Headline News, Science Views II (1993) / Chapter Skim
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7 THE ECONOMY
7 THE ECONOMY
Pages 129-150
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From page 131... ...
Our country's security depends as much on its economic performance as on its military strength. But having recently completed six years overseeing many of our country's efforts in the scientific and technical arena, ~ have great concerns about whether we can compete unless we get serious about stopping the erosion of our human resource, technology and manufacturing bases.
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From page 132... ...
lust as we crafted a national science policy a halfcentury ago-a decision that led to our becoming the unquestioned world leader in basic research and higher education so should we develop a technology policy to reverse the decline of our civilian technology base. Otherwise, as foreign competitors aggressively pursue public-private initiatives, further erosion is virtually assured.
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From page 133... ...
Several recent initiatives, such as the semiconductor industry's SEMATECH consortium, Engineering Research Centers, and new regional manufacturing technology centers, provide possible models for such partnerships. Collaboration among government, industry and universities can be pursued without undue worry about "picking winners and losers." Unsubstantiated concern about interfering in the marketplace must not become a rationale for doing nothing.
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From page 134... ...
When Honda produces automobile engines that offer better gas mileage, or Toshiba devises clearer screens for laptop computers, American consumers benefit. But the rapid growth of foreign technical competence and competition challenges our own ability to grow or capture the high-tech industries we need to prosper.
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From page 135... ...
State and federal policy-makers should do much more to help promote technological "best practices" and commercially significant generic technologies throughout private industry. The federal government must become more aggressive about reaching an international consensus on trade, antitrust regulations and other sensitive questions that affect the flow of technology.
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From page 136... ...
To these dubitable statements add: "American factories are fleeing overseas to take advantage of cheap wages and benefits." It's an argument heard all the time, especially amid the debate over the North American Free Trade Agreement. Television commercials depict Americans losing jobs to poor workers in the developing world.
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From page 137... ...
AT&T has been producing consumer telephones in Singapore since 1984, but a recent study showed the operation's success is due more to access to lower materials costs than to cheaper wages. Toshiba began producing color picture tubes in New York in 1985 mainly to gain closer access to the U.S.
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From page 138... ...
American companies sometimes have good reasons to open facilities overseas. To protect American jobs, the first step is to stop hiding behind the myth that cheap foreign wages are both paramount and insurmountable.
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From page 139... ...
Not "design" in the sense of the Reebok Pump sneaker having a pump shaped like a basketball, or AT~T's new laptop computer sporting an aerodynamic design. From the dashboard of the Plymouth Voyager to the soft lines of Black ~ Decker's Dustbuster, aesthetic concerns such as these get plenty of attention from manufacturers and consumers alike.
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From page 140... ...
New "benchmarking" techniques enable designers to help win business by setting performance standards exceeding those of competing goods. Improved accounting approaches quantify the true contribution of designers, helping them get needed resources More important than any specific technique, however, is simply recognizing the importance of changes like these.
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From page 141... ...
companies have shown how to achieve this, implementing new design practices that yield shorter development times, lower costs and more desirable products. These pioneers typically needed between five and eight years to change their habits, and many of them now are willing to share their know-how to help other U.S.
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From page 142... ...
The video tape recorder took six years much faster but still beyond the current planning horizons of many of our companies. It's no wonder foreign competitors often cash in on these advances.
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From page 143... ...
r -he -- -, ~ __= _ On a national level, we need to lower the cost of investment capital. Potential measures include cutting the federal deficit, reducing capital gains taxes and "double taxation" of corporate profits, and promoting personal savings.
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From page 144... ...
Celeste After a spring marked by urban violence, plant closings and recession, state officials across the country are under intense pressure to come up with new ideas for revitalizing their ailing economies. One approach, which became popular during the 1980s in many state houses, is to create highpaying, high-tech jobs by nurturing local expertise in science and technology.
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From page 145... ...
However, Washington also supports applied research for the military, health care and other vital fields. In addition, it has begun joining with private firms and others in supporting research aimed at commercializing .
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From page 146... ...
One new local company is using technology from the center to manufacture devices that apply diamond-thin coatings to cutting tools. Illinois is helping local firms commercialize technology developed at Argonne National Laboratory, located outside Chicago.
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From page 147... ...
of the National Research Council on which served reported recently that employee benefits have failed to keep pace with a labor force increasingly composed of people balancing work demands with family responsibilities. About half of American workers care for children, elderly parents or other family members.
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From page 148... ...
But employers, unions and policy-makers must devise new ways to provide workers with family leave and paid sick leave, with more flexible schedules and work locations, with greater resources to help
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From page 149... ...
The numbers leave no doubt, however, that millions of Americans are feeling the strain between the conflicting demands of work and family. December 22' 1991 Lotte Bairn is professor of organization psychology and management at the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
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