麦肯锡季刊技术经典特刊

MCKINSEYCLASSICSSPECIALISSUE

Mcsey

Quarterly

McKinseyClassicsspecialissue:Technology

Aspartofouryearlongcelebrationof

McKinseyQuarterly’s60thbirthday

,we’re

offeringyouaselectionofclassicarticlesonthetopicscoveredbyeachofourfournewthemedissues.Whatyou’llfindhereisacuratedcollectionofarticlesthatuntilnowwereavailableonlyinarchivalprintcopiesoftheQuarterly.

Ourfirst60thbirthdayissuecoverstechnology,andwe’vefoundawealthofmaterial

illuminatinghowdiscussionsonthetopichaveevolved—aswellashowmuchthey’ve

stayedthesame.Whiletechnologyhasleapedforwardinthepastsixdecades,thewaysexecutivesmustthinkaboutitsvalueandworkthroughitschallengeshaveremained

remarkablyconsistent.Takeour1965article“TheSuccessfulInnovators,”inwhichwecalledforactiveparticipationbytopmanagementinsettingtheR&Dagenda,breakingdownsilos,andfacilitatingcommercialization.Theadviceisjustassoundtoday.

Inthe1970s,welookedatthepsychologicalandorganizationalimplicationsofthe

growinginfluenceofbusinesstechnologyonmanagementeffectivenessandcorporateefficiency(“ManagementInformationSystems:TheThreatofRationality”).

Oneofthehighlightsofthiscollectionisa1976piececowrittenbyFredGluck—who

would,in1988,goontobewhatwenowcallourglobalmanagingpartner.Fredisin

largepartresponsibleforthewayknowledgedevelopmenthasbecomeinstitutionalizedwithinMcKinseyculture.Ourannual,internalGluckKnowledgeAwardsconstitutethe

highestpraiseMcKinseyconsultantspublishingnewinsightscanachieve.Thepiece

itself,“Managingtechnologicalchange,”isaninnovativebitofstorytellinginwhicha

fictionalCEOischallengedbyayoungupstarttoreexaminehowinnovationhappensinhiscompany.

Insomeways,the1980smarkedthebeginningoftheeraofrapiddisruptionthatwe

continuetoseetoday.Newtechnologiesreshapedindustries,andcompaniesthatdidn’tkeeptheirproductsmovingalongtherelevantS-curvefacednewcompetitionand

evenextinction.Articlessuchas“Attackingthroughinnovation”(1986)and“Thehiddenmessagesincomputernetworks”(1987)reflecttheserisingstakes,withthelatteragainanalyzingtheintendedandunintendedsocialimpactoftechnologiesthatatonceput

peopleinmorefrequentcommunicationandmakethemfeelmoreemotionallydistant.

Thearticlesfromthe1990sfocused,ofcourse,onhowcomputerandinternet

technologiescametodominateourlives.From“Commercializingtechnology:Whatthebestcompaniesdo”(1990)to“Challengesforthecomputerindustryinthe1990s”(1991)

to“Beingintelligentabout‘intelligent’technology”(1994),wecontinuedtoexplorerapiddevelopmentsthatfundamentallychangedhowwework—andtoquestionwhether

thosechangeswereworking.Ourarticlesontheearlydaysofmultimedia,thevirtual

informationcollectedviadigitalmarketing,andwirelessdataforesawtheriseofthe

searchgiants,thechallengestraditionaltelecommunicationsandmediacompanies

wouldface,andalltheamazinginformationinthepalmsofourhandsthatwenowtakeforgranted(“soonyouwillbeabletousewirelessservicestoeasilycheckuponyourstockportfolio,logontoyourcompanyintranet,checktheweatherincitiesyouvisit,

andreadaboutrestaurantswhereyoumightwishtoeat”).

Intheearlyaughts,wewerestilltalkingaboutthedisconnectbetweeninformationtechnologyandstrategicplanning(“FlexibleIT,betterstrategy”from2003)and

exploringnewwaystopushinnovationeffortsforward(“Creationnets:Gettingthemostfromopeninnovation”from2006).

Wecloseoutthisvolumewithinterviewswithtwotechheavyweights.BillCampbell,

whowaschairmanofIntuitwhenwespokewithhimin2007,talkedaboutcoachinganddevelopinganinnovationculture.EricSchmidttoldusin2009(whenhewasCEOof

Google)whathethoughtaboutthefutureofbusiness.

