Business Plan

As a R&D staff, I try to learn some more about business, market, management to know how the company runs everyday. It is certain to be benefitful to develop a new or innovative product from market need to prototype development, to manufactoring and quality managment, to sales. Finaly, I think how to write a business plan is a good way. 

I have invested in stock many year, known the basic economy knowledge and read many annual reports of listed companies. However, annual reports are mostly what have done in the company. Business plan is about what the company will do. Its main aim is  similar to the funding proposal wrote in the university, i.e. raising money.

Business-Driven Research and Development

As a R&D scientist and engineer in industrial area, although I think they share some common parts in problem-solving skills and applying knowledge people have mastered, business or market-driven R&D has many different points with interest, paper or even funding-oriented research. 

The book "Business-Driven Research and Development:Managing Knowledge to Create Wealth" by Ashok S. Ganguly, who was the Unilever R&D manager, enhance my understanding about industrial R&D. The author grew from a researcher to a R&D manager. This experience makes the author to be more closer real world of industrial R&D, which is not impossible for professors in businees schools. The book states that the primary role of industrial R&D is to fulfill strategic objectives of the company within a framework of time and cost targets. The author tries to give the means to improve competitive advantage of the company through overcoming the gap between R&D and the market place.