THE CHEMICAL WORLD THIS WEEK
Answering question from audience is Josepti Seîden, Minnesota Mining and Mfg. Raymond Stevens (left), A. D . Little, a n d P a u l W. Bachman, Davison Chennical, listen
C&EN REPORTS: Commercial Chemical Development Association
Companies H a v e Responsibility For Proper Use of Consultants Best-rounded o r g a n i z a t i o n s g e t n e e d e d both f r o m consultants a n d t h e i r o w n staffs BOSTON".—"Consultants—their value is u p to you," sa;c! Paul W . Bachman ol Davison •Chemical, speaking at a meeting of t h e Commercial Chemical Development Association held here on O c t . 15. Consultants, as a class, he said, require no defense. Instead, defense is needed for those w h o employ consultants and then gloss over their own failure to obtain the expected services by blaming the consultant. Once you have established the ability and integrity of consultants, use them, h e emphasized. Resolve to tell your consultants the whole story and to see t h a t they have access to everything they need t o develop an informed opinion. Establish a liaison. W h e n this is d o n e , the employer should retirt from the picture a n d only maintain contact through the liaison until such time· as the consultants request a discussion of their preliminary findings. Your consultants must a t all times recognize that you are interested in receiving value for your dollars spent. Seek to give the consultant assurance of your interest in him and your respect for his opinions, said Dr. Bachnian. Knowing that you respect his motives, he will more likely be frank if he disagrees with you. 4428
answers
Remeinber that, with all consultants, t h e r e is the danger of your trying t o o h a r d t o have them please you. Chemical consultants can serve m a n y functions. They can review activities i n connection with the financing of a specific project or i n connection w i t h t h e financing of over-all corporate expansion. T h e y c a n review anil appraise t h e technical a n d economic status of a given research project. Thoy can augment t h e technical staff with the services of an expert within a given field of interest. T h e y can serve a s a backboard against w h i c h to test ideas.
The W e e k ' s Events Benzene Production to Increase; Prospects of Eventual Surplus . Chemistry Cited as Potentially Oreatest Friend or Greatest Foe o-F Mankind More Efficient Utilization of Engineers Subject- of M e e t i n g . . U. S. Chemical Manufacturers Need N o t Fear Competition from Europe Nichols +o Manage A E C . . . .
4430
4432 4434
4437 4444
CHEMICAL
M o r e o v e r , they can act as an inspiration f o r unorthodox thinking b y the technical staff. The consultant, said Dr. B a c h m a n , should h a v e a b r o a d professional outloek a n d be absolutely i n d e p e n d e n t , impartial, a r i d unbiased in everything he m a y say o r d o . W i t h o u t such qualifications, the consultant i s of little value. C o m m e r c i a l D e v e l o p m e n t . Years ago, a n analysis of t h e projects undertaken b y iVrthur D . Little, Inc., showed t h a t the less successful ventures were those in which t h e client was not himself organized o r p r o p e r l y prepared t o u n d e r s t a n d , accept. a n d act on ADL's findings a n d recomm e n d a t i o n s . T h e greater t h e ability of t h e c o m p a n y ' s own staff, said ADL's R a y m o n d Stevens, t h e greater t h e effectiveness in t h e i r u s e of outside associates. O b v i o u s h . t h i s does not m e a n , h e said, t h a t companies without such staffs cannot employ a consulting group to a d v a n t a g e . Howe v e r , i?" do**c- -mean ^hat s u c h - u s e is facilit a t e d a n d m u c h more likely to b e profita b l e when t h e r e is specialized c o m p e t e n c e , a t both e n d s of the operation. The question often arises as to w h e t h e r a c o m p a n y should conduct its o w n survey a n d d e v e l o p m e n t work, or w h e t h e r it snouid b u y such services from t h e outside. T h e best-rounded organization, said M r . S t e v e n s , d o both. E a c h h a s its function a n d place. All t o o frequently, he said, a developm e n t stsidy m u s t b e made under pressure. Often t h e d e m a n d s upon m a n p o w e r a r e s u c h t h a t compromises must b e m a d e . P e a k work loads are not uncommon, it i>. o f course, m u c h more economical, he comm e n t e d , to ease these p e a k loads by t h e u s e of consultants rather t h a n to maintain a n overly large permanent staff within t h e c o m p a n y itself. Even m o r e obvious, it Ν b e t t e r t o retain an outside group than t»> skimp o n a n investigation a t the very point w h e r e it h a s t h e greatest b e a r i n g on sig nificant monetary decisions. Many special market investigations a r e i n areas completely n e w tc t h e private c o m p a n i e s making t h e m , M r . Stevens con t i n u e d . In these fringe areas, the extra c o s t of the consultant is frequently m u c h m o r e t h a n offset b y his familiarity in t h e field-a familiarity that would h a v e to b e a c q u i r e d , sometimes expensively, by t h e p r i v a t e company. If the findings are nega t i v e , t h e effort of the c o m p a n y has not b e e n diverted. Moreover, the consultant's findings provide a substantial a n d effective foundation for any continued work if t h e field p r o v e s attractive. Anonymity is sometimes a t r e m e n d o u s asset in making market investigations. Not o n l y a r e t h e company's intentions not i m p r o p e r l y or prematurely disclosed in in vestigations by its own m e n b u t the o b jectivity of t h e findings is frequently in c r e a s e d . C o m m e n t s are not colored b y A N D
