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Technology management: Case studies in innovation
Journal of Engineering and Technology Management,
10 (1993) 307-316
307
Elsevier
Book Reviews Technology
Management:
edited by Robert Gorham & Lamont, Inc., Bos-
Case Studies in Innovation,
Szakonyi, Auerbach Publications/Warren, ton, MA, 1992,418 pages.
This book is a collection of articles written by thirty different authors, most of whom are either industrial managers or have spent much of their career in industry. This is by no means a scholarly, research-based work. According to the Introduction, “The purpose of this publication is to use those individual managers’ skills and insights to build up a body of knowledge concerning technology management.“At the conclusion of this review, I will make a judgment on whether this purpose was actually achieved. The title of this work is somewhat misleading, given the content of the book. Several aspects of this title require explanation. “Technology” is bounded by products and manufacturing processes. In other words, the focus is on the core technology of the organization. The context of “innovation” is the research and development (R&D) organization. Finally, there are very few “case studies” covered in the book. Most of the book consists of vignettes and generalizations from experience, not case studies. The editor, Director of the Center on Technology Management at Illinois Institute of Technology Research Institute, has divided the book into six sections. Section 1 addresses issues related to linking technology to business goals. This section includes chapters covering resource allocation, selection of R&D projects, developing corporate R&D plans, downsizing the R&D effort, and R&D in the services sector. Chapter 4, which covers partnerships between R&D and non-R&D departments to select projects, gives some useful ideas on protecting long-term R&D from neglect due to short-term pressures. Chapter 5, on developing a corporate technology plan, is equally applicable to the organization’s core technology and to support technologies (such as information technology). Chapter 7, on creating a strategic technology plan, briefly discusses the interesting concepts of centers of excellence (“vehicles for planning and coordinating development related to a specific core technology”, p. 85) and technology champions (“playing a role analogous to that of a brand manager”, p. 86). Chapter 9, which discusses R&D at GTE, is the only chapter to specifically focus on service industries. However, I found the chapter to be too specific to be of much use to R&D managers in other service industries. Section 2 covers the management of the research and development function.
0923-4748/93/$06.00
0 1993 Elsevier Science Publishers
B.V. All rights reserved.
308
This section includes chapters covering managing technical personnel, teaching management concepts to engineers, integrating R&D with quality improvement efforts, the use of computer and information resources in R&D, and improving the relationships R&D has with marketing and finance. Chapter 13, which covers integrating R&D with other quality improvement efforts, is a disappointment given the current popularity and importance of total quality management. The depth of insight contained in this chapter can be seen in the following quote: “The general principles of quality improvement are quite simple. The most important tenet is: Make products right the first time, rather than spend a great deal of time and effort inspecting for all of the defective products.” (p. 134) The chapter also points out that, unless manufacturing, marketing, R&D, quality assurance and purchasing work together, the company will not attain major improvements in the quality of its products (pp. 134-135 ). To its credit, the chapter does provide suggestions on what R&D can do to improve quality. Chapter 16, which covers the relationship between R&D and finance, provides some useful suggestions on how these organizational units can work together. Section 3 addresses issues related to project management and teamwork. It includes chapters on creating an effective new product development team, management of multidisciplinary teams, and approaches to project management. Chapter 18, on creating an effective team, can be applied to teams outside of the new product development arena. One of the most interesting insights from this chapter is that the functional composition of new product development teams should mirror that of the overall organization. Chapter 19 discusses an interesting approach to project management under which “management” of the team is shared by a senior researcher, in the role of “project leader”, and a project management professional, in the role of “project administrator”. Section 4 covers new product development. It includes chapters on improving the new product development process, reducing the risks associated with new product development, the role of applied research, and the process of reviving an existing product line at one company. Chapter 22 provides a fairly detailed discussion of the new product development process. The author of this chapter believes it is undesirable to designate one person as a “product champion”. Instead, he places the emphasis on the team. This conflicts with several other chapters, and many popular business books and articles, which discuss the importance of such a champion. The editor could have added value by contrasting the situations which would require a strong champion with those requiring a stronger emphasis on the team. Chapter 23, on reducing new product development risks, points out that “Preparing a commercial specification that accurately defines the desired characteristics of a new product is the single most important step in the development process.” (p. 273) All interested parties, including the customer, must be represented in the development of this
