Inventivity

This innovative new work by one of the country's leaders in industrial R & D management provides readers with the first quantative measures for R & D success. Gilman emphasizes the time-dependent value of research dollars, defining research productivity--or inventivity--as the rate of invention divided by the cost. Just as importantly, his book stimulates other questions regarding the R & D mission, including the meaning and purpose of research, its relationship to market share, the limits of researchers, and what lessons can be learned from history.

Inventivity is the first book of its kind to utilize analystic methods for judging research productivity. It provides insight into the business of research, showing a direct relation between management productivity and the production of real research results. Information on the nature and effectiveness of research organizations is outlined, as are methods and strategies for approaching the work through research people. Research models are analyzed. Details of operation needs of research organizations are also considered, as are the influences of financial policies on the research function.