper considers the implications for future corporate strategy of the probability that the capitalist world is in the down‐phase of a 50‐year long‐wave Kondratieff' economic cycle. Without commitment to a universal theory of long‐wave generation the author proposes a lifecycle model of a whole industry or dominant technology. He deduces from this the likelihood confirmed by some historical data that major industries will at best survive one cycle and will almost inevitably decline after the next. Individual firms within such sectors will go down with the industry unless they face the need early enough in the decline phase to embrace a new technology in the next up‐phase. The author provides a framework for diagnosing the phase of the lifecycle occupied by an industry or firm. He suggests that by combining this with an existing model of corporate strategy a company can plan a course of action that will improve its chances of survival.
Micro‐computers and decision making
Authors: Holroyd P. , Richer M. , Woods M. F.
Published: May 2007

The micro‐computer is claimed to have lost its designation “Hobbyist” and to provide a real computing facility for professionals at low cost and high convenience. The authors have taken a number of decision‐making and forecasting systems and “translated” them to operate on a variety of micro‐computers including the Texas TI 59, the Sinclair ZX 81, the Commodore PET and VIC and the Apple II. Experience in operating the “translated” programs on the small machines has shown perhaps surprising advantages over the main‐frame versions from which they were devised.

The paper is in two parts. In the first part the use of micro‐computers is discussed in the light of our experience and in the second part the operation of the programs is explained. The use of standard software packages in R & D is not discussed. The programs which are discussed with examples of their use are:

MAUDE derived from the main‐frame decision analysis program AIDA

RELEVANCE a resource allocation ANALYSIS algorithm

MARKOV CHAIN a stochastic ANALYSIS approach to forecasting

CROSS IMPACT a policy analysis tool based on KISM Cross‐impact language

LINKAGE an extension to ANALYSIS Cross Impact
Assessment of profiles in R & D: a tool for analysis and development of R & D potential
Authors: Mateev N. S. , Kalushev G. I. , Petev T. D.
Published: May 2007

A study sponsored by the State Committee for Science and Technical Progress of Bulgaria aimed at providing a theoretically sound and easy to apply method for the needs of R & D management on government, organization and team levels, to be used in assessing and managing both present and future R & D potential.

The method draws inferences about R & D potential from the accumulated experience and performance of the researchers, analysed along research topics. A specific ‘man‐topic unit of analysis helps identify individual researchers, teams and projects’ profiles and also helps translate the specific characteristics of R & D work and the requirements for R & D internal effectiveness into the language of R & D management.
The use of modelling in an economic appraisal of a new technology
Authors: Simnett Jonathan , Georghiou Luke
Published: May 2007

This paper deals with the problem of identifying the major economic sensitivities of an unusual mineral extraction project when the project is based on a radically new technology which is still at the research and development phase. On the timescale for development of the technology major external uncertainties such as the future level of metal prices are critical, as well as internal uncertainties such as cost and time. The possible outcomes are explored using CASPAR, a computer‐based network program with integral financial analysis features which allow use from pre‐feasibility phases right through to eventual project management.
Sensitivity of new industrial product risk to R&D incentives
Authors: More Roger A.
Published: May 2007

Incentives for research and development have frequently been a feature of government policy to increase the level or alter the direction of new product development activity in industrial product companies. Conceptually, these incentives may be viewed as “risk‐modifiers they may encourage managers to undertake innovation projects where the potential payoffs may be attractive, but where some dimensions of risk are perceived as too high to proceed. This research explores the sensitivity of different dimensions of risk faced by managers to incentives of different kinds, at different levels. Implications are cited for different types of R&D incentives aimed at these different dimensionsof risk.
A systematic small group approach to creativity and innovation: A case study
Authors: Thamia S. , Woods M. F.
Published: May 2007

The paper reports a longitudinal study of the result of applying systematic creative problem‐solving techniques in a particular multinational firm. The first section of the paper describes the way the system was applied to the five stages of an innovation from conception to implementation. Fifteen different techniques were used, the choice varying with the stage. The paper then describes three examples of actual innovations (disguised), stage by stage, giving a judgment of the value of the techniques used, the frequency of success or failure of all the sessions undertaken, the relative success of the techniques used, and the usage of the techniques by stage of innovation.