We’llclosebysayingthatsomeoftheearlierarticlesarereflectionsoftheirtimes.Forexample,piecesfromtheMadMeneradon’tusetheinclusivelanguagewe’renow

usedto.Andonepiececontainsanintroductionthatreactstothethen-neweraofgovernmentregulationintheUnitedStates.

What’smore,notallofourinsightshavestoodthetestoftime.Takethisquotefromthe

1968article,“UnlockingtheComputer’sProfitPotential”:“Topmanagement’sprincipal

‘interface’withthecomputerislikelytoremaintheold-fashionedtelephone,withahumaninformationspecialistattheotherendoftheline.”Thismightseemamusingnow,butit

didtakeacoupleofdecadesbeforecomputerswereoneveryone’sdesks.

Wehopeyoufindsometimelessinsightsinthesearticlesandappreciatethem

fortheartifactsofbusinesshistorythattheyare.ThisspecialissueisavailableonlywithaMcKinseyQuarterlydigitalmembership,complimentsofMcKinseyGlobal

Publishing.Ifyou’dliketosharewithfriendsandcolleagues,theycansignupfora

membershiponline.

RickTetzeli

Editorialdirector,

McKinseyQuarterly

KatyMcLaughlinDeputyeditor,

McKinseyQuarterly

TABLEOFCONTENTS

6

TheSuccessfulInnovators

DavidB.Hertz

Originallypublished:Q11965

15

UnlockingtheComputer’s

ProfitPotential

Originallypublished:Q41968

31

ManagementInformation

Systems:TheThreat

ofRationality

ChrisArgyris

Originallypublished:Q41970

48

DataCommunication:

ItsCorporateImpact

HarveyGolub

Originallypublished:Q41971

60

Managingtechnological

change

FrederickW.GluckandRichardN.Foster

Originallypublished:Q11976

80

Attackingthrough

innovation

RichardN.Foster

Originallypublished:Q31986

91

Thehiddenmessagesin

computernetworks

SaraKiesler

Originallypublished:Q31987

105

Commercializing

technology:Whatthebest

companiesdo

T.MichaelNevens,GregoryL.Summe,andBroUttal

Originallypublished:Q41990

126

Challengesforthecomputer

industryinthe1990s

RonBohlinandJoanneGuiniven

Originallypublished:Q11991

137

Beingintelligentabout

“intelligent”technology

RichardHeygate

Originallypublished:Q41994

149

Navigatingthe

multimedialandscape

JohnHagelIIIand

ThomasR.Eisenmann

Originallypublished:Q31994

167

Whowillbenefitfrom

virtualinformation?

JohnHagelIIIand

A.M.Sacconaghi,Jr.

Originallypublished:Q31996

182

EscapingtheITabyss

JedDempsey,RobertE.Dvorak,EndreHolen,DavidMark,and

WilliamF.MeehanIII

Originallypublished:Q41997

194

Informationunleashed:

Thecomingofwirelessdata

WilliamDaugherty,CristopherC.

Eugster,PaulRoche,andTroyA.Stovall

Originallypublished:Q21999

207

FlexibleIT,betterstrategy

JohnSeelyBrownandJohnHagelIII

Originallypublished:Q42003

217

Creationnets:Gettingthe

mostfromopeninnovation

JohnSeelyBrownandJohnHagelIll

Originallypublished:Q22006

229

Coachinginnovation:

AninterviewwithIntuit’s

BillCampbell

LennyT.MendoncaandKevinD.Sneader

Originallypublished:Q12007

238

Google’sviewonthefuture

ofbusiness:Aninterview

withCEOEricSchmidt

JamesManyika

Originallypublished:Q12009

EDITOR’SNOTE

Somearticlesinthisissuecontain

referencestothesitemckinseyquarterly.

com,whichnolongerexistsandwas

replacedby

McK

.Mostarticlesfromtheformersitewerenotpublishedonthenewone.

6—2024MCKINSEYQUARTERLYCLASSICSSPECIALISSUE:TECHNOLOGY

Originallypublished:Q11965

I

itisrecognizedasaconditionofsurvival.Thatinnovation-whetherinprocess,product,ormeansofdistribution-canspurcorporateprofitshaslongbeenunderstood.Thatacompany'spositioninthepresentcompetitiveenvironmentcanbethreatenedwithoutitisthenewerrealization.TheGilletteCompany,for

example,learnedthislessonatgreatcostwhenitfailedtoanticipatetheintroductionofthestainlesssteelrazorblade.

