Research and Development (HL Only) PDF

5.6. Research and Development (HL only)  Research and Development (HL only)  Technical process of generating new ideas, discoveries and inventions that can be commercialized or which can improve operations  Not limited to product design but also how product is made  Most e...

5.6. Research and Development (HL only)  Research and Development (HL only)  Technical process of generating new ideas, discoveries and inventions that can be commercialized or which can improve operations  Not limited to product design but also how product is made  Most expensive part of product development  May mean catering to unmet and unknown needs and demands  Advantages  Growth opportunities  Increased productivity  Competitive advantage  Customer loyalty  Creation of jobs  Improved quality of life for customers  Disadvantages  Expensive and time consuming  Requires skilled labor and capital  High failure rate  May be difficult to commercialize  Types of innovation  Process  Improvements to increase production  Enhance quality  Reduce time/effort  e.g. Ford’s production line , barcoding for inventory control  Product  Development of new products  Enhancement of existing products  May be radical or incremental  Positioning  Changing consumer perception about product/process  Promotion is only a part of this since customer and supplier relationships can also affect perception  Paradigm  Radical change in product or business process  May be creating a new product that satisfies an unknown need/demand or changing the way products are sold  e.g. cars replacing horses  Types of creativity  Adaptive  Improvements in current paradigms  Refines and improves   Normally less costly to follow  Innovative  Out of the box thinking  Radical change to the system  Risky and costly to follow