Assessment of profiles in R & D: a tool for analysis and development of R & D potential

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.     

Ten years of R & D Management-some major themes: the role of communication in R & D

Fifteen papers on the role of interpersonal communication in R & D appearing in the first ten volumes of R & D Management are reviewed. The conclusions reached by the various contributors on three major themes are compared. The themes are: the relation of communication to performance, the effect of physical separation on communication rate, and the role of communication stars in information transfer. A clear division of opinion emerges on the extent to which managers can impose or create effective communication patterns as distinct from merely being able to stimulate those that already exist. Differences in experimental approach and the existence of methodological gaps prevent any judgment being made between the two viewpoints based only on the evidence in the papers under review.     

R & D and the company's requirements

Numerous models have been put forward in the literature for the selection and evaluation of projects, many of which are based on optimizing the return on investment by the company in R & D projects. This is a noble aim but in practice the financial data available are often of dubious accuracy and so many other factors are involved in actually adopting a portfolio of selected projects that project selection often becomes a theoretical exercise. It is suggested that the selection of projects is in essence the adoption of a strategy which is within the policy and long-term aims of the company and also within the policy and scientific development of the R & D part of the company. Such a strategy is usually sub-optimum for both the company and the R & D division, as it is a compromise between a desire for high pay-back investments by the company and the maintenance of a scientifically balanced R & D involving some long-term, unknown return, investments. A method is currently being experimented with by Unilever Research which illustrates where conflicts arise between the policy of the main company and that of research, and assists management in arriving at a strategy which most closely fulfils the needs of both policies. Both the concept of the method and its practical use are described in this paper.     

Project management for R & D equipment: a prescriptive attack

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     

Organizational structures in the R & D sphere

Integration of R & D and production activities poses a major managerial problem, which arises because of fundamental differences in the nature of the two kinds of activity, requiring distinctly different management systems. A study of 100 teams of both types showed marked differences between the two in the organizational climate leading to maximum effectiveness. A taxonomy of organizational types, integrating the two activities in a spectrum of ways, is described. A study conducted among Polish electrical engineering enterprises showed that project-type organizations produced products with the greatest degree of originality (measured on the Kesselring scale), while matrix organizations introduced the greatest number of new products into the organizational system. A venture team concept, combining features of both organizational types, is proposed as a means for capitalizing on the good points of each.     

Equitable payment in the R & D function

This paper discusses the problems associated with constructing equitable salary structures for Senior R & D employees. The use of job evaluation and performance appraisal are both considered. It is suggested that the decision band method of job evaluation is particularly useful in this context and a case study of its application within the R & D division of a large manufacturing firm is presented. Job grading and salary structuring in terms of decision-making responsibility are demonstrated. It is argued that the decision band approach assists rational administration of R & D in a number of ways including analysis and, perhaps, restructuring of the function. Methods of rewarding individual performance and measuring career development within R & D are also discussed in terms of the decision band concept.     

Industrial R & D and the British economic problem

Britain's poor industrial and economic performance over at least the past fifteen years is closely related to a national pattern of R & D activities that—by comparison with our main competitors—has been insufficient in volume, heavily concentrated in sectors of relatively minor industrial significance, and inadequately coupled to the problems and possibilities of production and the market. Reversing what in the 1970s was a strongly downward trend in British R & D and other innovative activities will require, amongst other things, more professionalism and skills in British engineering and management, and deliberate long-term strategies in industry and government to develop products, processes and markets that enable British industry to compete on the basis of quality and skills rather than low wages.     

Methodology for increasing the adoption of R & D project selection models

Although some studies and experiences have shown that R & D project selection models can be potentially useful decision aids, their adoption and routine use is not widespread. This lack of usage may be a consequence of the lack of attention which model builders have traditionally given to the prevailing adoption attitudes of R & D managers. A design methodology centering around the measurement of adoption attitudes has been developed and used by the authors. The methodology consists of procedures for analyzing the organizational climate relative to project selection model usage, developing an acceptable model form relative to the organizational climate, and inducing the adoption of this model form within the climate. Three case applications of the methodology are described in which negative-to-positive shifts in adoption attitudes occurred and project selection models were adopted for long-term use. These results indicate that the use of this general methodology may lead to increased formal adoption and widespread usage of project selection model forms in R & D.     