Thus,broadsegmentsofindustrystrivetobeinnovative.Companieshirescientists,increasetheirresearchbudgets,andwaitexpectantlyforexploitablediscoveriestopourforth.Moreoftenthannot,however,theyaredisappointed,anditsoonbecomesapparentthatsimplyturninglooseacompetentscientificteamtoexplorenewareasdoesnotinvariablyproduceinnovation.

NDUSTRYnolongerlooksuponinnova-

tionasmerelydesirable.Increasingly,

TheSuccessfulInnovators

Todiscoverwhatdoesproducesuc-cessfulindustrialinnovation,McKinsey&Companyrecentlyundertookaninquiryintothekeyelementsofinnovativeeffectiveness.Tofixthefocusofthisstudyandkeepitwithindefinedlimits,weexaminedcompaniesthathavesuccessfullyexploitedinnovationthroughtechnicalresearchanddevelopment.

Althoughtheelementsofsuccessfulinnovationdidemergefromourstudy,

DAVIDHERTZ,aDirectorintheNew

Yorkofficewithresponsibilityforthe

Firm'spracticeintheareasofoperationsresearchandmanagementscience,has

writtenextensivelyontheimpactofscientifictechniquesonthemanagementoflarge

enterprises.Thisarticleisbasedona

speechhedeliveredlastDecemberbeforeameetingoftheAmericanAssociationfortheAdvancementofScience.

2024MCKINSEYQUARTERLYCLASSICSSPECIALISSUE:TECHNOLOGY—7

Originallypublished:Q11965

estedindollarsandpowerthaninknowledgeandinnovation."

"Themanagerseesthescientistasatemperamentalindividualistwithnoskillininterpersonalrelations,anarrowspecialistwithnointerestinefficiencyandeconomyorintheoverallobjectivesoftheenterprise,apersonwholooksfortherightanswereveninfieldsofhumanaffairswherethereisnosinglesolution,whopurposelymakeshisworkmysteriousandobjectstoalltypesofcontrol,whoismoreinterestedinimpressingothermembersofhisprofessionthaninthesuccessoftheenterpriseforwhichheworks."

Asexaggeratedasthecontrastmaybe,everybodyinthebusinessofinnova-tionwillrecognizeamodicumoftruthinit.Moreover,thecompaniesthataresuccessfullyinnovatingdonotignoretheseinherentdifficulties.However,thedifferencebetweenthesuccessfulinnovators

andthosethathavenotdonesowellin

commercializingtheirR&Deffortsisthattheformerregardthesedifficultiesasabeginning;thelatter,asanend.

Morethaneverbefore,thecapacityfortechnologicalinnovation

makesthedifferencebetweentheindustrialleadersandthealso-rans.

Buthowcantopmanagementmaximizeitschancesofproductiveresults,

intheformofmarketableinnovations,fromitsgrowingresearch

expenditures?Anewstudyofferssomeprovocativeanswers.

BYDAVIDB.HERTZ

wewerealsostruckbytwobasicattitudesthatinhibitinnovationinindustry.Thefirstoftheseisthatnothingcanbedoneaboutresistancetochangewithinorgani-zations;thesecondisthatthecommunicationsbarrierbetweenscientistandmanagementisunbreakable.

Thatmanagementsandtheresearch-ershaveexperienceddifficultiesinbothareasgoeswithoutsaying.Organizationsarenaturallyconservativeanddoresistchange.Thebusinessmanandthescientistorengineeroftenhavetroubleunderstandingeachother.ThedifferencesbetweenthetwowerenicelycaricaturedinthefollowingquotationfromarecentspeechbyHarveySherman,presidentoftheAmericanSocietyforPublicAdministration:

"Byandlarge,thescientistseesthemanagerasabureaucrat,papershuffler,andparasite;anuncreativeandunoriginalhackwhoservesasanobstacleinthewayofcreativepeopletryingtodoajob,andapersonmoreinter

3

8—2024MCKINSEYQUARTERLYCLASSICSSPECIALISSUE:TECHNOLOGY

Originallypublished:Q11965

ManagementsconductingeffectiveR&Doperationsseemtofeelthatpoorcommunicationbetweenscientistandbusinessmanisnotanecessary,unalter-ablefactoflife.Whenthereissuchabar-rier,theyinsistthatapathcanbehackedthroughbetweenlaboratoryandthefrontoffice.Someevenseemtofeelthatthetensionbetweenthetwomayactuallycontributesomethingpositivetothecre-ativeprocess.

