Showing papers in "IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management in 1976"
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the relationship between outside influences and the firm's innovation process and suggested that the evolution of a business from one having initially fluid and independent product and process technologies to one having a highly automated process technology designed for a specific standard product.
Abstract: The study examines the relationship between outside influences and the firm's innovation process. A sample of commercially successful and unsuccessful R&D projects of a number of firms is discussed in terms of diverse market, resource, technical and organizational factors. The stimulus for a project, the sources of ideas used and the influences of competition and regulatory constraints were expected to vary among industries, and these differences are described. The authors suggest that their findings might be understood based on the evolution of a business from one having initially fluid and independent product and process technologies to one having a highly automated process technology designed for a specific standard product. Consequently, the relationship between product and process will shape and constrain the firm's ability to innovate in response to a changing environment.
113 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a model for the idea generation stage which incorporates information flows and a variety of possible managerial and policy actions. And they discuss the role and importance of RD in both government and corporate attitudes towards RD.
Abstract: Recent changes in both government and corporate attitudes towards RD (2) a description of the types, sources and channels of stimulus information; (3) a discussion of the role and importance of RD (4) a new model for the idea generation stage which incorporates information flows and a variety of possible managerial and policy actions.
86 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors focused on eleven successful and eleven unsuccessful innovations as well as ten innovations in progress in West Germany in 1974-1975, and compared the successful and unsuccessful projects in terms of effort and elapsed time.
Abstract: This study is concerned with eleven successful and eleven unsuccessful innovations as well as ten innovations in progress. The data were gathered by the author in West Germany in 1974-1975. The earlier findings on the effects of demand pull and technology push are augmented with this study, which offers further evidence that the high number of successful innovations start from demand pull, while the high number of unsuccessful projects start from technology push. The successful and unsuccessful projects are compared in level of effort and elapsed time, and the process versus product R&D decision is examined. Ten current projects are examined and the social forces are found to be diffuse. Two examples demonstrate the importance of the necessary integration between technology and the environment.
74 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated the relationship between technical uncertainty and the technical decision maker's selection of information channels/sources and found that there is a strong correlation between technical uncertainties and a decision-maker's choice of more efficient information channels or sources.
Abstract: The relationship between technical uncertainty and the technical decision maker's selection of information channels/sources is investigated. A questionnaire survey was conducted among 384 engineers and scientists in a large government R&D organization. Findings indicate a strong correlation between technical uncertainty and a decision maker's choice of more efficient information channels/sources.
62 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated the effects of seven technoeconomic factors, extent of top management support, six dimensions of organizational climate, and three modes of joint decision-making on the adoption of NASA innovations.
Abstract: The study investigated the effects of: seven techno-economic factors, extent of top management support, six dimensions of organizational climate, and three modes of joint decision-making, on the adoption of NASA innovations. Seventy-three cases in sixty-five organizations were studied. Data were collected through field interviews and questionnaires. Parametric influences of communication channels and involvement of the innovator were examined. Implications for organizational design were considered. The data indicated that top management support was of primary importance in the success of product innovations. But techno-economic variables were of primary importance in the success of process innovations. The data also indicated that organizational climate and conflict resolution mechanisms were different in the successful and unsuccessful cases. Involvement of the innovator in implementation of the project was also found to be important.
49 citations
TL;DR: In this article, four types of communication networks and their relationships to satisfaction and performance were examined and it was speculated that the influence of communication would vary because of the employees' task demands, role conflict, and ambiguity, and these would be reflected by organizational level of the employee.
Abstract: Reports research done to increase understanding of communications in organizations. Using a typology of organizational communications developed by Greenbaum (1974), four types of communication networks and their relationships to satisfaction and performance were examined. Measures of the four suggested types of communication were also empirically developed. The four types of communication were: 1) informative, 2) regulatory, 3) status quo, and 4) integrative. The results indicated that informative and integrative communications were generally more satisfying and beneficial to employees than regulatory and status quo communication. It was speculated that the influence of communication would vary because of the employees' task demands, role conflict, and ambiguity, and that these would be reflected by organizational level of the employee. A further analysis of the relationships between types of communication and satisfaction and performance revealed that organizational level was a significant moderating variable. Implications for organizational practice were suggested.
20 citations
TL;DR: It was concluded that the pattern of information seeking behavior in user organizations during the awareness stage od adoption is not a reliable predictor of the eventual utilization rate of new technology.
Abstract: Two dimensions (personal-impersonal and internal-external) are used to characterize information sources as they become important during the interorganizational transfer of production innovations. The results of three studies are reviewed for the purpose of deriving a model of the timing and importance of different information sources and the utilization of new technology. Based on the findings of two retrospective studies, it was concluded that the pattern of information seeking behavior in user organizations during the awareness stage od adoption is not a reliable predictor of the eventual utilization rate. Using the additional findings of a real-time study, an empirical model of the relative importance of information sources for successful user organizations is presented. These results are extended and integrated into a theoretical model consisting of a time-profile of successful implementations and the relative importance of four types of information sources during seven stages of the adoption-implementation process.
16 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a model of the RD/I process and a list of candidate experiments were developed on the basis of an analysis of significant variables found by other researchers, case studies, and interviews with research administrators.
Abstract: Concern over a decline in the productivity of research and development (R&D) activities in the US economy has stimulated a search for ways to correct this situation. This paper presents a model of the RD/I process and a list of candidate experiments. The model was developed on the basis of an analysis of significant variables found by other researchers, case studies, and interviews with research administrators. The experiments were deduced from this model with the aid of a logico-deductive design paradigm and a panel of experts. The model and the list provide insights into the RD/I innovation process, and a checklist of policy guidelines and administrative actions for further study.