Methodology for increasing the adoption of R & D project selection models

Although some studies and experiences have shown that R & D project selection models can be potentially useful decision aids, their adoption and routine use is not widespread. This lack of usage may be a consequence of the lack of attention which model builders have traditionally given to the prevailing adoption attitudes of R & D managers. A design methodology centering around the measurement of adoption attitudes has been developed and used by the authors. The methodology consists of procedures for analyzing the organizational climate relative to project selection model usage, developing an acceptable model form relative to the organizational climate, and inducing the adoption of this model form within the climate. Three case applications of the methodology are described in which negative-to-positive shifts in adoption attitudes occurred and project selection models were adopted for long-term use. These results indicate that the use of this general methodology may lead to increased formal adoption and widespread usage of project selection model forms in R & D.     

R & D management practices:* chemical industry in Europe

The paper summarizes the results of interviews with R & D managers in forty-three chemical companies in France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the U.K. covering questions concerned with: R & D planning, size and distribution of R & D efforts, organization of R & D and project management. The results are presented in quantitative and qualitative terms, and the differences between various categories of chemical industry and between various national practices are discussed.     

Coordination of multinational R & D: A Swedish case study

The need to coordinate multinational R & D increases in many corporations which want to take advantages of scale, synergy and multinationality on a world-wide basis. The Swedish engineering corporation SKF has tackled this problem as an early internationalized but lately diversified corporation working in mature technologies and markets. Substantial coordination has been achieved through a heavy resource commitment in a foreign corporate R & D lab, and a subsequent build-up of a rather elaborate system for R & D management throughout the corporation. The structure and processes of the system are described, together with experiences of coordinating effects, and a project case is given. The chosen mode of coordination is finally compared with situations in other industries.     

White collar unions in R & D: some UK experience

A survey of 34 UK R & D organizations found that over 60% recognized unions at some level. Many had negotiated full bargaining agreements for particular groups of staff. Although unions came in for plenty of criticism, on the whole organizations which had recognized unions felt far less negatively about them than those which had not. The former were sometimes able to point to specific benefits they had gained from dealing with white collar unions.     

Literature indexing systems for corporate R & D strategy: a case-study in the pharmaceutical industry

Abstract . Information retrieval systems in R & D laboratories are normally used to provide information about the state of the art in fields of corporate interest and to help to solve day-to-day problems. The authors show that such systems can also be used as a tool for planning by R & D managers, corporate planners and others involved in evaluating and setting strategic objectives for the firm. Their approach is to use the Science Citation Index to ascertain the specific institutional setting and geographical locations of researchers in whom material published by the subject firm excited a 'resonance'.
In their study they used the publications lists covering a five-year period provided by two West German companies. They point out that it is possible not only to assess the scientific standing of the R & D laboratory but also to get early warning of spin-offs into hitherto unrecognized fields, to identify 'markets' for the profitable exchange of information and to locate complementary sources of expertise.     

Interaction between management and R & D: chemical industry in Europe

The paper summarizes the results of interviews, primarily with the R & D manager, in 43 chemical companies in France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and the U.K. covering questions concerned with the background and attitude of various levels of management and their interaction with R & D. The results are presented in quantitative and qualitative terms, and differences between various categories of chemical industry and between various national practices are discussed.     

The boundary relevance of the project manager's job: findings and implications for R & D management

Much of the stress and conflict in the project manager's job can be attributed to the boundary nature of that position. This study explores the relevance of recent developments in organizational role theory for clarification and understanding of the project manager's job. Findings are reported from a study which show that traditional management thought is inadequate for understanding the factors which regulate the project manager's behavior. One must recognize the boundary relevance of the project manager's role in order to avoid organizational or administrative arrangements that would be undesirable for project management. Several implications, which logically follow from the theory and findings on boundary role behavior, are noted for their relevance for R & D management.