Inthesebeliefs,thesuccessfulinno-vatorshaveexperienceontheirside.Theyknowthatthespiritofscienceisnotnec-essarilyincompatiblewiththatofenter-prise,becausetheycanpointtosuchcompaniesasDuPont,IBM,CorningGlassand3MCompany,amongothers,wherescienceandmanagementworkingtogetherhaveproducedsomeofthemostsignificantbreakthroughsofourtime.Thus,today'ssuccessfulinnovatorsrec-ognizeboththeessentialimportanceandthefeasibilityofdrawingtogetherandachievingcontactbetweenthetwofunc-tions—managementandresearch—thatmakeindustrialinnovationareality.

KeystoInnovation

Oncetheyovercametheideathatsuchbarriersareinevitable,wefoundthatmanagementswereeminentlycapa-bleofpushingaheadtowardsthebreak-throughstheyneededtoenhancetheprofitsandensurethecontinuityoftheirbusinesses.Theywerethenfreetoanalyzeanddeviseeffectiveapproachestoinno-vation.Fromtheirsuccessfulexperiencesweextractedfivecriteriaforsuccessfulinnovation:(1)commitmentoftopman-

agementtoresearchgoals;(2)involve-mentofresearchscientistswithmanage-

mentgoals;(3)selectionofprogramsforresearch;(4)organizationofman-powerresources;and(5)applicationofresultsattained.

TopManagementCommitment

WhereR&Dhassuccessfullyachievedinnovativeresults,thechiefexecutiveandothertopmanagersformanintegralpartoftheresearchprocess.Thus,GeorgeH.Lesch,thechiefexecutiveofColgate-Palmolive,hasdeclared,"Theresearchanddevelopmentfunctionisonerequir-ingthehighestpriorityamongallmyresponsibilities."Ontheotherhand,wherechiefexecutiveshesitatedto"in-terfere"withthedirectiontheirresearchscientiststook,they,ineffect,abdicatedtheirresponsibilityforthefutureandsometimesseriouslyjeopardizedthesur-vivaloftheirfirms.AtleastoneofthefactorsbehindGeneralDynamics'finan-cialdisasterafewyearsagowasthere-luctanceoftopmanagementtobecomeactivelyandpersonallyinvolvedinthe

innovativeprocessatoneofitsmajordivisions.

Ouranalysisindicatesthatclosetohalfthegoodresearchideasdevelopedbyinnovativeleadersinthechemical,pe-troleumandaerospace-electronicsindus-trieswereoriginallysuggestedbytopex-ecutivesratherthanbyresearchers!Itappearsthatmanagersarebetteratspot-tingpromisingresearchopportunitiesfortheirowncompaniesthantheysometimesrealize.

Thereasonmanagementseemstosucceedsowellinfindingideastopursueisthatmanagementisinthebestpositiontoseethewholepicture.Moreover,man-agementhastheauthoritytosuggestany

2024MCKINSEYQUARTERLYCLASSICSSPECIALISSUE:TECHNOLOGY—9

Originallypublished:Q11965

opportunityintheinnovativespectrum.Thescientist,ontheotherhand,oftenfeelsrestrictedtoproblemsthathaveasuitabletheoreticalbase.Infact,ifhewereintheacademicworldhischoicewouldbeextremelynarrow,centeringonproblemsinhisfieldthatareclearlyde-lineatedforhimbyhispeersandbythetraditionallimitsofhisownfieldofsci-ence.Thus,theprofessionalscholarrarelyhastheorientationthatwouldleadhimtoundertakethekindsoftasksthatarefrequentlynecessaryforinnovationinindustry.Onlytopmanagementcanreallykeepacademicmeansinalignmentwithcommercialendsateachstageoftheinnovativeprocess.

Obviously,thetaskisnotaneasyone.Managementofahighorderisre-quiredtochooseaproblemthatisatthesametimeagoodfittothemarket,theeconomicsofthebusiness,andthetal-entsavailable,aswellastothestateofthetechnicalandscientificartsinvolved.Twokeystosuccess,however,turnedupinsurveyinterviews.First,thesuccessfulinnovatorshaveatendencytoresistnega-tiveevidenceandtopushonwithnewap-proachestotheproblem.Theyrefusetotakenoforananswer.Lessthantwoyearsago,forexample,thefirstcommer-cialplantforthecontinuouscastingofsteelwentintooperation.Thoserespon-sibleforthisbreakthroughinsteelmakinghadn'tbeendiscouragedbythefactthatengineershadbeentryingandfailingfordecadestoachievethisprocess.

