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Research and development management
126
Long
Range
Planning
Vol.
16
June
Greater public accountability
would not have resolved BSC’s impending problems. In hindsight, what was missing were forecasting and planning techniques better suited to the forthcoming rapid changes in the economic environment. This would have been a crucial opportunity for the application of scenario planning and for a more flexible strategic approach, laying greater emphasis on the piecemeal improvement and development of BSC’s more efficient existing works. BSC was not alone in failing to get it right: witness the experience of BSC’s competitors in Europe and the U.S. and of some of the majors in chemicals, plastics and aluminium. The lesson for all of us is the need for a more flexible approach to forecasting and for strategies that are robust in the face of the new economic uncertainties. PETER EVANS, Group London
Planning
Adviser,
BAT
Industries, (947)
Research and Development Management, A. GLASSER, PrenticeHall, Hemel Hempstead (1982), 320 pp. Ll8.70 (hardback). This book is not an academic textbook but an easy to read collection of material distilled from the experience of the author, drawing on many anecdotes and case studies illustrating features of R & D and engineering management. The presentation and analysis is not rigorous, nor was it intended to be, and hence many students of the literature may well want to file it in the practical experience of ‘wisdom’ section of their library. This will probably not worry the author, because the stated aim of the book is to make peopleand particularly the young engineer-aware of the different attitudes which are likely to be found in different areas of the business. It is argued that one does not have the luxury of finding this out over perhaps 10 or 20 years of hard-earned experience, but must be made aware of it very early in the game. To this end the book is divided into three major parts. The first looks at the area of product development, making the point that right from the outset of an idea or concept the engineer must consider the implications of this for the business as a whole as the idea is taken to maturity. The need to tailor the development effort to the company structure is emphasized and the issues involved are discussed. The five chapters in Part I therefore cover the topics of Planning a Product Development, Product Evaluation, Concepts in and Finance Interactions Engineering Marketing, Engineering and the Operational Plan. The treatment of each subject is systematic and very practically-oriented and illustrated with plenty of examples. Part II deals with Business Development and is concerned with the use of the strategic plan as a means of specifying certain product directions in the context of which new ideas can be evaluated. Topics covered include the Strategic Plan, Product Function and Business Options, Business Strategy and Product Worth, Contact with Prospective Evaluators and Relative Worth of Technical Options. Again these are covered in a systematic manner with plenty of examples. Part III is titled Related Background Capabilities and the four chapters cover Concepts in Innovation, The Research and Development Organization, Preparing Presentations and Presenting, and Proposal Preparation. It is very interesting that the first of these, i.e. Concepts in Innovation is the only chapter in the whole book which includes references to other work in the field, including not only innovation studies, but
1983 also planning and forecasting techniques, technology projections and sociological projections. The reason for the inclusion of references in this chapter and not in others escapes the reader, because the format continues the same, i.e. personal experience of management. It is in this part of the book that one of the best contributions is to be found. Although very simple, the chapter on Preparing and Giving Presentations should be of real value to many people, industrial researcher and academic alike-this must surely be an area in which we can all improve to advantage. Overall, therefore, the book as pointed out at the beginning provides some interesting insights into the world of R & D management as seen through the eyes of an experienced manager. It is, however, unlikely to become a standard text on the subject and for many academics will be a little frustrating due to the rather superficial treatment of the material. Perhaps however this must be accepted in a book which tries to cover so much ground and which draws so heavily on personal experience. ALAN W. Manchester
PEARSON, Director, Business School
R & D
Research
Unit, (967)
Unemployment and Technical Innovation: A Study of Long Waves and Economic Deve/opment, C. FREEMAN,J. CLARK and L. SOETE, Frances Pinter, London (1982), 214 pp. El5.00 (hardback). The sub-title-A Study oj Long Waves and Economic Development-is the real subject, but if the ‘unemployment’ in the title attracts planners, who see that as a sure sign of a Kondratieff downswing into depression, then they will be amply rewarded. The Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU) has given us an important up-date on a very wide range of parameters with which we can verify the existence of the Kondratieff cycle, and probe its inner workings. Their own, and up-dates on other studies are marshalled to demonstrate powerfully the inter-relationships between unemployment and overall management of the economy on the one hand, and the influence of technical innovation on the other. Ofcourse there are other factors too, like the driving forces in human nature which power the individual actions, whose summation leads to booms and slumps; maybe these will be considered in their continuing studies. There are those who are not yet convinced that technical innovation is a vital factor; partly perhaps because some of the explanations of the cycle are not yet sufficiently refined. Freeman, Clark and Soete help here by identifying new technology systems, and pointing to their advance through the international scene. They illustrate this in detail by means of the growth cycle of the synthetic materials industry, and of electronics. Particularly important is the identification of why the U.K., and now the U.S.A., are being left behind, and why the next up-turn will be a lead from Japan. In other words, the advancing cyclical innovations are displayed in different countries at different times. When a country is left behind, it has to do much more than batten down the hatches and wait for the up-turn. SPRU arc outspoken about monetarist policies in this connection, and appalled by unemployment. They believe positive technological innovation, up stage, are vital; they
government encouragement to and patience during the buildingadvocate support for ‘exploratory
Long
Range
Planning
Vol.
