Research & Development Importance of R&D

Chapter 5 Research & Development Importance of R&D For a company to prosper and grow it must do more than keep up with its competitors and it must in fact get ahead of them whenever possible. Getting ahead means innovation which hinges on research and development (R & D). Research seeks to make basic discoveries and uncover new principles or facts so far unknown or unrecognized. Development concerns the most economically feasible method for applying the facts or principles identified by research before a product goes into full scale production. Industry is aware that tomorrow’s profit depends to a large extent on today’s research and the fact that money invested now in R & D probably will not generate income for several years to come. One thing for sure is that without R & D effort, there may not be any future for the company. Research The commonest areas of research in the board sense are: a) Pure Research b) Applied Research c) Product Research d) Manufacturing Research e) Materials Research f) Market Research g) Operations Research. Pure Research or Fundamental Research refers to investigations undertaken primarily of the sake of knowledge itself. In this type of research, there is no consideration of commercial gains. The effort is directed towards learning the laws of nature or the detailed study of accepted theory in the light of development of new knowledge. The direction of any pure research is not specified in advance but is determined as the work progresses. Traditionally, Pure Research has resulted in ‘Breakthroughs’ which have been recognized by coveted awards like the Nobel Prize. Usually Pure Research is carried out in Universities funded by the government / industry. However many large corporations like DuPont, Eastman Kodak, General Motors, AT & T, General Electric, IBM etc. have been carrying at Pure Research. Applied Research is primarily directed towards solving some specific problem which has a practical purpose. Typically applied research finds...