The term 'research' is perhaps one of the most over-used and often abused words in the management language. It is -too often forgotten that the earliest industrialists achieved miracles in machinery design, cloth design, internal organization, and commercial and, financial structures without using the word 'research'.
At all times, it must be borne in mind that research is an attitude of mind and an approach, and in this sense all intelligent and progressive men in industrial and commercial management or design departments are research workers to a greater or less degree.. Scientific research and development on an organized scale as a separate management aid are, however, a vital tool of management that can be ignored only at the risk of ultimate industrial extinction.
This management aid covers a wide range of responsibilities from fundamental scientific investigations to ad hoc investigations of urgent scientific and technological problems. It implies not only investigations into things but also enquiries into human behaviour, whether in the actual operation undertaken or the wider sphere of human and group relations. All these and many more aspects are included under the heading of research and development.
Participants