Factors affecting the management of interdisciplinary research in the pharmaceutical industry

The author uses the results of recent published behavioural research on team effectiveness as a framework to analyse the problems of managing R&D in pharmaceutical development. The research points to a large number of factors as having a potential impact on managing such R&D which is inescapably multi- or inter-disciplinary in nature. Some such factors may originate outside the team, some within. External factors include organizational climate, R&D decision-making environment, system maturity and organizational form (type of matrix); internal factors include span of responsibility of team members, disciplinary differentiation, task uncertainty, extent of fulfilment of Belbin roles and a significant requirement for flexibility of style on the part of the manager.
The author's conclusion is that achieving effective management of R&D teams in the pharmaceutical R&D environment requires attention to all these factors. The extent to which integration of different disciplines is achieved is symptomatic of the degree to which these factors are understood and attended to.     

Project management and communication patterns in industrial research

A pilot study has been carried out on one project: (a) to develop a suitable methodology for studying communication; (b) to see whether the findings of external studies apply to the laboratory; (c) to examine a part of the communication pattern of the laboratory. Results showed that for the project studied: (a) the needs of the project dominated the communication; (b) previous external findings on “technological gatekeepers” and “distance stopping communication” did not apply in the project studied; (c) a suit able methodology has been developed.     

Encouraging and enabling action research in innovation management

Although action research offers great advantages of connecting academia and practice, it is surprisingly underutilised in innovation management. This paper, therefore, focuses on how innovation management research and researchers can more effectively and efficiently apply action research to their domain. The analysis commences with the rationale for aligning action research and innovation management before assessing the strengths and limitations of existing interdisciplinary action research approaches from an innovation management perspective. Combining and enhancing the strengths of these approaches, a new Action Innovation Management Research (AIM-R) framework is developed to assist in resolving the increasing demand for action-orientation in innovation management. AIM-R offers a structured research process for systematically applying action research as a way of encouraging rigorous research processes, while also importantly stimulating relevant practical outcomes. AIM-R specifically considers different change levels (individual, team, organisational) and objects (e.g. outcome, process, capability) critical for the multi-faceted character of innovation management. A real-world example towards the end of the article illustrates how AIM-R has been applied to a complex problem-solution space. This example adds important insights for readers wanting to apply this more engaged, but currently underutilised, innovation management research technique.     

Implementing industrial sustainability: the research issues in technology management

This paper ties together issues in the implementation of industrial sustainability and the contribution that technology management research has to offer. The idea of sustainability seems to be slowly attracting more attention. Discussion occurs not only amongst world governments, academics and NGOs, but also in industry. Industrial sustainability now appears to be moving up the management agenda in many organisations. Corporate reputation and shareholder value may be at stake for organisations which cannot demonstrate a rational position on sustainability. However, despite this increasing awareness, in practice there are a number of barriers to the implementation of industrial sustainability ideas. For a start, it is unclear what industrial sustainability means in practical terms. The business case for implementation is often built on individual conviction or motivational case examples, rather than being grounded in solid theory with associated frameworks, guidelines and tools. Particular challenges facing organisations include the choice of appropriate product and process technologies, lifecycle valuation techniques, changing employee and other stakeholder mindsets, and possibly most importantly, creating a new business model altogether. In light of these issues, this paper sets out to review the contribution that technology management research can make towards the effective implementation of industrial sustainability. Considerations include the cross‐functional and cross‐organisational issues of implementation – bringing together various business units and functions within a company, and the many players in a supply chain, with the goal of improving environmental, social and economic performance in parallel. There is a need to develop new methods for technology valuation which integrate the concept of triple bottom line accountability and existing technology strategy in organisations could be extended, to include the wider set of values that underpin the concepts of industrial sustainability. The critical research needs for this to be achieved are identified.     

Schumpeterian economics: some observations on the relevance of his theoretical contributions to the management of industrial research and development

This paper investigates the relevance of the theoretical writings of Schumpeter to the management of research and development (R&D) in small and large industrial firms. Schumpeter's emphasis in his early work on three main aspects of industrial R&D; namely the importance of entrepreneurship, industrial innovation and resultant creative destruction, were major new insights that rejected the long‐standing view that equilibrium was the best state for any industrial economy. This paper, with the aid of relevant literature from both Schumpeter and others, seeks to relate his theoretical approach (that changed over time to favour large firm R&D) to the implication for industrial R&D, and in particular, the relationship between R&D in small and large firms. The paper concludes that if Schumpeter had lived to see the current industrial landscape, he might have returned to his early belief that entrepreneurial new small firms remain key harbingers of technological progress.     

The sovereignty of senior management in industrial marketing

The primary emphasis of this article deals with the basic nature of industrial marketing management in the direct mail area with respect to the sovereignty of the function. It specifically enumerates the various “levels of disorder” that can affect a marketing manager and the marketing department regarding the integrity and sovereignty of the entire sphere of marketing. Each “level of disorder” is discussed in detail and the basic signs and symptoms of the problem are reviewed with specific suggestions for resolving the situation, level by level. This article is intended to serve not only as a blueprint for action, but also as a diagnostic tool with which senior management can avoid megalomanic escapades and all lesser levels of management can clearly separate cause and effect to determine whether they have been affected by the “marketing Sovereignty Syndrome.”     

The key issues and procedures of industrial marketing research

Industrial marketing research has failed to receive its due attention in marketing books and journals, even though the volume of transactions in industrial goods and services is more than twice that of consumer goods and services. This article provides a systematic and wide ranging review of the issues, procedures, and opportunities found in industrial marketing research.     

高校固定资产管理中的问题及对策

本对高校地固定资产管理存在的问题进行了探讨，通过分析问题存在的原因，提出了加强高校固定资产管理的对策。     

原位聚合法在纳米复合材料中的应用

原位聚合法多适用于纳米复合材料的制备,针对原位聚合的研究主要集中在纳米粒子的表面处理和在基体中的分散、纳米粒子与聚合物之间的界面结合,以及复合材料各方面的性能改善等方面上,综述了近年来原位聚合法在纳米复合材料方面的应用研究情况。     

Reaffirming the management ethic in industrial firms

These then are the ground rules underlying what I call “the manegement ethic.”They are based on common sense, logic, and a sense of fair play—but then, that is quite simply what good management is all about. There is nothing original about these ideas; nor, as can be seen from the following quotation, is there anything new about them.We trained hard—but it seemed that every time we were beginning to form up into teams, we would be reorganized. I was to learn later in life that we tend to meet any new situation by reorganizing. And what a wonderful method it can be for creating the illusion of progress while producing confusion, inefficiency and demoralization.     

A study of coordination in three research settings

The present paper reports findings from a study on coordination in three research settings—academic, cooperative-government, and industrial—and discusses their implications for research management. The study ascertains the relationship between coordination and research effectiveness, and examines how coordination operates and is attained in research settings. Two hypotheses regarding the relationship between coordination, research effectiveness, and integration of research staff are advanced and tested on research groups in the three research settings mentioned above. The results support the hypotheses and indicate that the relationships occur very generally regardless of the setting in which the research is conducted. The findings are discussed in terms of their implications for research management and in particular the attainment of coordination in research settings.     

一卡通在高校管理中的应用

随着信息技术的发展,高等学校的消费支付理念和管理模式正在朝信息化方向改革,逐步实现校园一卡通已成为时代发展的需要。以河北科技大学一卡通项目为背景,结合实际工作经验,从校园一卡通系统的主要功能出发,介绍了商务消费管理子系统和银行转账子系统的实现。结果表明一卡通系统的实现为学校的管理提供了有力保障。