A problem confronting this business currently which can be addressed using the application of business research principles is a breakdown in communication channels between scientists and engineers. Scientists come up with new materials which they would like to see incorporated in products. These are materials which they have tested and believe could make the product superior to others on the market. However, engineers have their own ideas, and do not like the new products and are reluctant to design new products or parts incorporating the new materials. The two groups do not seem to be able to communicate effectively, and this is slowing down the development of new products, and so hurting company productivity, and hurting the company's ability to compete in an ever-changing market.
One possible outcome is to let the engineers make the decision as to what materials to use, and hope that they can keep up with market trends and pull the company out of a sales slump. Another solution is to assume the scientists have come up with viable new materials which can be made to work in new products and make the engineers work with them so keep the company's products in line with those of their competitors. The last option is to force the two groups to sit down around the conference table with a mediator and make the engineers listen to the scientists, and make them come up with compromise designs to incorporate the new materials and also fit the ideas of the engineers.
The operational definition of the research problem is a lack of efficient communication between the scientific group and the engineering group. The constructs for the operational definition are having the two groups looking at the goals and objectives of the project, looking at the core competencies of each group and assessing their merits, looking at the organizational structure of the R&D department, and developing operating plans which will lead to a successful r...