並列摘要
Research and Development is the activity in a company where scientists and engineers are employed to extend the science or technology underlying the company and to develop new products, processes or services. At some leading companies, thirty percent of their revenues at any one time are due to products developed in the previous three years. In mature sectors, such as petroleum companies, the pace of change is slower, but profit margins tend to be smaller and a small improvement can be important. Research and Development needs not to be conducted in-house but can be outsourced, or purchased. In this paper, the evolution, contribution to the company, management tools, staffing and future trends of Research and Development are briefly described.