Two further points are made; firstly, creative thinking is needed and manifested at all stages of a project and not just in the early stages; secondly, although Synectics was shown to be rather effective it gradually lost ground to a less successful technique because the managers concerned did not like its seeming inconsequentiality and abandonment of logic.
The relationship between scientists and other decision‐makers†
Authors: Lunt S. T.
Published: May 2007

The paper deals with the relationship between scientists and other types of decision‐maker. The author, basing his analysis on a schema devised by Paterson, distinguishes four types of authority—structural, sapiential, personal and moral. He discusses the various kinds of R&D decision‐making levels and the authority appropriate to them and gives examples of where each may be exerted in an organisation. No form is effective unless it is accepted by all members of the relationship; sometimes dysfunctioning occurs because of inappropriate use of a particular form, a situation likely to occur in R&D where a high degree of specialised knowledge can be applied at hierarchical levels which may have somewhat restricted structural authority. He gives advice on how clashes of the different kinds of authority could be avoided.

His overall conclusion is that the management of professionals could be effected more smoothly if all involved had a more complete understanding of the interplay between the types of authority.
Managers and the distribution of Scientific and Technical Information
Authors: Wolek Francis W.
Published: May 2007

Keeping in touch with progress in science and technology is one of the most important functions of R&D organizations. A study of nine engineering organizations shows that managers recognize this importance and consciously plan ways to encourage their subordinates to use scientific and technical information (STI) originating at outside organizations. The most prevalent forms of influence are routing articles and encouraging interpersonal contacts with outside professionals.

Managers especially route information and references related to sources of STI uniquely accessible to the manager. Such information includes:

—notices about and notes from meetings restricted to managers;

—unpublished material and preprints sent to the manager for review or because of the manager's reputation;

—articles from publications more likely to be read by managers; and

—information on the directions and accomplishment of competitive firms.
Improving Matrix Relationships in R&D Organizations – Marketing Support Services
Authors: Radosevich Raymond , Robles Fernando
Published: May 2007

This study examines the relationship between a support group (electronic fabrication) and the internal users of its services in a large government research laboratory recently converted to a matrix structure. The results reveal complex user decisions for selecting sources of support services and a frequent lack of knowledge of the support group's capabilities. Common usage of external sources of services suggests a need for more aggressive “marketing” by the internal group. Use of market research techniques reveals user decision criteria, decision‐maker participation and perceptions of the support unit. It is concluded that results of the study provide management of the support group with information necessary to improve services and group image.
A Technological Lifecycle Approach to the Organisational Factors determining Gatekeeper Activities
Authors: De Meyer Arnoud
Published: May 2007

The paper deals with the question whether gatekeepers arise spontaneously (non‐hierarchical) or are created by administrative action (hierarchical). The author's approach to the problem relies on the use of a lifecycle model of an organisation devised by Utterback and Abernathy. They distinguish a product‐innovation, a transitional and process‐ innovation (consolidation) phase in the development of an enterprise. The author's hypothesis is that gatekeepers can arise via either route depending on the phase in which enterprise is operating. In the earlier phases the author predicts that gatekeepers will either be absent or non‐hierarchical (spontaneous) while in later phases they will be hierarchical (ex‐officio).

A test of the hypothesis was carried out on R&D engineers in 16 small firms making non‐consumer products in Belgium. The investigation involved sociometric analysis of the communication patterns of members of various R&D groups with their group colleagues or with contacts outside the organisation from which a new gatekeeper definition was derived. The author also devised a new means of characterising the innovatory phase of an enterprise.

The results are broadly in accordance with the author's hypothesis. The lesson for management of firms about to innovate radically is to set up its structure in such a way that spontaneous communication links cross‐cutting formal communication lines are able to flourish.
Clarity of manager roles and performance of R&D multidisciplinary projects in matrix structures
Authors: Sbragia Roberto
Published: May 2007

The matrix structure recommends itself as a convenient framework for implementing cross‐disciplinary projects. However, this structure tends to generate conflict between project and disciplinary managements. In excess, conflict can reduce performance. The aim of the work described in this paper was to see whether conflict could be controlled by better definition of the respective roles of project and functional managers.

The study was carried out in a large laboratory in Brazil. A group of project managers, responsible for 58 cross‐disciplinary projects, quantified their perceptions of the strength of their responsibilities for ten management activities, via a specially devised questionnaire. A Clarity about Responsibilities Index (CRI) was constructed to represent the fraction of these activities each respondent felt responsible for. Project performance was measured according to four criteria, technical, cost, schedule and client satisfaction.

The results show that better technical performance was associated with higher role clarity; no significant association was found with the other performance measures. The author discusses the reasons for these results, the validity of the measures used and the generality of the conclusions.