Developing an expert system on project evaluation: Pt II: Structuring the system

The work here described is the early stages of a programme to develop a series of Expert Systems (ES's) in the management of R&D. In particular, the development of a prototype ES using a package program Crystal Ver. 2.1 is the focus together with the problems encountered. The literature had suggested that the use of such packages facilitated the process for those exploring ES's. What was not clear from the literature or the program manuals was the limited range of problems which could be handled. The programs have a rigid structure such that unless the logic of the problem solving process matches that of the program, severe difficulties will ensue. This paper outlines the inherent structure of the programs and indicates the kind of problems which would fit. Specific problems which were encountered when trying to stretch the use of the program are explained in detail. It goes on to explain how these problems were got round using Lotus 1–2–3 which proved far more flexible in practice. This kind of understanding is essential if ES's are to become every-day tools of R&D management. The objective in developing the Expert System (ES) was for it to be advisory to those preparing project proposals for possible submission to higher management within the context of an R&D laboratory. Thus the intention was to capture the expertise of senior managers, make it available to more junior ones, and thereby improve the quality of their work. This concept proved to be naive in that the expertise proved to be so diffuse that a wholly new rationale to structure the expertise had to be developed. This process, the subsequent development into a prototype ES, and its evaluation, have already been published (Wilkinson, 1991). The literature on ES's had suggested that the use of available package programs was straight forward and that the real problem was in establishing the expertise to be used and in structuring it to fit the program. This too proved to be an over-simplification. When this work started, the exact nature of the package programs had not been spelt out adequately. The purpose of this paper, Part II, is to describe their inherent structure and the limitations which this imposes on the kind of problems for which they can be used. The insights gained in this work into the evaluation of projects and the inadequacies of previous evaluation techniques will form the contents of Part III of this series of papers.     

Implications of the EU Information and Consultation Directive and the Regulations in the UK – prospects for the future of employee representation

The EU Directive on informing and consulting employees (I&C Directive) is now established on the employment relations agenda with the provisions coming into force in the UK in April 2005. The I&C Directive potentially has far reaching consequences for the way UK employers inform and consult employees over a wide range of organizational issues, with the potential to transform the UK industrial relations environment. The initiatives contained in the I&C Directive and the subsequent introduction of the Information and Consultation of Employees (ICE) Regulations will take place in an employment relations environment in a period of significant change. Pressures of globalization have intensified competition in product and labour markets, emphasizing the need for greater efficiency and productivity. This has led to a greater focus on the link between employee participation practices and business strategy and organizational performance in search of an elusive (or illusory) fit? This paper is a commentary on the origins and rationale of this new legislation in the UK context, drawing on existing knowledge and academic debates in the area. In addition, the paper discusses the potential implications of the I&C Directive and the likely impact of the ICE Regulations on UK representative voice arrangements.     

Corporate Governance and Human Resource Management

This paper investigates the effect of different forms of corporate governance on the structure and nature of stakeholder relationships within organizations and the consequent impact on human resource management (HRM) policy and outcomes. The analysis shows that while performance advantages can be derived from commitment‐based HRM systems, a corporate governance regime that privileges remote stakeholders may operate as a constraint on such systems. The empirical analysis is based on the UK Workplace Employee Relations Survey (WERS98).     

When two cultures meet: new industrial relations at Japanco

This article addresses the question of the responses of British workers to Japanese management practices through a detailed case study of Japanco, a UK Japanese implant. The argument challenges the abstract ‘ideal type’ view of Japanization, by stressing the pragmatism of Japanese management, and its willingness to adjust to the contingencies of economic pressures and British industrial culture, over time. The introduction, outlining the main themes of the Japanization debate, is followed by a brief profile of Japanco. The main empirical body of the article is divided between an analysis of the start-up characteristics of Japanco, followed by a consideration of developments several years later, based on interviews and questionnaire material. The conclusion suggests that, like Ford of a previous generation, Japanco is being changed by its British industrial culture, just as this has been shaped in recent years by Japanese influence and example.     

Technology—An increasingly dominant factor in corporate strategy

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.     

The budgeting process for R&D laboratories

The author had been associated with the writing of a short series of case studies into the process by which companies allocate their R&D budgets to individual departments or projects. A key question became the location of responsibility for determining the objectives of work under-taken in R&D, and also responsibility for the allocation of resources in R&D.
The cases revealed that decisions were taken by senior R&D managers at one extreme, and by marketing or production managers at the other, but also most often jointly between the functions with different weightings of authority. The parameter most clearly differentiating between the loci of responsibility was the project duration. This led to the development of a two dimensional diagram correlating the expected remaining duration of the project, with the locus of responsibility for its management.
It is expected that this model which fits current practice into a normative framework will enable organizations to review and adjust their present methods of coping with the complexities of R&D budgeting.