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M. ROBLETO, MassMutual Financial Group, 1875 Century Park East, Ste. 1950, Los Angeles, CA 90067 The functionality of a business is similar to that of a house of cards: When an important focal point is distressed, a costly ripple effect may weaken part of the structure or may even shatter the system as a whole. In today's commercial environment, this principle is of great relevance to any business in the food industry possessing unique and invaluable Research & Development resources, as these can “make or break” a company's product or service line, and as such, must be organized and secured appropriately. A company's continual success is dependent on the degree to which resources can be efficiently reorganized and redirected in response to change. This is highly pertinent when key individuals behind R&D and product development are injured, ailing, die, or leave the company to work for the competition. How does a business cope? How are duties delegated and old skills replaced? How costly is the transition towards the next phase? By using real world examples, we will identify ways to better manage key human capital resources in an environment which persistently demands both steadiness and adaptability. Our goal is to help identify systems which attract and support a powerful R&D team, and promote the value of cost-effective contingency planning in the face of change.
Session 4, Emerging challenges in consumer-driven R&D
2005 IFT Annual Meeting, July 15-20 - New Orleans, Louisiana |