KM Tutorial Ans

208KM tutorial 5 Ans head 1 Ans Show why R&D management is dependent on industrial context. function This question explores the extent to which students understand the importance of industrial context. R&D operations in the industrial chemical industry will be completely different from those in the nutrition industry. For example, R&D managers in industrial chemicals companies may not eat up to deal with brand managers, whereas in the food industry brand managers will be very influential. Similarly, consumer inquiry scientists will have a significant influence on finding making in consumer markets but not in industrial markets.Question 2 Discuss the range of operable R&D activities. swear out escort 8. 1 illustrates the R&D operations commonly found in al just about every major interrogation and development department. They may have different labels, but within Siemens, Nokia, BMW and Shell such operations ar well documented. In sm every(prenominal)er organisations the ac tivities ar less diverse and may include only a few of these operations. This section explains what activities one would impart to find within each type of R&D operation. To tending put these activities in context, encounter 9. shows how they relate to the product life-cycle framework. They are grassroots Research Applied Research Product Development Technical work Question 3 What was the traditional view of R&D? conclude After the Second World War, research and development played an primal role in providing firms with competitive advantage. Technical developments in industries such as chemicals, electronics, automotive and pharmaceuticals led to the development of galore(postnominal) new products, which produced rapid growth. For a while it seemed that engine room was capable of almost anything.The traditional view of R&D has therefore been overcoming genuine technological roblems, which subsequently leads to railway line opportunities and a competitive advantage over on es competitors. Question 4 Not all firms invest in RD. What should be the level of expenditure on RD for a firm? resultant One of the most useful guides is to look at industry average expenditure. This will erect a guide to what a firm in a finical industry probably an annual budgetary basis. It requires a longer-term approach change noesis to be acquired and built up over time.This often leads to tensions with different functions that are planning projects and activities. It is unusual for unlimited funds o be available, and hence business functions usually compete with other departments for funds. A wide deal depends on the culture of the organisation and the industry within which it is run (see Chapters 3 and 6). Pilkington, for example, spends proportionally large sums on RD -many rank too some(prenominal) especially when one considers its more recent accomplishment (Financial Times, 1998). Other companies spend very little on RD but huge amounts on sales and merchan dising.This is the case for the financial serve industry. So, one of the most difficult decisions facing senior management is how much to spend on RD. Many companies now report RD expenditure in their annual reports. It is now relatively user-friendly to establish, for example, that Rubbermaid spent 14 per cent of sales on RD in 1994 however, exactly how the company arrived at this figure is less clear. Question 5 What are the main strategic activities of RD? Answer The management of research and development needs to be fully unified with the strategic management process of the business.This will enhance and support the products that marketing and sales offer and provide the company with a technical be of knowledge that can be used for future development. Too many usinesses fail to integrate the management of research and applied science fully into the boilersuit business strategy process (Adler et al. (1992)). A report by the European Industrial Management Association (EIRMA, 1985) recognises RD as having trinity distinct areas, each requiring investment RD for existing businesses, RD for new businesses and RD for exploratory research (see Figure 8. ). These three strategic areas can be broken down into operational activities 00 defend, support and expand existing businesses drive new businesses and broaden and sharpen technological capability. Discuss some of the strategic pressures on RD. Answer In virtually all RD functions there is a trade-off between concentrating resources in the pursuit of a strategic knowledge competence and spreading resources over a wider area to allow for the construction of a more general knowledge base. Figure 8. 5 shows the demands on technical resources.The growth of scientific and technological areas of interest to the firm pressurises research management to fund a wider number of areas, represented by the upward curve. The need for strategic positioning forces the decision to focus resources and build strategic knowle dge competencies, represented by the downward curve. Question 7 What is meant by technology leverage? Answer While it is tempting to say that technology influences the competitive performance of all businesses, in reality some businesses are more heavily influenced than others.In many mature and established industries, the cost of in the warm genuines is much more of an influence on the competitive performance of the business than are technology developments. For example,the price paid for commodities like coffee, cocoa and excoriation can dramatically influence profits in many food industries. Even if the business was to substantially increase the level of RD nvestment, its competitive position would still be determined by raw material prices.Several attempts have been made by industry to quantify this gene when considering the level of RD investment required. Scholefield (1993) developed a set using the concept of technology leverage. This is the extent of influence that a businesss technology and technology base have on its competitive position. In general, technology leverage will be low when the influence of raw material and distribution costs and economic growth is high. High-volume, bulk commodity products would come to within this scenario.