ENGINEERING
NEWS
prejudice or iavoritism. T h e questions a n d aiibwt'rs remain completely impersonal a n d more objective than w h e n c o m p a n y per sonalities are known. An organization without its own d e velopment staff can use a consultant not only for t h e particular assignment cur rently involved but also as a means of becoming familiar with the general a p proach to development work, said Mr. Stevens. If m a n a g e m e n t then decides to undertake a development program within its. own organization, it c a n organize this work much more intelligently and effi ciently. W h e r e a d e q u a t e o p p o r t u n i t y exists for continuous d e v e l o p m e n t work within t h e c o m p a n y , a full-time staff should b e established. Build from Within. T h e importance of developing technical competence within a company rather d e p e n d i n g too heavily on outside consultants w a s stressed b y Joseph \V". Selden of Minnesota M i n i n g a n d Mfg. T h e i m m e d i a t e net cost of outside d e velopment work can be less t h a n that of internal d e v e l o p m e n t . I n these times of hi^h corporate taxes, expenditures for d e velopment outside t h e c o m p a n y can b e treated as expenses and w r i t t e n off at t h e end of the year at a relatively small d e crease in over-all c o m p a n y dollar profit. However, the tackling of a n e w project by a company's o w n staff requires just a little more fortitude by m a n a g e m e n t . It involves possible a b a n d o n m e n t of another project, p e r m a n e n t additions to t h e p a y roll, n e w e q u i p m e n t , a n d the assumption of obligations that must b e amortized over a period of years. This increase in t h e company's stake in any project is highly valuable since the u n d e r t a k i n g will re ceive from top executives increased h e l p a n d g u i d a n c e , often sorely n e e d e d in t h e project's early stages. Another a d v a n t a g e of " i n t e r n a l consulta tion" is t h e benefit d e r i v e d from t h e carryover of first-hand k n o w l e d g e g a i n e d d u r i n g t h e d e v e l o p m e n t period. This k n o w l e d g e can b e put to practical use b y t h e same personnel in t h e later c o m m e r c i a l phases of the project. F u r t h e r m o r e , said Mr. Sel den, self-sponsored d e v e l o p m e n t work smooths t h e integration of t h e program into t h e company's total efforts. T h e p r o b lem of converting a development program into one of commercial size is minimized since there is no need for e d u c a t i n g an entirely n e w group of people to carry out t h e commercial venture. As another a d v a n t a g e , basic k n o w - h o w in many fields, b o t h technical a n d eco nomic, is accumulated t h r o u g h t h e p u r suit of new products and new markets. At first glance, said M r . S e l d e n , this asset may se'*m somewhat intangible. However, experience has shown t h e repeated value of such acquired a n d assimilated knowl edge. Often entirely n e w p r o d u c t s h a v e hud t h e i r origin in knowledge gained on previous d e v e l o p m e n t programs. In some cases, d e v e l o p m e n t work b y consultants detracts from the pride of ac complishment that builds confidence a n d morale in an organization. This pride of accomplishment m a y not mean more to t h e a v e r a g e individual than money, b u t V O L U M E
31
NO.
43
C h a t t i n g at C C D A dinner m e e t i n g are (left to r i g h t ) W a l t e r R a l e i g h , N e w E n g l a n d Council; W a y n e Kuhn, p r e s i d e n t of CCDA; a n d L a w r e n c e H. F l e t t . National Aniline certainly it is next t o money in motivating power, h e said. Assignment ot responsibility for success L>r failure of co: ?nt p r o grams is one sure way of p r e p a r i n g m e n tor m a n a g e m e n t . Here is ideal on-the-job training. All of t h e elements of business operation are present. Questions of costs, m e t h o d s of production, sales, a n d p a t e n t s are taken into consideration a n d resolved. T h e individual becomes familiar w i t h com
TWT
» τ
τ
Â
p a n y policies in dealing with these q u e s tions. Top management can judge t h e in dividual's capabilities in c o p i n g with p r o b lems o n a scale w h e r e major c-nuis can be: recognized and corrected with m i n i m u m d a m a g e . This intimate personal c o n t a c t with all p h a s e s of the commercial d e velopment project c a n n o t b e overlooked a s a m e a n s of developing m a n a g e m e n t personnel, said Mr. S e l d e n .
"™"V ~W "W^i
"IN VALUABLE"
» . O C T O B E R
writes
chief chemist of α southern textile company
CHEMICAL MATERIALS CATA L O G an d directory of producers
1952-53
CHEMICAL MATERIALS CATALOG
" / find Chemical Materials Catalog invaluable in locating sources of supply for chemicals needed in processing neiv ^fibres, new methods of dyeing, ^finishing, etcT CMC, designed by process men for process m e n , will guide you straight to the information you need on chemicals and raw materials. Just consult its easy-to-use 5-way Index. In a matter of minutes you'll find the right a n s w e r in CMC's 5 0 0 data-packed pages. T h e r e ' s a copy in your plant office. Use it often.
REINHOLD PUBLISHING CORPORATION 330 W . 42nd Street, New York 36, N. Y. 2 6,
1953
4429
