Industrial Research 



225 



meet new competition, to avoid surprise whicli other- 

 wise might seriously jeopardize his business, and to 

 prevent being placed at a great disadvantage should 

 others come to know more about his business than he 

 does himself. In a sense every manufacturer is on the 

 defensive unless his scientific and technical staff is ever 

 alert. A considerable number of conditions can always 

 develop to endanger an industry's position, no matter 

 how strong. There is often the possibility of some new 

 and cheaper raw material. A new process or improved 

 equipment may entirely change the economy of opera- 

 tions. The demand and market for his products can 

 be changed by the introduction of competitive products. 

 New laws or regulations can quickly modify the indus- 

 trial picture. After all, it is these uncertainties that 

 keep business from becoming a rather monotonous game, 

 and research accomplishments in any of these sectors 

 not only result in economic advantages but provide 

 stimulating satisfaction as well. 



The Conduct of Industrial Research 



Research in industry is conducted in many different 

 ways, the most satisfactory depending upon varied 

 factors. Many industries prefer to install their own 

 laboratories and to proceed in their own way with or 

 without the help of independent consultants. Some 

 laboratories may be found where one man carries on 

 the work with only the assistance of a laboratory boy 

 to wash the glassware and collect samples. Indeed, 

 in some instances the boy may be absent. The other 

 extreme is a highly successful chemical company which 

 in recent years has spent as much as seven million 

 dollars annually on its research and development pro- 

 gram. There are many research groups of different 

 sizes between these extremes, set up in accordance 

 with the needs of their organizations, well manned, 

 well equipped, well housed, and doing important and 

 profitable work. 



Educational Institutions 



Some industrial research is conducted in educational 

 institutions, sometimes by members of the teaching 

 staff who can devote a part of their time to such activi- 

 ties, and sometimes through fellowships maintained by 

 the industry interested. There are certain advantages 

 in this procedure, particularly in the lowered costs for 

 the work and the fact that the holder of the fellowship 

 may in this manner become especially trained to enter 

 the employment of the sponsoring manufacturer upon 

 graduation. However, there are certain disadvantages 

 in that the student cannot receive from his professor all 

 the assistance desirable, the work is not in close con- 

 tact with the plant, and it is not always easy quickly 

 to apply the results or where desirable to avoid prema- 

 ture pubhcity for what has been found. Perhaps the 



most important disadvantage is that the byproducts, 

 i. e., skill, provocative suggestions, outgrowths, etc., 

 of the research, fail to take root in the business for 

 which the work was done. Patents present a particular 

 difficulty and their control in connection with university 

 work has caused a number of different procedures to be 

 adopted. 



Consultants 



Some firms prefer to have most of their research done 

 by consultants on a retainer basis. Ethical consultants 

 seek to avoid complications by confining their attention 

 to a single client in each field of manufacturing at a 

 time, and by carefully respecting all confidences. The 

 manufacturer utilizing the services of consultants can 

 have his work conducted at a minimum of expense, or 

 can invest in the research program as heavily as he 

 sees fit. There is flexibility in the nmnber of those 

 assigned to his work, he avoids large initial expenditures 

 in equipment and gains from the experience of those 

 directing his work. Frequent reports as weU as direct 

 personal contacts with those directing the program 

 can keep the manufacturer closely in touch with 

 progress. 



Government Laboratories 



Of late years some industrial research has been con- 

 ducted in the laboratories of the Federal Government 

 through a system of associates. The arrangement 

 obligates the manufacturer to pay the salaries of the 

 men employed on his problem, and perhaps something 

 for necessary materials, and gives him the advantage 



Figure 67. — Research Laboratory, Monsanto Chemical Com- 

 pany, St. Louis, Missouri 