10 citations
TL;DR: Transactional analysis offers a framework for increased communication to facilitate engineering decision making as mentioned in this paper, which can be used in conjunction with the managerial grid and the Johari window to improve team effectiveness.
Abstract: The concepts of transactional analysis are applied to teams of engineers. These ideas show the engineer how `he' can change and that he alone is responsible for what happens in the future, no matter what has happened in the past. Transactional analysis offers a framework for increased communication to facilitate engineering decision making. Since transactional analysis is a behaviour model, it can be used in conjunction with something like the managerial grid and the Johari window to improve team effectiveness. A model for planned renegotiation is outlined in the event that the initial expectations of an engineering team do not develop as planned.
4 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the characteristics of a new venture are described, especially the characteristics required of the manager, and the advantages and limitations of the divisional versus corporate new venture structure are discussed.
Abstract: The new venture is a total business activity organized to introduce a new line of products or penetrate a new market. The emphasis is on a total business organization. Major corporations find that innovative organizational structures, such as new ventures, are necessary to launch new businesses. The characteristics of the new venture are described. The operational aspects of a new venture are emphasized, especially the characteristics required of the manager. To be successful, new ventures demand thorough and effective planning. Plans include market forecasts, a thorough research on customer needs, financial analyses and organizational planning. Advantages and limitations to the divisional versus corporate new venture structure are emphasised. Since the new venture is a financial activity within a corporation, proper support and management guidance must be present to insure its success.
3 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, extensive interviews and observations were conducted of R&D managers and the result is a categorical description of the research manager's job with a start of behavioral definition in each category.
Abstract: In order to define behaviorally the R&D manager's job, extensive interviews and observations were conducted of R&D managers. The result is a categorical description of the R&D manager's job with a start of behavioral definition in each category. A validation of the categorical model was performed.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors recognize that high technology enterprises have a number of special characteristics that cause them to differ from the much larger number of businesses which managers normally operate successfully and these characteristics must be recognized by enterprise managers to avoid many of the problems which have beset high technology endeavors in the past.
Abstract: High technology enterprises are important elements in the present and future of the nation and the world. Such enterprises have a number of special characteristics that cause them to differ from the much larger number of businesses which managers normally operate successfully. These special characteristics must be recognized by enterprise managers to avoid many of the problems which have beset high technology endeavors in the past. With appropriate understanding of the special effects of high technology on general management considerations, high technology enterprise can play an ever-increasing role in attacking complex long-term national and world problems with which the future seems to abound.
TL;DR: A new product joint venture is defined as a new legal entity or organization formed with the patents, technical skills, a marketing system and managerial experience from two independent contributing corporations for the purpose of developing, producing, and marketing a product innovation as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Research focused on the new product joint venture organization is presented. A new product joint venture is defined as a new legal entity or organization formed with the patents, technical skills, a marketing system and managerial experience from two independent contributing corporations for the purpose of developing, producing, and marketing a product innovation.
TL;DR: In this paper, the potential usefulness of dynamic system models in the evaluation of the development of telecommunications has been investigated by a multidisciplinary team, and a dynamic model of northwest Ontario was constructed and tested, while some work has been done towards the construction of models of individual communities within this same region.
Abstract: The potential usefulness of dynamic system models in the evaluation of the development of telecommunications has been investigated by a multidisciplinary team. A dynamic model of northwest Ontario was constructed and tested, while some work has been done towards the construction of models of individual communities within this same region. All these models are based on extensive study and field work by the multidisciplinary team. A major feature is a detailed discussion of how sustained multidisciplinary cooperation was developed during the course of the project, with a special emphasis on the informal coordination appropriate to the conduct of such work, which was on a relatively small overall scale, but involved six different disciplines in a university environment.
TL;DR: A data-base management system has been applied to the management of test results in the development of an integrated-circuit (IC) memory device that can be characterized by chips within slices within lots.
Abstract: A data-base management system has been applied to the management of test results in the development of an integrated-circuit (IC) memory device. The system software is largely independent of the specific device tested and can be applied to any IC device that can be characterized by chips within slices within lots. Several sets of parametric and go-nogo test sequences can be maintained simultaneously. Changes in the tests can be made with no change in the reporting software or the data-base structure. Only one program need be changed when an entry system format is changed.
TL;DR: In this article, the author's experience of managing a medium-sized engineering organization using ''management by objectives'' (MBO) is described and a description of some of the problems encountered, the means by which they were solved, and some guides for others who might wish to apply MBO in an engineering context are included.
Abstract: The author's experience of managing a medium-sized engineering organization using `management by objectives' (MBO) is described. A description of some of the problems encountered, the means by which they were solved, and some guides for others who might wish to apply MBO in an engineering context are included.
TL;DR: In this article, the primary issues of interdisciplinary policy research management are discussed, especially as they relate to the universities in the United States and performance requirements for effective policy research are given, followed by the initial conclusion that high-quality policy research is generally performed in spite of several elements in the traditional university environment, not because of them.
Abstract: The primary issues of interdisciplinary policy research (IDR) management are discussed, especially as they relate to the universities in the United States. Performance requirements for effective policy research are given, followed by the initial conclusion that high-quality policy research is generally performed in spite of several elements in the traditional university environment, not because of them. The discussion of methods for developing effective research programs begins with an analysis of the reasons why a university should or should not engage in IDR and covers the following key factors: 1) availability of resources; 2) departmental influence; 3) communication; 4) management methods; 5) planning, review, and evaluation; and 6) professional staff.