Knowledge advancements are possible because of research & development. It is a necessary link because it keeps improving the remaining six links. Research and development inclusion in The Ultimate Enterprises has revamped the speed of breakthrough. At its core, it is about customers’ desire and necessity for empowerment.
Research and Development
“No research without action, no action without research.”
Kurt Lewin
Figure-1: Research and Development
R&D is applicable to the six remaining linkages as an Ultimate Enterprise union. It serves as UE Influence’s hinge.
Research and Development Introduction
Research and development (R&D) are the compass of any organization. R&D permeates and leads all business virtuous efforts such that, if not performed properly, the particular company fails, sometimes compromising people’s lives. R&D is like a steering system in automobiles; if flawed, no matter what performance of the engine or body structure, that vehicle is highly at risk of failure, sometimes compromising the lives of its users. From this most important role in commerce, R&D, if wisely applied to business, creates a powerful navigating compass for individuals or businesses. Kurt Lewin put it right in the above quote.
Definitions
The definition of research and development (R&D) from practitioners differs depending on the intent of the research, as discussed below.
“… a process of inquiry and investigation; it is systematic and ethical; research can help solve practical problems and increase knowledge.” 1
Al C. Endres cited Roussel et al.2 to define separate research and development as follows:
“Research: The process that an organization uses to acquire new knowledge and understanding.”
Development is “the process by which an organization uses scientific knowledge gained from research to apply and connect for the provision of goods and/or services commensurate with the organization’s mission.”
These basic definitions provide insights about R&D; however, depending on the purpose of research, detailed definitions arise.
Research Understanding
The University of Bradford, School of Management, pp. 2, citing Collins & Hussey,3 posits, “The Purpose of Research Is to… Review or synthesize existing knowledge; investigate existing situations or problems Provide solutions to problems, Explore and analyze more general issues, Construct or create new procedures or systems, explain new phenomena; Generate new knowledge, and… or a combination of the above.”
Figure-1: Research and Development shows that R&D is a subset of every link among the seven except itself.
Research Amplified
Similarly, Al C. Endres4 (pp. 19.2), citing the Industrial Research Institute,5 offered comprehensive definitions that pertain to R&D purposes:
- Basic (or fundamental) research comprises original experimental and/or theoretical investigations conducted to advance human knowledge in scientific and engineering fields.
- Directed basic (or exploratory) research is original scientific or technical work that advances knowledge in relevant (to corporate business strategies) scientific and engineering fields or that creates useful concepts that are subsequently developed into commercial materials, processes, or products and, thus, contribute to the company’s profitability in the foreseeable future. It may not respond directly to a specific problem or need, but it may be selected and directed in those fields where advances will have a major impact on the company’s future core businesses.
- Applied research is an investigation directed toward obtaining specific knowledge related to existing or planned commercial products, processes, systems, or services.
- Development is the translation of research findings or other knowledge into a plan or design for new, changed, or improved products, processes, or services, whether intended for sale or use. It includes the conceptual formulation, design, and testing of product, process, or service alternatives; the construction of prototypes; and the operation of initial, scaled-down systems or pilot plants.
- Bradford University School of Management, Introduction to research and research methods, accessed from http://www.brad.ac.uk/management/media/management/els/Introduction-to-Research-and-Research-Methods.pdf on May 1, 2014 ↩︎
- Roussel, P. A., Saad, N. K., and Erickson, T. J., Third Generation R&D, ©1991 Harvard Business School Press, Boston, MA. ↩︎
- Collis, J., & Hussey, R. Business Research: a practical guide for undergraduate and postgraduate students, 2nd Edition, ©2003, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan ↩︎
- Al C. Endres: JURAN’S QUALITY HANDBOOK, 5th Edition, in Joseph M. Juran and A. Blanton Godfrey (Edts) ©1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, ↩︎
- Industrial Research Institute Industrial Research and Development Facts, ©1996 Industrial Research Institute, Washington, DC ↩︎
