bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A classification and review of models of the intra‐firm innovation process
Authors: Saren M. A. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractThe recognised complexity of the innovation process not only makes it difficult to manage, explain and study, but also presents problems for the development of a generalised model.Cooper's recent article in ‘R&D Management’ suggests that the construction of a generalised model is inappropriate because there appear to be a number of different types of innovation processes. However, many of the studies of innovation postulate or assume a general model which represents the stages involved in the firm.This paper reviews the models of the innovation process which have been proposed and the author classifies them according to his taxonomy of different types:(a) Departmental‐stage models(b) Activity‐stage models(c) Decision‐stage models(d) Conversion process models(e) Response modelsThe advantages and disadvantages of each approach are discussed and the conclusion reached is that still more research needs to be concentrated on the nature of the innovation process within the firm itself. The absence of a definitive model compounds the problems of semantics and definitions when discussing innovation.
Book Reviews
Authors: DEWS J. D. , BERGEN S. A. , BERGEN S. A. , BERGEN S. A. , BAKER A. G. 
Published: May 2007

Technical Insights, Inc. Annual report on research and development… 1982: the year that was… 1983: the year to come Project Management Industrial R&D Management—the modern issues Trends in Information Transfer Information Society, For Richer, For Poorer Cybernetics and Systems Research
Interdisciplinary research redefined: Multi‐skill, problem‐focussed research in the STRAP framework
Authors: Porter Alan L. , Rossini Frederick A. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractA new framework for the study of interdisciplinary research processes is presented ‘STRAP’ emphasizes the combination of identifiable skills—substantive knowledge and techniques—that must come together to solve a complex research problem. This framework holds promise of better accommodating non‐academic settings and yielding new insights into the management of complex R&D projects.
Decision Analysis and Strategic Management of Research and Development: A comparison between applications in electronics and ethical pharmaceuticals
Authors: Thomas Howard 
Published: May 2007

AbstractThe process of strategic management of research and development is contrasted through the application of decision analysis in the evaluation of R&D projects—one in an electronics company, and one in a pharmaceutical company.Issues considered include the different character of applied R&D in each industry resulting from, for example, the shorter product lifecycles that apply to the electronics industry compared to the much longer lifecycles in the pharmaceutical industry. The difference of time horizon between the two industries suggests that different decision criteria might be adopted in project evaluation. Decision‐makers in both industries express a need for flexible decision and performance criteria in relation to strategy dialogue about alternative project‐options.Implementation problems encountered include: long term discounting, the nature of the preference function for long‐term cash flow streams, issues in making assessments of uncertainty in relation to long‐term future time horizons, and the management of research portfolios.
The action research model applied to the management of interdisciplinary research in university and industrial settings
Authors: Saxberg Borje O. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractThere are problems in managing successful interdisciplinary research when resources must be drawn from across departmental bounds. The action research model provides a means for the interdisciplinary group to explore the problem constellation and introduce change. The application of this model to overall interdisciplinary policy management is illustrated for a group of health research centres in an academic Health Sciences Centre and for the Technology and Engineering area of a technology organization. For both, the application of the action research model introduced an improved basis for conducting interdisciplinary activities in discipline oriented organizational settings.
A note on effective laboratory size
Authors: Noltingk B. E. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractSurprisingly little attention has been paid to the question of what size is desirable for a whole laboratory as distinct from the groups that comprise it. A semi‐quantitative analysis shows that while very small laboratories are handicapped by restricted common services there is also a heavy penalty paid by very large laboratories in the extended path over which information must flow between the working scientists and the decision makers. It is. not desirable, therefore, to expand research effort by allowing laboratories to grow indefinitely in size.
Knowledge refinement for aircraft design and other processes with long cycle time
Authors: Walkden F. , Heath B. O. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractThis paper is concerned with possible technical processes for collecting and refining knowledge and expertise within the Research and Development and Production and Support functions in the aircraft industry. It is also concerned with processes for facilitating the use of stored knowledge and expertise in providing for example continuity of good practice. Features of humans as processors of information, which will influence the collection and use of relevant knowledge and experience, are considered. The feasibility of ‘solving’ information processing problems with currently available techniques and hardware and software products is assessed. Indications are given of the kinds of developments that seem to be needed in the context of aircraft design and other activities considered in this paper. Human privacy considerations are identified as a possible problem and are discussed briefly.
Some people aspects of knowledge engineering
Authors: Sutton D. C. 
Published: May 2007