Topmanagementcommitment,thesurveyfindingssuggest,oftenentailsfi-nancialcommitmentbeyondwhatap-peartobeaffordablelevels.Companiesthatarenotsuccessfulinachievinginno-vationareoftenoverlyhamperedbycon-servatism.Scientistsprefertotacklewell-

defined,finiteproblemsthatappeartobesolvablewiththemethodsandevidenceavailable.Managementsprefertotackleproblemsthathavesomeguaranteeofpayoff.Thesetwoconservativethruststendtorestricttheinnovativevalueofmuchresearchanddevelopmentinin-dustry.Indeed,thispreferenceforthe"safe"R&Dundertakingmaybeoneofthegreatestobstaclestoreallysignificantinnovation,thesurveyfindingsindicate.

Ontheotherhand,whenthescientistiswillingtoacceptproblemsthatarenotasclearlydefinedastheywouldbeinauniversityresearchlaboratory,whenmanagementiswillingtoacceptthesig-nificantrisksthatgowithuncertaintiesintheeconomic-scientificworld,andwhenbotharewillingtomakethere-quiredcommitments,theresultsareoftenfarmoresignificantthaneitherislikelytohaveanticipated.

InvolvementofScientists

Whileinnovationrequiresmanage-mentinvolvement,theinvolvementofR&Dpeopleinthebusinessitselfisalsocrucial.Themorebusiness-orientedsci-

entiststhemselvesare,andthemoretheyidentifytheireffortswithmanagement'sobjectives,thebetterarethechancesforpracticalprogressthroughR&Dforthecompanyasawhole.Incompanieswheresuchidentityofpurposeexistsbetweenmanagementandthescientificstaff,tech-nicalprogressanddevelopmentofthebusinessaresimplytwoaspectsofthesamemanagementprocess.Thebenefitsofachievingandmaintainingthiscom-mongroundbetweenlaboratoryandfrontofficeareparticularlyevidentintheaero-spaceindustry,wheretopmanagement

Originallypublished:Q11965

andtheirscientiststalkeachother'slan-

guageasamatterofcourse.

Atthesametimewefoundthechan-

nelsofcommunicationoftencloggedwithirrelevancies.Where,forexample,com-mitteesweresetuptobringR&Dpeopletogetherwithmarketingpeople,theytendedtotalkaboutminortechnicalandproceduralproblemsinsteadoffocusingonbusinessopportunities.Incontrast,oursurveyindicatesthatthekindofcom-municationthatleadstosuccessfulinno-vationdealswithlong-rangeobjectivesformulatedintermsofsocio-economictrendsaswellastechnologicaldevelop-ments.

Theproblemofpoorcommunicationleadsdirectlytoanotherofourfindings:Committeesrestricttop-managementin-volvement,sincetheirmembersareusu-allystaffpeopleratherthanthosewithultimateresponsibility.Thus,bydelegat-inginnovationtoacommittee,manage-mentremovesitselfstillfurtherfromtheprocess.Ourstudyshowsitisnecessaryformanagementtomakepersonalcom-mitmentsandmaintaindirectrelation-shipswiththeresearchpeopleinvolved.Managementneedstounderstandthees-sentialfeaturesofthescientificproblemifitistoadequatelysupportanattackonthatproblem.

SelectionofPrograms

Anotherkeytosuccessfulinnovationisthechoiceoftherightprojectsforresearch.Oursurveyshowedthattherightprojectstendtobethemostbroadlybasedprojects.Beforesettlingonare-searchprogram,thesuccessfulinnova-torstakeintoaccounttheentireeconomicenvironmentinwhichtheircompanies

operate.Ratherthandissipatetheirre-sourcesonshort-termproductmodifica-tionsandimprovements,theyconcentratetheirenergiesonbroadlyconceivedandforward-lookingprojectswherethechancesforsignificantresultsandrealpayoffarethegreatest.Often,theytietheirresearchanddevelopmentprogramsdirectlytolong-rangeplanningforthebusinessasawhole.

Asastartingpointforsuccessfulse-lection,mostcompanieswithasatisfac-toryhistoryofinnovativeresultsjudgeproposedprojectsinthelightofthreebasicquestions:

1.Whatarethetechnologicalobsta-clesthatstandinthewayofovercomingtheproblem?

2.Whataretheeconomicfactorsintheenvironmentthatwillinfluencetheprofitabilityofsuccessfulresults?

3.Howsoonmusttheproblembesolvedtohaveeithertechnicaloreco-nomicpracticality?

