Tech Talk: How Managers are Stimulating Global R

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Tech Talk How Managers are Stimulating Global
RD Communication
BUAD 661, Fall 2004 Peggy M Beranek, PhD
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Technology Communications
This reading describes how several international
RD departments maintain communications between
and among researchers over several dispersed
locations.
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The Role of Communications in RD

• Part of a RD engineers job is the gathering,
  diffusion and creative processing of information
• Their productivity may depend on how well they do
  this
• Face-to-face communication is the most effective
• But, when companies become dispersed they must
  develop other means of communications to
  supplement F-T-F communications

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Solving the Problem

• Elements of the communication efforts
• Organizational structure
• The style of project management can have an
  important influence on the creation of links
  between project teams
• Boundary-spanning individuals
• Improve the flow of information
• Communications technology
• Adds to the tool kit available to complement
  F-T-F communication

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Categories of Communication Solutions/Substitution
s

• Increase of socialization efforts
• Rules and Procedures
• Boundary-Spanning Roles
• Centralized office
• Development of a network Organization
• Use of Electronic Communication Systems

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Increase of Socialization Efforts

• Create a Family
• Temporary assignments
• Constant traveling
• Rules and Procedures
• Training Programs to increase company culture

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Rules and Procedures

• Emphasizing of reporting and documentation
• Designed to minimize the burden and maximize the
  diffusion of acquired knowledge
• Developing a planning process that stimulated
  communication
• Became a mechanism to force hundreds of
  researchers to talk to each other about their
  results

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Rules and Procedures

• All companies used one method or the other
• These methods are good for Maintaining
  communication flows
• Effectiveness depends on a substructure of
  Existing informal communication network

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Organizational Methods

• A Central coordination staff
• Explicit task was to coordinate RD activities
  and stimulate communication
• A Networked organization
• Develop networks between the different
  laboratories at all levels

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A Networked organization

• Companies with a limited number of labs (2-3)
• Companies in the communications and electronics
  industries

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Successful Creation of Networks

1. The central staff has to accept that information
   will flow freely
2. Individual engineers have to accept sharing their
   contacts with others
3. The company has to be prepared to support the
   network with the appropriate tools

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Electronic Communication

• Computer networks
• E-Mail
• Computer conferencing
• Fax machines
• World-Wide engineering databases
• Video Conferencing

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Electronic Communication

• Innovative information helpful in solving
  technical problems, information of the
  experimental and analytical efforts researchers
  make to develop the products
• Coordination information covers tasks and time
  schedules, expected output, coordination of
  activities

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Electronic Communication

• Most firms used electronic communications to send
  coordination information
• The capacity to share innovative information was
  dependent on the nature of the RD work
• As complexity increased and analyzability
  decreased the problem solving content of
  information exchanges decreased and the
  coordination content increased

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Electronic Communication

• Electronic communication cannot be the sole
  source of communication
• If it is to be effective there must be some level
  of confidence that the two parties are really
  communicating
• When the confidence level decreases personal
  interaction (i/.e. F-T-F) may need to be
  increased the problem is recognizing when this
  happens

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Patterns/Conclusions

• Building communication networks is harder in an
  international environment
• Using communication networks requires network
  builders
• Procedures and planning mechanisms can helping
  maintaining a network, but are not a substitute
  for it
• E-Communications cannot replace F-T-F
  communication
• Organizational design may influence communication
  patterns

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Electronic Communication
Note The http protocol for the WWW and a
precursor version of the WWW were developed by a
physicist who wanted to establish a method for
exchanging research documents with fellow
physicists.
HTTP - Hyper-Text Transfer Protocol