Abstractif an Expert System is to work effectively it must be fitted to its users' needs and preferences, not to its creators' convenience.The elegance of the programming language or the brilliance of the logical mechanisms will be wasted if the system is difficult to use or irrelevant in action.The capture of the knowledge when setting up an Expert System, and the use of a working system are both areas which involve Man/Machine interaction. This paper will draw attention to developments in the modelling of Human Learning Styles and Problem Solving Processes which could contribute to Knowledge Engineering methods.Models drawn from such disciplines can help the designers of Expert Systems to take account of human requirements as well as technical and logical factors. In addition, methods exist whereby the specific needs and objectives of potential users can be incorporated at the design stage, rather than as a result of criticism of systems already provided.Examples will be given of the contribution these methods are making to the progress of several Man/Machine Interface projects that the author is currently engaged upon.
A methodology for constructing expert systems
Authors: Attarwala F. T. , Basden A. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractConstruction of Expert Systems has so far been seen as a craft or an art, not a science. This paper attempts to improve this situation by deducing some aspects of a methodology for constructing Expert Systems from a model of an expert's expertise. It suggests that the traditional methods, based on extracting problem‐solving rules from an expert and encoding them directly into a suitable knowledge representation have certain disadvantages, while attempting to extract a causal model from the expert overcomes many of these. The simple Plausible Inference Expert System shell, of which several are now commercially available, is often very suited to the construction of causal models, and some practical issues concerning the construction of causal models are discussed.The suggested methodology has been found to work in several Expert System projects in I.C.I., though it is still being developed in the light of experience. In particular, the importance of the top‐down design of an Expert System is stressed, though it is not yet based on theoretical considerations.
The effect of U.K. incentives on R&D activities in U.S.‐owned electronics companies in Scotland
Authors: Haug Peter , Pizzi Robert E. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractThe British Government provides numerous financial assistance programmes to assist electronics companies in funding investment projects, R&D activities, and applications of new technology. Interviews were conducted at fifteen U.S. electronics subsidiaries in Scotland to determine the effect of these government incentives in promoting technology and innovation. Results indicate that capital investment grants were widely used, but that financial aid schemes to encourage R&D and the adoption of advanced technology have no bearing on technical characteristics and decisions at the affiliates.
Large European manufacturers and the management of R&D
Authors: De Meyer Arnoud 
Published: May 2007

AbstractAt the end of 1984, for the third consecutive year, a research team from INSEAD administered a survey of the largest manufacturers in Europe. This survey attempts to provide an insight into the technological and manufacturing strategy designed and implemented by these large manufacturers.Each year since 1982 about 150 companies have completed the questionnaire, and of these 150 replies about one third are repeat answers. The database thus covers about 350 companies. As a consequence this allows us not only to analyse the static picture for a single year, but also to draw a dynamic picture of how thinking about technological and manufacturing strategy is changing within the European Manufacturing Industry.An analysis of the questionnaire's results allows us to assert some hypotheses about:a. Changes in the length of the product lifecycle.b. The importance of process engineering and proprietary process know‐how.c. The interface between manufacturing and research and development as perceived by the manufacturing side.Since a similar survey is conducted for North America and Japan at the same time, it is possible to posit the European manufacturers vis‐à‐vis their global competitors for some of these issues.
Microcomputer penetration into the corporate environment and its managerial implications
Authors: Han Yael , Levin Dan 
Published: May 2007

AbstractThe authors state that the main need in the microcomputer field is not hardware or applications software but policies for linking microcomputers to company databases and information stores, referred to as communication capability. The paper presents a conceptual framework for the structure and degree of connectivity among the company microcomputer‐based information systems. The management problem is to find the right trade‐offs between the advantages to the individual having an autonomous dedicated microcomputer against the disadvantages to the organization of duplicated effort and data, and a fragmented information system.To find the optimum trade‐off the management has to take into account five major issues; the desirable degree of compatibility of hardware and software; hidden and obvious costs; impact on the user; change with time; and organizational issues.The authors analyse two sets of variables, those affecting the system and those affecting the individual, and identify about eight sub‐variables each of which should be taken into account when deciding the desirable level of performance of the total system. They reject a global multi‐criterion decision‐making approach and propose instead the division of the system into three levels each having its own criteria of performance and each its own degree of mutual connectivity. These are respectively, site‐wide applications (maximum connectivity), special applications uniting a sub‐set of individuals, and personal applications exclusively oriented on a single person.The paper concludes with guidelines for future study, mainly to clarify the issues, and a sketch of a prescriptive framework for organizational policy.
The practice of R&D management: An empirical study of Korean firms
Authors: Lee Jinjoo , Lee Sangjin , Bae Zong‐tae 
Published: May 2007

