Technology Management in Japan R & D Policy, Industrial Strategies and Current Practice

Japan's advancements in high-technology demonstrate a system of research & development which differs in significant ways from that of the United States. Unique features of Japanese-style R&D management are becoming better understood by American engineers, managers, & policy makers. And many Western firms are now looking for new approaches to managing technology. Japanese experience is instructive. Major investments by Japanese companies in U.S. research facilities have brought about new organizational models for rapidly integrating the development, production, & marketing phases of commercializing new technology. This book contains the papers presented at a joint symposium held as a part of the 1993 Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Boston, MA, February 13, 1993. Six Japanese & American science policy observers from academia & industry examine key concepts & practices of "technology management" in Japan. The symposium addressed current R&D management strategies & industrial practices which differ between the two cultures. In addition, presentations by four American university programs focused on Japanese language, culture & technology management skills to prepare U.S. scientists & engineers to work closely with counterparts in Japan. A panel of discussants summarized & compared certain Japanese R&D management practices to those emerging in U.S. technology policy & industrial operations. ROBERT S. CUTLER is consultant advisor to the National Technological University's Management of Technology program. Formerly, he was adjunct professor of technology management at Georgetown University, Washington, D.C. & visiting Fulbright researcher at the University of Tokyo in 1986-87.Cutler, Robert S. is the author of 'Technology Management in Japan R & D Policy, Industrial Strategies and Current Practice', published 1994 under ISBN 9780962545931 and ISBN 0962545937.