R & d Manager

Responsible to: Production Manager

Responsible for

1. Interpretation of company trading policy regarding new product formulation and the modification of existing products.

2. Determination of the design and specification of the product to be manufactured.

3. Establishing and maintaining the necessary facilities for drawing office and research and development work.

4. Preparing estimates of the cost of producing a job to customer’s requirements — the estimates to be sent via the marketing department to the customer.

5. Providing facilities and staff, under a chief inspector, for the objective inspection of manufacturing components and assemblies.

6. Preparation of programme for R/D projects.

7. Improving existing products or extending the range.

8. Maintaining records of progress of projects and submission of reports and statements of expenditure incurred.

Limitations: No responsibility or authority for choice of product to be manufactured.

Discussion

1. What kind of company structure would you choose for your own business and why?

2. Would you prefer working for a small or a large organization? Why?

3. Choose two or three departments of a large company and describe their functions in detail.

4. Finance, marketing and production departments often have incompatible goals. Classify the following strategies according to which departments would probably favour them:

   1. a factory working at full capacity;

   2. a large advertising budget;

   3. a large sales force earning high commission;

   4. a standard product without optional features;

   5. a strong market share for new products;

   6. a strong cash balance;

   7. generous credit facilities for customers;

   8. high profit margins;

   9. large inventories to make sure that products are available;

   10. low research and development spending;

   11. machines that give the possibility of making various different products;

   12. self-financing (using retained earnings rather than borrowing).

5. What is your function or job title?

6. What are you responsible for?

7. Who are you responsible to? (who do you report to?)

8. What other units, departments or divisions do you regularly have to work with?

9. What other departments do you occasionally have conflicts with?

Exercises:

Ex. 1. Look at the telephone directory for a large manufacturing company. There are a) four MANAGEMENT posts mentioned, b) four DEPARTMENTS, c) a number of SECTIONS and d) a number of OFFICE SERVICES. Decide which entries are which; mark them А, В, С or D.

When you have finished, check your answers with another student.

Buckley watts plc Internal Telephone Directory

Function	Name	Exten-sion	Function	Name	Exten-sion
Accounts Advertising Budgets Canteen Chairman Chairman’s PA Company Secretary Costs Distribution Factory Finance General Administration Managing Director Marketing	Mrs Т Martin R Patel M Forster Mrs J Kennedy J Mills H Field Ms К Long M Peters M Fitzgerald H George Ms M Green R Denver P Rees Mrs J Walsh	330 483 321 237 101 103 104 322 402 513 320 210 102 479	Market Research Office Services O & M Personnel Post Room Production Purchasing Reception R & D Sales Sick Bay Training Wages & Salaries Warehousing & Despatch	P MacDonald Mrs Phillips T Wilmot P Fairclough F Hicks P Crystal D Mansfield Ms G Nott P Higton P Kenny Miss F Willis G Keyes Mrs N Curtis J Ian	452 262 242 271 217 579 507 100 587 403 202 255 365 585

Ex. 2. Now complete the organisation chart below with the MANAGEMENT, DEPARTMENT and SECTION entries of the telephone directory.

Chairman

a

Board of Directors

Company Secretary

b

Advertising

Costs

i

j

k

Distribution

l

General Administration

Personnel

c

d

O & M

e

f

Wages & Salaries

g

h

Production

Factory

R & D

Ex. 3. Big companies employing a large workforce have complex internal structures, with separate specialist departments in charge of different functions. There are nine such departments at this company headquarters. Match each function with the department responsible for it.

Administration

Purchasing

Personnel

Transport

Legal

Accounts

e.g. 1 Sales & Marketing

Production

Research & Development (R & D)