specification. Chapter 24, on the role of applied research, stresses the need to look outside of the organization for bright ideas. Chapter 25, on product line revitalization, stresses the involvement of the customer. Even though the topic is not mentioned by name, this is the best chapter on total quality management in the book. Section 5 discusses technology transfer. This section includes chapters on transferring technology from development to manufacturing, improving the relationship between development and manufacturing, the role of a research consortium in technology transfer, and transfer within the context of U.S.European joint ventures. Chapter 26, which covers the transfer of new technology into the manufacturing plant, discusses the useful concept of searching throughout the world “for product and process technologies that could benefit the company” (p. 317). This chapter also includes a detailed set of audit criteria for use when evaluating opportunities for introducing manufacturing technology. Chapter 27 discusses concurrent engineering. Chapter 28, which presents an iterative model of technological innovation, is a good introduction to the networked organizational form. Section 6 covers approaches to nurturing innovation. It includes chapters on innovation in small, start-up enterprises, innovation in large, well-established corporations, and on venture programs to encourage innovation. Chapter 31 is an interesting, but brief, chapter comparing innovation in start-up firms with that in well-established corporations. Chapter 33, which covers innovation in large middle-aged companies, is arguably the best chapter in the book. It should be required reading for students in MBA and engineering management programs. One of the more interesting suggestions made in this chapter is for large organizations to maintain a portfolio of “fundamentally sound ideas whose time has not yet arrived” (p. 381). Chapter 34 provides a detailed discussion of new venture innovation within large, well-established corporations (“intrapreneurship”). The strength of this book is that, as a collection of articles written by practicing managers, it is very practical. It contains suggestions, lessons learned, and lists of questions which can be easily modified and applied in other corporate settings. The key themes, which reappear across numerous chapters, sound like they have been taken from current issues of popular business magazines: - R&D personnel should talk to the customer directly. - All affected departments should be involved in new product development from the earliest stages of the project. - A written specification, clearly defining customer needs, should guide the new product development or product enhancement effort. - Someone in the corporation, possibly the research and development group, should look outside of the corporation for bright ideas that may help improve or replace product or process technologies.
310
The primary weakness of this book is the very high price of $125. The book provides precious few new insights, given that premium price. Another weakness is that of redundant coverage of topics across chapters. This might be a result of the format (utilizing numerous authors to write chapters), a conscious choice on the part of the editor, or a lack of editing. Yet another weakness is the scarcity of bibliographic references. For example, issues related to differences between research and development and other organizational units are discussed and recommendations made by numerous authors, but no author refers to the landmark work of Lawrence and Lorsch. My overall assessment is that the book is not worth the price charged for it. I do not think the book actually accomplished its stated purpose, given that much of what is discussed could be considered current conventional wisdom. According to the editor, the book is aimed not only at R&D and engineering managers, but also at any manager involved in technology management. I am not sure that any of these managers could individually justify paying $125 for the content. It might make sense, however, for corporate and university libraries to purchase a copy for general use. Reviewed by Charles P. SEELEY MICAH Systems, Inc. 1050 Beryl Trail Dayton,
OH 45459, USA
10 (1993) 307-316
307
Elsevier
Book Reviews Technology
Management:
edited by Robert Gorham & Lamont, Inc., Bos-
Case Studies in Innovation,
Szakonyi, Auerbach Publications/Warren, ton, MA, 1992,418 pages.
This book is a collection of articles written by thirty different authors, most of whom are either industrial managers or have spent much of their career in industry. This is by no means a scholarly, research-based work. According to the Introduction, “The purpose of this publication is to use those individual managers’ skills and insights to build up a body of knowledge concerning technology management.“At the conclusion of this review, I will make a judgment on whether this purpose was actually achieved. The title of this work is somewhat misleading, given the content of the book. Several aspects of this title require explanation. “Technology” is bounded by products and manufacturing processes. In other words, the focus is on the core technology of the organization. The context of “innovation” is the research and development (R&D) organization. Finally, there are very few “case studies” covered in the book. Most of the book consists of vignettes and generalizations from experience, not case studies. The editor, Director of the Center on Technology Management at Illinois Institute of Technology Research Institute, has divided the book into six sections. Section 1 addresses issues related to linking technology to business goals. This section includes chapters covering resource allocation, selection of R&D projects, developing corporate R&D plans, downsizing the R&D effort, and R&D in the services sector. Chapter 4, which covers partnerships between R&D and non-R&D departments to select projects, gives some useful ideas on protecting long-term R&D from neglect due to short-term pressures. Chapter 5, on developing a corporate technology plan, is equally applicable to the organization’s core technology and to support technologies (such as information technology). Chapter 7, on creating a strategic technology plan, briefly discusses the interesting concepts of centers of excellence (“vehicles for planning and coordinating development related to a specific core technology”, p. 85) and technology champions (“playing a role analogous to that of a brand manager”, p. 86). Chapter 9, which discusses R&D at GTE, is the only chapter to specifically focus on service industries. However, I found the chapter to be too specific to be of much use to R&D managers in other service industries. Section 2 covers the management of the research and development function.
0923-4748/93/$06.00
0 1993 Elsevier Science Publishers
B.V. All rights reserved.