AbstractThis paper presents an empirical study on the practice of R&D management in a Newly Industrializing Country, Korea. Based on a review of literature, a survey framework has been generated. The data were collected from 73 laboratories of Korean private companies through a structured questionnaire, via mail and additional telephone interviews in some cases. The major findings concerning R&D planning, R&D project management and evaluation, and R&D personnel management are described. In Korea, substantial efforts have been made in order to enhance the efficiency of R&D management, though the practice of R&D management is by now in the unstructured/flexible phase. Beyond this study, more detailed research on the R&D management of Newly Industrializing Countries is needed.
Cabri Project—a Collaborative Research Facility
Authors: Georghiou Luke , Gibbons Michael 
Published: May 2007

AbstractThis paper describes the results of a case‐study carried out within the context of a wider evaluation of the benefits and costs of international collaboration in Europe for the development of fast breeder reactors. The Cabri reactor is a large scale research facility jointly owned and operated by France and Germany, with the UK, USA, and Japan involved as junior partners. The organisation of the collaboration is discussed. Particular issues include problems surrounding barter arrange‐ ments, personnel aspects and the extent to which costs and benefits have been incurred. It is concluded that a substantial saving was achieved compared with performing the work in one country, but at a cost of reduced national control. The collaboration was facilitated by the lack of immediate commercial significance and by the organisational structure.
Management Development for Scientists and Technologists—Opening Address
Authors: Maclean Alasdair 
Published: May 2007

AbstractThe paper, the opening address to the Conference on Management Training for Scientists and Technologists held at Manchester in July 1986, deals with the problems which must be solved by UK industry if it is to survive in the industrial jungle of the next century. The author sees the most serious cause for concern as being the poor communication between top managements and technologists, originating in and aggravated by historically based cultural and social divisions inside UK society.The first and essential step towards a solution is for top managements to accept that technological change is inevitable and that it will affect their own operations. They must therefore accept the need to continuously review and undertake the replacement of the firm's process, product and management technologies, along with a parallel review and refurbishment of workforce skills. This implies re‐education both of the firm's technical arm, including its R&D personnel and, most importantly, of the non‐R&D functions which commission R&D and use its results. The author sees functional demarcation lines as a particular evil. He also deplores the preference of UK financial institutions for short‐term financial returns to all investment, which reduces its capability to support innovative activities with a long lead‐time. He contends that the solution to the UK's long‐standing economic problems demands at least that technology and its proper management be placed at the very top of top management's agenda.He concludes the paper by challenging the technological community to play its part in bridging the gap between top managements and technology. Achieving acceptance of this challenge is the most important current task of those engaged in developing the management capabilities of scientists and technologists.The invitation to give an opening address, with no restrictions other than a loose relationship to the subject to be discussed, to a conference of this kind is one which is very difficult to refuse. Few of us can resist the chance of a platform on which to ride a few hobby‐horses, display a few personal prejudices which can be legitimately exposed, and on which some wild generalisations can be made, which I would not make did I not think them worth further consideration. In this opening few minutes of your conference, I have no intention of examining any single aspect of the comprehensive coverage which will be the feature of the next three days, but I would like to deal personally with a few of the aspects of this most challenging of subjects of which I have had some personal experience. The subject is of crucial importance, not just in the operational sense of how we make the best of what we have, but in helping to formulate better the industrial strategies which the UK must adopt if it is to survive in the industrial jungle of the 21st century.
How can we predict management potential in research scientists?
Authors: Gratton Lynda 
Published: May 2007

