The Changing Agenda for Research Management

Abstract

Much of today's management practice and operating culture in large industrial research laboratories was firmly established prior to 1970. However, there are increasing signs that some of the intuition and instincts developed in this earlier period are at odds with current realities. Several authors have suggested that it is time to reexamine and augment many of our traditional assumptions on managing the research function. It is being argued, for example, that broader roles and new job descriptions are appropriate to today's technical leaders(1)(2). More generally, it has been suggested that we may be in need of a new paradigm for the industrial research process(3). What makes the present situation difficult to interpret and disentangle is that we are dealing with two waves of change, both of which require research managers to step out beyond the confines of the laboratory. The first started for many companies in the early 1970s and has intensified during the last decade. It is concerned with the need to couple the research laboratory more directly to the strategy of business operations, and has been part of the broader attention to planning and strategy in United States corporations in general. The second wave of change, bringing with it the need to further broaden the perspectives and responsibilities of research management, comes about because of the spread of technology itself, and its intensifying influence on global competitiveness. Fast-changing technology on a global scale is altering the rules of operation in all business functions. This evolution and broadening of objectives and roles for research management is illustrated in Figure 1. (Figure 1 omitted) There is a substantial and well-established body of literature and experience that was developed prior to 1970 on managing the research function, and that is routinely passed on to successive generations of aspiring research leaders. It covers many familiar topics, including organization, technology transfer, management and selection of projects, as well as human resource management, financing, administration, and external relations. A principal managerial objective throughout is the establishment of an environment in industrial laboratories that nurtures both individual creativity and innovation by groups. The resulting organizational structures frequently reflect underlying academic disciplines. Significantly, many of these assumptions and shared values were acquired in a period when U.S. corporations dominated many world markets, and at a time when the process and manufacturing industries provided the preeminent models of industrial innovation. The principal focus of this article deals with some of the generic lessons the industrial research community has learned in integrating the research function with strategic business management 1970-1990. With the benefit of considerable hindsight, we can provide some guidance on the tools and approaches that have worked in bringing more effective coupling between research laboratories and business operations. These planning approaches have significantly improved the credibility of research management within U.S. corporations and helped to position the research community to deal with the emerging challenges of global competitiveness in the 1990s. BUSINESS STRATEGY AND TECHNICAL COMPETENCE During the 1970s, increasing national and international competition put pressure on corporations in the U.S. to better integrate operations and focus business goals. One major result was that many companies introduced formal strategic planning and management systems to business operations. As a direct consequence, many research directors have been repeatedly challenged to Get the laboratories coupled to the strategies and goals of the business and work within the mainstream management and planning processes in the corporation. What appears at first sight to be a relatively straightforward request has in retrospect turned out to be complex. …