Thesequestionsandtheanswerstothemtendtobecouchedinspecific,meaningfulterms.Thereisatrendawayfromsucholdergeneralitiesas"funda-mentalvs.applied"or"long-termvs.short-term"research.Thereisafeelinginthemoreadvancedcompaniesthatitismuchmoreimportanttodefinethepurposeandobjectiveofagivenprojectthantoputitinacategory.Thus,thestatementofobjectivesisbeinggiventhehighestpriorityintheselectionofR&Dprojectsinmanycompanies.Onecom-pany,forexample,distinguishesbetweenspecificandgeneralR&Dobjectivesintheseterms:

¶General:tostayactivelyintouchwithtechnologicalchangesandtokeepupwiththepressuresoftechnologicalcompetition.

10—2024MCKINSEYQUARTERLYCLASSICSSPECIALISSUE:TECHNOLOGY

2024MCKINSEYQUARTERLYCLASSICSSPECIALISSUE:TECHNOLOGY—11

Originallypublished:Q11965

¶Specific:toselectspecificareasinwhichtobealeader,recognizingthat

(1)therearesomeareasinwhichacom-panycannotdoanything;(2)thereisathresholdofeffortbelowwhichresearchwouldbeinefficientandtooslowtomatchcompetitiononaspecificproblem;and(3)itisbettertohitspecifictargetshardwithenoughofthetoppeopleintheresearchorganizationthantoamblealongathalfspeedacrossawholespec-trumofactivity.

However,pinpointingobjectivesandkeepingthemuptodateisonlyoneaspectofprojectselection.OursurveyofthesuccessfulinnovatorsshowsthatalongwiththeseeffortstorationalizeR&Dwent

arobustacceptanceoftheriskelementinthepursuitofinnovation.Asonere-searchdirectorputsit,"Researchisagamblinggame.Ifweplayskillfullyandoftenenough,we'reboundtowinafewgames.Andafewisallweneedtowin."Aresearchgroupmustnotbeafraidtotakerisksonambitiousgoals.ThatthiskindofboldnesspaysoffinthelongrunDuPontprovedyearsagowithNylonandmorerecentlywithCorfam.Ontheotherhand,ifR&Disdirectedonlyatrelativelysurethings,itwillrarelypro-duceawinner.

OrganizingManpowerResources

Withtopmanagementsupportandwell-selectedprojects,manyformsofor-ganizationstructurecanproduceade-quateresults.However,certainchangesarecurrentlytakingplaceintheorgani-zationalaspectsofresearchmanagement. Organizationalongfunctionallinesisgivingway,especiallyintheaerospaceindustry,toacombinationofprojectand

functionalorganization—oftencalled"ma-trix"management.Inthematrixap-proach,assignmentsaremadefromvari-ousfunctionalgroupstoteamsthatcon-siderallaspectsofgiventechnologicalinnovation,includingmanufacturingandsales.Thismeansthatthebusinesscanrespondquicklytoresearchresults,withthenewproductmovingquicklytothefield.Researcherscanseetheircontribu-tionsputintopractice.Hence,there-searchorganizationitselfbecomesmoreresponsivetobusinessneeds.

Thus,onecompanyhasanumberoftechnicaldepartmentsorganizedbydis-cipline,suchasmechanicaldesign,pro-pulsionsystems,guidanceandcontrol,trackingandtelemetry,eachstaffedandequippedtoworkindepthineachoftheseareas.Asprojectsarelaunched,however,specialistsaredrawnfromeachofthedisciplinesasrequiredandaprojectteamisbroughttogether.Teammembers

canworkcloselytogetherandstilldrawontheresourcesofthevarioustechnicaldepartments.

Matrixmanagementcanbothdevelopspecialistsandmakegeneralistsoutofspecialistsbybroadeningtheindividuals.Furthermore,specialistscanworkonsev-eralprojectsatonetime.Despitethefactthatamanendsuphavingseveralbosses,theresultingflexibilityapparentlypaysoffhandsomely.

Inthissamevein,thereisatrendto-ward"flatter"researchorganizations,usingfewertitlesandlevels.Forexample,onequitesuccessfullaboratoryhasonlytwotitles,"MemberoftheResearchStaff"and"AssociateMemberoftheResearchStaff."Thetitle"ProjectLead-er"isdisappearingfromthehierarchyofpermanentranks,butcontinuinginuseasanadministrativedevice.Thatis,lead-

Originallypublished:Q11965

ersareselectedforspecif