308
This section includes chapters covering managing technical personnel, teaching management concepts to engineers, integrating R&D with quality improvement efforts, the use of computer and information resources in R&D, and improving the relationships R&D has with marketing and finance. Chapter 13, which covers integrating R&D with other quality improvement efforts, is a disappointment given the current popularity and importance of total quality management. The depth of insight contained in this chapter can be seen in the following quote: “The general principles of quality improvement are quite simple. The most important tenet is: Make products right the first time, rather than spend a great deal of time and effort inspecting for all of the defective products.” (p. 134) The chapter also points out that, unless manufacturing, marketing, R&D, quality assurance and purchasing work together, the company will not attain major improvements in the quality of its products (pp. 134-135 ). To its credit, the chapter does provide suggestions on what R&D can do to improve quality. Chapter 16, which covers the relationship between R&D and finance, provides some useful suggestions on how these organizational units can work together. Section 3 addresses issues related to project management and teamwork. It includes chapters on creating an effective new product development team, management of multidisciplinary teams, and approaches to project management. Chapter 18, on creating an effective team, can be applied to teams outside of the new product development arena. One of the most interesting insights from this chapter is that the functional composition of new product development teams should mirror that of the overall organization. Chapter 19 discusses an interesting approach to project management under which “management” of the team is shared by a senior researcher, in the role of “project leader”, and a project management professional, in the role of “project administrator”. Section 4 covers new product development. It includes chapters on improving the new product development process, reducing the risks associated with new product development, the role of applied research, and the process of reviving an existing product line at one company. Chapter 22 provides a fairly detailed discussion of the new product development process. The author of this chapter believes it is undesirable to designate one person as a “product champion”. Instead, he places the emphasis on the team. This conflicts with several other chapters, and many popular business books and articles, which discuss the importance of such a champion. The editor could have added value by contrasting the situations which would require a strong champion with those requiring a stronger emphasis on the team. Chapter 23, on reducing new product development risks, points out that “Preparing a commercial specification that accurately defines the desired characteristics of a new product is the single most important step in the development process.” (p. 273) All interested parties, including the customer, must be represented in the development of this
specification. Chapter 24, on the role of applied research, stresses the need to look outside of the organization for bright ideas. Chapter 25, on product line revitalization, stresses the involvement of the customer. Even though the topic is not mentioned by name, this is the best chapter on total quality management in the book. Section 5 discusses technology transfer. This section includes chapters on transferring technology from development to manufacturing, improving the relationship between development and manufacturing, the role of a research consortium in technology transfer, and transfer within the context of U.S.European joint ventures. Chapter 26, which covers the transfer of new technology into the manufacturing plant, discusses the useful concept of searching throughout the world “for product and process technologies that could benefit the company” (p. 317). This chapter also includes a detailed set of audit criteria for use when evaluating opportunities for introducing manufacturing technology. Chapter 27 discusses concurrent engineering. Chapter 28, which presents an iterative model of technological innovation, is a good introduction to the networked organizational form. Section 6 covers approaches to nurturing innovation. It includes chapters on innovation in small, start-up enterprises, innovation in large, well-established corporations, and on venture programs to encourage innovation. Chapter 31 is an interesting, but brief, chapter comparing innovation in start-up firms with that in well-established corporations. Chapter 33, which covers innovation in large middle-aged companies, is arguably the best chapter in the book. It should be required reading for students in MBA and engineering management programs. One of the more interesting suggestions made in this chapter is for large organizations to maintain a portfolio of “fundamentally sound ideas whose time has not yet arrived” (p. 381). Chapter 34 provides a detailed discussion of new venture innovation within large, well-established corporations (“intrapreneurship”). The strength of this book is that, as a collection of articles written by practicing managers, it is very practical. It contains suggestions, lessons learned, and lists of questions which can be easily modified and applied in other corporate settings. The key themes, which reappear across numerous chapters, sound like they have been taken from current issues of popular business magazines: - R&D personnel should talk to the customer directly. - All affected departments should be involved in new product development from the earliest stages of the project. - A written specification, clearly defining customer needs, should guide the new product development or product enhancement effort. - Someone in the corporation, possibly the research and development group, should look outside of the corporation for bright ideas that may help improve or replace product or process technologies.
310
The primary weakness of this book is the very high price of $125. The book provides precious few new insights, given that premium price. Another weakness is that of redundant coverage of topics across chapters. This might be a result of the format (utilizing numerous authors to write chapters), a conscious choice on the part of the editor, or a lack of editing. Yet another weakness is the scarcity of bibliographic references. For example, issues related to differences between research and development and other organizational units are discussed and recommendations made by numerous authors, but no author refers to the landmark work of Lawrence and Lorsch. My overall assessment is that the book is not worth the price charged for it. I do not think the book actually accomplished its stated purpose, given that much of what is discussed could be considered current conventional wisdom. According to the editor, the book is aimed not only at R&D and engineering managers, but also at any manager involved in technology management. I am not sure that any of these managers could individually justify paying $125 for the content. It might make sense, however, for corporate and university libraries to purchase a copy for general use. Reviewed by Charles P. SEELEY MICAH Systems, Inc. 1050 Beryl Trail Dayton,
OH 45459, USA