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.     

Growth constraints on small-scale manufacturing in developing countries: a critical review

The question raised in this review is whether small-scale producers in developing countries can expand or whether they are up against constraints which stunt their growth. Most of the literature has been optimistic on this score; while internal constraints (e.g. lack of managerial ability) or external constraints (e.g. discrimination from government) are identified, expansion is seen as an open-ended process. In other contributions this view has been severely criticized; some allege that the small producers are exploited through various mechanisms, others suggest that their road to expansion is blocked as a result of factors such as the pre-existence of very advanced technology, the control of large firms over product markets, or difficulties in access to raw materials. In discussing the arguments put forward in the debate, an attempt is made to assess their theoretical bases and examine the extent to which they are supported empirically. While most studies express explicitly or implicitly a definite view on the growth potential of small producers, such judgement is rarely based on a comprehensive examination of the context which determines this potential.     

An interactive computer-based approach to aid group problem formulation

The size, cost, and complexity of quantitative modeling in the social and physical sciences demand that the modeler focus attention on premodeling phases of analysis, specifically on formulation and definition of “problems.” This is especially true in the “softer” or less “well-structured” problem areas of futures research and technology assessment. At this stage of modeling, a key factor is communication among modelers. This paper briefly discusses approaches to classifying and formulating problems that illustrate the role of communication in modeling. It then describes a computer-based communication system as one possible aid in the problem-formulation process.     

The development of accounting machines in French banks from the 1920s to the 1960s

French banks faced severe organisational problems in the 1910s and 1920s when the scale of their operations grew dramatically as a result of the broadening of the customer base among personal investors and of the boom in discount activities, both of which required increased levels of bookkeeping. In the meanwhile, due to inflation and trade-union pressure, wages had increased. This led to French banks adopting a strategy of sharing information with German banks, which already seem to have developed the process of mechanising bookkeeping operations. Knowledge exchanges were set up with German (and Belgian) bankers so as to accelerate the transfer of organisation (re-engineering) skills and data-processing. Banks in the Alsace region were pioneers in this movement; but several big banks did not wait long before introducing a policy of investing in machines and new platforms for tackling dataprocessing. The 1920s and the 1930s thus represent a key stage in the transformation of French banks into actual service 'organisations'.     

Franz Redl † (1921–1965)

Ohne Zusammenfassung

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Franz Redl (1921–1965)

     

Should we reallocate patent fees to the universities?

In knowledge economies, patent agencies are often viewed as a relevant instrument of an efficient innovation policy. This paper brings a new support to that idea. We claim that these agencies should play an increasing role in the regulation of the relation between private R&D labs and public fundamental research units especially concerning the question of the appropriation of free usable research results. Since these two institutions work with opposite institutional arrangements (see P.S. Dasgupta and P.A. David. 1987. Information disclosure and the economics of science and technology. In Arrow and the accent of modern economic theory, ed. G.R. Feiwel, 519–42. New York: State University of New York Press), we essentially argue that there is, on the one hand, an over-appropriation of these results while, on the other hand, there is also an under-provision of free usable results issued from more fundamental research. We show how a public patent office can restore efficiency.     

The new EU countries and euro adoption

In the new member states of the EU which have not yet adopted the euro, previous adoption strategies have come under scrutiny. The spillovers and contagion from the global financial crisis revealed a new threat to the countries’ real convergence goal, namely considerable vulnerability to the transmission of financial instability to the real economy. This paper demonstrates the existence of extreme risks for real convergence and argues in favour of a new adoption strategy which does not announce a target date for the currency changeover and which allows for more flexible and countercyclical monetary, fiscal and wage policies.