Management Implementation of Scientific Research: An Attitudinal Study

This paper describes a study of the views of managers and researchers toward the problem of improved management implementation of scientific research. The work done here is an extension of the effort begun by Churchman and Schainblatt [Churchman, C. W., A. H. Schainblatt. 1965. The researcher and the manager: A dialectic of implementation. Management Sci. 11(4, Feb.) B69-B87.] and continued by Bennis [Bennis, W. G. 1965. Commentary. Management Sci. 12(2, Oct.) B13-B16.] and others. A controlled experimental situation was employed to obtain participant views toward the possible methods of improving the implementation situation. The results of this study suggest that most managers and researchers view the implementation problem as involving more than a single aspect. Most refused to accept a single viewpoint as the most critical means of obtaining effective implementation. Nevertheless a large majority favored some attempt by one or both parties to improve their understanding of their own and the other participants' creative process. After some improvement of the experimental design, a position of mutual understanding dominated. Finally, the study produced some evidence which suggests that it may be possible to attack the implementation problem in the short run by merely building trust and improving communication. In the longer run, however, it would seem that improved understanding is the key, and the study indicates that attitudes may be favorable to this development.