16
June
Greater public accountability
would not have resolved BSC’s impending problems. In hindsight, what was missing were forecasting and planning techniques better suited to the forthcoming rapid changes in the economic environment. This would have been a crucial opportunity for the application of scenario planning and for a more flexible strategic approach, laying greater emphasis on the piecemeal improvement and development of BSC’s more efficient existing works. BSC was not alone in failing to get it right: witness the experience of BSC’s competitors in Europe and the U.S. and of some of the majors in chemicals, plastics and aluminium. The lesson for all of us is the need for a more flexible approach to forecasting and for strategies that are robust in the face of the new economic uncertainties. PETER EVANS, Group London
Planning
Adviser,
BAT
Industries, (947)
Research and Development Management, A. GLASSER, PrenticeHall, Hemel Hempstead (1982), 320 pp. Ll8.70 (hardback). This book is not an academic textbook but an easy to read collection of material distilled from the experience of the author, drawing on many anecdotes and case studies illustrating features of R & D and engineering management. The presentation and analysis is not rigorous, nor was it intended to be, and hence many students of the literature may well want to file it in the practical experience of ‘wisdom’ section of their library. This will probably not worry the author, because the stated aim of the book is to make peopleand particularly the young engineer-aware of the different attitudes which are likely to be found in different areas of the business. It is argued that one does not have the luxury of finding this out over perhaps 10 or 20 years of hard-earned experience, but must be made aware of it very early in the game. To this end the book is divided into three major parts. The first looks at the area of product development, making the point that right from the outset of an idea or concept the engineer must consider the implications of this for the business as a whole as the idea is taken to maturity. The need to tailor the development effort to the company structure is emphasized and the issues involved are discussed. The five chapters in Part I therefore cover the topics of Planning a Product Development, Product Evaluation, Concepts in and Finance Interactions Engineering Marketing, Engineering and the Operational Plan. The treatment of each subject is systematic and very practically-oriented and illustrated with plenty of examples. Part II deals with Business Development and is concerned with the use of the strategic plan as a means of specifying certain product directions in the context of which new ideas can be evaluated. Topics covered include the Strategic Plan, Product Function and Business Options, Business Strategy and Product Worth, Contact with Prospective Evaluators and Relative Worth of Technical Options. Again these are covered in a systematic manner with plenty of examples. Part III is titled Related Background Capabilities and the four chapters cover Concepts in Innovation, The Research and Development Organization, Preparing Presentations and Presenting, and Proposal Preparation. It is very interesting that the first of these, i.e. Concepts in Innovation is the only chapter in the whole book which includes references to other work in the field, including not only innovation studies, but
1983 also planning and forecasting techniques, technology projections and sociological projections. The reason for the inclusion of references in this chapter and not in others escapes the reader, because the format continues the same, i.e. personal experience of management. It is in this part of the book that one of the best contributions is to be found. Although very simple, the chapter on Preparing and Giving Presentations should be of real value to many people, industrial researcher and academic alike-this must surely be an area in which we can all improve to advantage. Overall, therefore, the book as pointed out at the beginning provides some interesting insights into the world of R & D management as seen through the eyes of an experienced manager. It is, however, unlikely to become a standard text on the subject and for many academics will be a little frustrating due to the rather superficial treatment of the material. Perhaps however this must be accepted in a book which tries to cover so much ground and which draws so heavily on personal experience. ALAN W. Manchester
PEARSON, Director, Business School
R & D
Research
Unit, (967)
Unemployment and Technical Innovation: A Study of Long Waves and Economic Deve/opment, C. FREEMAN,J. CLARK and L. SOETE, Frances Pinter, London (1982), 214 pp. El5.00 (hardback). The sub-title-A Study oj Long Waves and Economic Development-is the real subject, but if the ‘unemployment’ in the title attracts planners, who see that as a sure sign of a Kondratieff downswing into depression, then they will be amply rewarded. The Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU) has given us an important up-date on a very wide range of parameters with which we can verify the existence of the Kondratieff cycle, and probe its inner workings. Their own, and up-dates on other studies are marshalled to demonstrate powerfully the inter-relationships between unemployment and overall management of the economy on the one hand, and the influence of technical innovation on the other. Ofcourse there are other factors too, like the driving forces in human nature which power the individual actions, whose summation leads to booms and slumps; maybe these will be considered in their continuing studies. There are those who are not yet convinced that technical innovation is a vital factor; partly perhaps because some of the explanations of the cycle are not yet sufficiently refined. Freeman, Clark and Soete help here by identifying new technology systems, and pointing to their advance through the international scene. They illustrate this in detail by means of the growth cycle of the synthetic materials industry, and of electronics. Particularly important is the identification of why the U.K., and now the U.S.A., are being left behind, and why the next up-turn will be a lead from Japan. In other words, the advancing cyclical innovations are displayed in different countries at different times. When a country is left behind, it has to do much more than batten down the hatches and wait for the up-turn. SPRU arc outspoken about monetarist policies in this connection, and appalled by unemployment. They believe positive technological innovation, up stage, are vital; they
government encouragement to and patience during the buildingadvocate support for ‘exploratory