osts in those industries, over the long term. Technology, thus, is indispensable with respect to growth. With respect to most firms, an essential resource is human capital. Advances in technology enable organizations to utilize available human capital in more productive ways. Technology in effect assists organizations to eliminate some of the limits to their ability to grow.
New technologies motivate autonomous investment on the part of individual firms. The autonomous investment decisions made by firms are made with an expectation of profit improvements which will result from the application of technological advances.
While the application of new technology typically economizes on labor in the short term, the introduction of increased productivity into the economy typically results in the increased demand for human capital over the long term. Thus, the application of a new technology in organizations may be expected to displace some workers during the early stages of its introduction. The stimulus that will be derived from productivity improvements, however, may be expected to lead to increased demands by the organization for workers over the medium and long terms. The characteristics of the company's business environment dictate that Oxford Instruments attract and retain highly qualified and motivated staff. The fulfillment of this human resource goal is dependent on both above average salaries and incentive schemes. Oxford Instrument has maintained effective compensation schemes.
The core competencies at Oxford Instruments are centered in the company's expertise in superconducting magnet systems and in monitoring and control systems. One of the earliest actions taken at Oxford Instruments was the perfection of superconducting technology for product applications in the 1960s. Continued development of the technology was dependent upon the development of an in house source liquid helium as a coolant. Oxford Instrum...