Manufacturing vs. R&D leadership

The University of Michigan studies on leadership behaviors concluded that there are two main leadership behaviors: production-oriented and employee-oriented.  An interesting example of these two contrasting behaviors are at manufacturing companies.  Many companies have their manufacturing facilities located right next to their research and development facilities. It is very obvious the differences between how the two organizations operate and how the managers lead as well.  The manufacturing facilities usually have many assembly line workers that perform simple repetitive tasks.  There are many signs posted throughout the plants that use color coating, process work flow diagrams, and other illustrations for increased productivity

In the manufacturing part of a company, there are many strict rules, goals, and timelines.  The main thing that they are continually evaluated on are the number of parts produced in a given time.  There are timers and counters throughout the plant for the managers to analyze as well as the employees to see their direct goals.  There are specific times at which employees take breaks, arrive and depart work, and perform their job activities.

In a research and development organization, there are many managers, engineers and scientists that work together and collaborate to develop products.  In this type of an organization employee oriented behavior is very important.  Employees have more knowledge and skill, and they want more autonomy and freedom to work, which allows for an environment that enhances creativity and innovation.  Employees take breaks at any given time, and there are usually more discussion activities going on.  These discussion are valuable, but in a production-oriented environment this can be seen as unproductive and a negative thing. 

Baxter's model is a good example of the different environments.  The company does manufacturing all over the world, but its main R&D facility is in Round Lake, IL.  An employee of Baxter outlined the reasons for having R&D be separate from manufacturing, and it mainly breaks down to the situational environment and which leadership behavior is employed (Nash-Hoff).  R&D encourages risk, has a flexible environment with changing schedules and plans, personnel thrive on change and growth, and thus, the employee-oriented leadership behavior is best suited for this environment.  Manufacturing tries to minimize risk, has a highly structured environment, personnel have thrive on status quo, and thus, the production-oriented leadership behavior is best suited for this environment.  It is important for the two organizations to choose their employees based on their attitudes, motivations, and values.  A person that would be an effective R&D employee would probably not be an effective employee in the manufacturing environment, and likewise the other way.  This distinction of leadership behaviors can be seen in many companies that manufacture and develop products.

Even though the leadership behaviors are different it is still important for R&D and manufacturing to have good communication.  This communication leads to faster time to market, less reproducibility issues, lower manufacturing costs, and other benefits from research and development working with manufacturability in mind. 


Nash-hoff Michelle.  "Does it Matter Where R&D is Done by Manufacturers" Can Manufacturing Be Saved.  7 June 2011.  http://savingusmanufacturing.com/blog/general/does-it-matter-where-rd-is-done-by-manufacturers/