Management of Research and Development Organizations: Managing the Unmanageable

This book provides guidelines for managing and improving the productivity of R&D organizations. The author discusses how to set priorities, motivate subordinates, create a good work environment, and develop leadership in people whose training is scientific rather than managerial.

As our economy shifts from producing goods to producing information, the role of researchers in shaping the future has become immense. The United States alone spends well over $180 billion per year on research and development. Highly trained researchers now span the globe, collaborating from remote locations via new electronic media. These creative, well-educated individuals are often autonomous researchers who share information without an effective centralized structure. How does the manager of an R&D organization integrate the efforts of many disparate individuals into a unified plan?

Management of Research and Development Organizations, Second Edition covers everything you need to know about the R&D process. Here are the management skills and leadership theories essential to generating products and excelling in today's global economy. You'll learn how to design jobs, organize hierarchies, resolve conflicts, motivate employees, and create an innovative work environment. You'll also discover how superior management skills can increase funding, generate profit, and improve the effectiveness of technologically based organizations.

This Second Edition features several new chapters and topics, including extensive, cross-cultural coverage of European and Pacific Rim R&D organizations and policies.

Expanded to incorporate the most up-to-date literature in the field, this edition shows you how to transfer technology and form science policy in a global society. Important new chapters guide you through the university research enterprise--from university/industry linkage to the role of academic institutions in the innovation process--and discuss crucial issues related to strategic planning and diversity in R&D organizations.

Management of Research and Development Organizations, Second Edition is the most complete, insightful book of its kind. Useful for professionals and graduate students alike, the text demonstrates in clear, straightforward prose how good management skills will shape the future.

Praise for the first edition

"I would make this required reading for all my students going into R and D organizations and certainly to all new faculty members. . . . [As a text] I see this book being used in new programs concerning the management of science and technology."--David Marks, Chair Department of Civil Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

"A carefully researched book--using an abundant, current and comprehensive group of references. Beautifully written--quite atypical for a book of this type. The result is an entertaining learning experience and a valuable addition to the research manager's reference library."--Roy H. Reuter, PhD, Vice President, Life Systems, Inc.

"Seldom does a month pass that I don't refer to it. This stimulating reference has consistently provided me valuable and specific assistance in leading R&D organizations in the federal government and industry."--J. R. Sculley, Chairman and CEO, Allied Research Corporation

And for the Second Edition

"This enlarged Second Edition focuses on contemporary issues related to: dealing with diversity in R&D organizations, global perspectives in innovation, strategic planning, and university research enterprise. This is a superbly written book and could make an excellent reference and text for related university courses."--E. Lyle Murphree, Jr., PhD, Chairman, Department of Engineering Management, George Washington University

"Provides a superb exposition of the role which social and psychological phenomena play in today's organizations."--Fred E. Fiedler, Professor of Psychology Emeritus, University of Washington, Seattle