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.     

A simple model of R & D project dynamics

A simple dynamic model is developed that describes some of the important aspects of research and development projects. Its purpose is illustration of the applicability of dynamic modelling to understanding the key factors affecting R & D performance. The model recognizes the differences among real, perceived, and reported progress on the job. It also includes the effect of schedule pressures on productivity. Simulation results are presented that, among other things, illustrate the trade-off between meeting schedule and maintaining organizational stability, the effects of rapid problem detection and response, and the difficulties due to the intangible nature of R & D progress.     

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 project selection for promoting the efficiency of energy use

Screening criteria for selecting energy R& D projects are discussed and applied to a dozen projects currently underway. The impact on energy balance and environmental quality cannot be seen as the only, nor even the dominating, attribute. In the cases studied, the R&D portfolio seeks to achieve a balance between these factors and the other criteria related to technology and the market. In the event the development work is carried out at an independent R&D centre, it will be necessary to have a committed industrial partner from an early stage onwards in order to ensure objectivity, market perception and provide the best chance of commercialisation.     

The economics of industrial R & D

The relationship between research and commercial operation is examined in terms of production using a simple Cobb-Douglas production function, where output is expressed in terms of inputs of labour, capital and‘technical progress’. The model was tested in a single company environment by multiple regression analysis of output as the dependent variable on various measures of research, labour and capital. The results of the regression analysis are in full agreement with the model as outlined and the assumption that output is dependent simultaneously on labour, capital and the cumulative research investment.     

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.     

Applications of computers in R & D management

R & D Managers use computers extensively in solving technical problems. This paper examines the use they make of computers in solving Management problems. Applications of computers to various aspects of R & D programme formulation, project planning, technical information storage and retrieval, management information systems, and computer-aided training have been investigated by many companies and, in some cases, have been implemented. Some of the techniques have become well established but others are still at a development stage. No attempt has been made to evaluate the techniques described.
This topic was the subject of a study by a Working Group of the European Industrial Research Management Association (EIRMA), and a report 'Computers as Aids to R & D Management' was distributed to members of the Association. EIRMA has now agreed to release information contained in that report and this paper is based on that information updated by the author, who was Chairman of the EIRMA Working Group.     

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.     

A utility approach to R & D decisions

The traditional monetarily based economic model is inadequate as a guide to responsible R & D decisions. Modern utility theory, on the other hand, can incorporate intangible factors and has a value system base. Both techniques are compared via a case example, which results in some social implications of utility based decisions.     

Creativity and organization in pharmaceuticals R & D

This paper reviews the results of a study carried out in conjunction with the Chemical and Allied Products Industry Training Board to link internal environmental factors of an organization to measures of creativity in R & D in the pharmaceutical industry. The methods adopted have been described and the preliminary results of the pilot study carried out in one organization in order to develop, refine and test methodology. It is hoped in the future that the techniques developed will be extended to provide comparisons in other organizations in the pharmaceutical industry in order to draw firm conclusions. The paper also sets the study in the context of a brief historical review of other studies in this field. It is concluded that the investigation has evolved a methodology capable of identifying and measuring some facilitatory and inhibitory influences on creativity in an R & D environment, allowing comparisons to be drawn between environmental influences in different parts of the same organization.     

Communication patterns in small R & D projects

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.     

R&D project selection and scheduling for organizations facing product obsolescence

Research and development is very crucial in an organization that faces rapid product obsolescence. Our thesis is that R&D project scheduling and resource planning should be born out of the optimum product launch plan which, in turn, should be in adherence to the growth rate targeted by the organization. Such an approach would ensure that the R&D activities of the organization are in tune with the Organization's goals. The absence of such coordinated R&D planning would hamper the productivity and profitability of the organization. This paper attempts to develop a methodology and model that would enable the streamlining of R&D project schedule. A real life case application has also been illustrated.     

A Kantian Analysis of Pricing and R & D

Review of Industrial Organization - Can cooperation offer an innovative alternative to competition among firms? This design problem is analyzed in the context of Kantian cooperation among firms in...