AbstractThe success of an R&D operation depends on selecting the right speciailists to occupy management positions. Errors of selection mostly arise because the choice is made on the basis of the candidate's current performance as a scientist or technologist. However, the author makes the point that persons likely to make good Rand D managers differ qualitatively from good researchers. Good scientists adopt an innovative, unconstrained, independent approach to their work, have high self‐esteem, are not much interested in people and, above all, prize technical soundness. R&D managers are interested in people, active, enterprising and want to manage.The organization's problem is therefore to find reliable ways of predicting management potential with sufficient but not exclusive regard to current performance. The author recommends the use of a Career Aspirations Programme, based on exposure to the processes operating in an Assessment Centre. This is a systematic procedure using an array of personnel evaluation techniques through which a person is made aware of the demands of a management job and managers made aware of the likelihood of that person's meeting them.At the end of the process a course of personal development is agreed upon. In concrete terms this means for the potential manager that promotion may follow. Especially important if the verdict is that he or she is to continue as a technical specialist, the job may be re‐designed to give it more scope and impact, or the person concerned may be retrained or placed under the care of a senior colleague acting as a mentor.
Continuous learning and the management of change
Authors: Barrington Harry A. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractThe author deals with the problem faced by Lever Brothers Ltd, a company within the Unilever Group, in training graduate management trainees to manage change in an era in which subordinates increasingly challenge management decisions and those decisions themselves are less confidently made.One response was to include in the first‐year management training programme a week‐long Study Group, guided but not led by a process consultant, and dedicated to exploring possible changes in the company's personnel management policies necessary to meet expected changes in the social and economic climate.Over the years the format and detailed objectives of this Study Group have changed but as a result of the flexibility of the format and the openness of the transactions much has been learned on how to manage change. Trainees have learned, for exarnple, that learning must be viewed as part of work and not something added on, that group learning is possible and desirable, that people learn in different ways, and that managing a technical operation involves managing a social group. The paper also discusses the role of the trainer in such free‐ranging group processes and the need to integrate what has been learned in training sessions with the real world of operations.The author concludes by emphasising that the most important lesson learned by trainees is that managing the process of the Study Group was an essential part of managing its task. From this experience they also learnt the more important lesson that process review is basic to managing in real life.
Problems faced by R&D managers in Canadian federal government laboratories
Authors: Clarke Thomas E. , Reavley Jean 
Published: May 2007

AbstractThe paper conducts a critical review of the problems faced by middle to first‐line managers in managing R&D in Canadian government laboratories. The data come from the published literature, interviews with R&D managers, and information obtained from government employees undergoing training as R&D managers.The problems are numerous and serious. They arise from a multiplicity of causes related to underfunding and bureaucratic management practices that do not allow for the special nature of R&D. Hiring freezes, staff reductions, travel restrictions and reductions in training budgets are all consequences of underfunding, resulting in an aging workforce and technological obsolescence. Bureaucratic administration rules set by central agencies constrain the freedom of R&D managers to manage effectively, and limit low‐level participation in policy‐making and planning. The result is that too many management posts are filled by under‐achieving scientists and engineers, with resultant consequences for originality and efficiency.The authors believe that the only cure is to undertake proper funding, recognise the special operational needs of R&D management, and select managers for managerial ability in addition to technical competence.
R&D ‘programmes‐competencies’ matrix: analyzing R&D expertise within the firm
Authors: Durand Thomas 
Published: May 2007

AbstractThe author suggests that the systematic identification of a firm's technologies opens up the possibility of evaluating, protecting, optimizing, enriching and exploiting these technologies to the full. A firm's technologies fall into two parts: those embodied and exploited in current operations and those evolving from the collective competencies of its R&D staff. The author's aim is to evaluate and describe the firm's R&D competencies.The identification of R&D competencies proceeds in three steps: tracing the background of the current and past programmes, constructing a programmes/competencies matrix, and deriving an expertise profile. The construction of the matrix is the key activity and requires much care in its execution, if competencies are to be properly defined and truly existing, and if it is to be exhaustive. The author sketches a procedure for constructing a matrix and discusses problems of implementation and draws attention to some of its limitations.The author claims that such an inventory of expertise could improve the efficiency of the use of the R&D resource, identify a laboratory's strengths and weaknesses, direct R&D into hitherto neglected channels, assist individuals to identify and evaluate their own expertise, justify obtaining funding for building expertise in shortage areas. The method should be considered as a starting point to formulate appropriate strategies to gain access to technology.