ireland.com - The Irish Times

The big idea
Irish companies spend billions of euro every year on research and development - but are they actually discovering anything new?, asks Carissa Casey

'Serious gap' in Irish R&D
There is a serious national gap in our ability to innovate. Companies seeking to modify products or processes depend on sourcing bought-in applied research expertise, but there is a capacity shortfall here, Dick Ahlstrom reports

How business is embracing Web 2.0
The internet is successfully elbowing its way into the corporate world and to stay on top, business must now embrace Web 2.0

Could this be the end for management?
Where the only constant is change, leading business thinker Prof Gary Hamel believes management must be dynamic - or die, reports John Collins

EDITOR'S BRIEF
MICHAEL McALEER: For many, innovation is associated with laboratories, circuit boards and white coats. That's correct as far as it goes: but it's so much more. It's yet another management buzzword, but it's also the application of imagination.

Other Stories

Putting the final pieces in place
A new EU directive is described as the final piece of the single market puzzle. But does it live up to the billing, asks Caroline Madden
The truth about teams
There are a number of myths about setting up teams, writes Tom Begley
Putting the skills in practise
Team leadership/Philip Matthews: These days you can book anyone you ever admired on the sports field tol turn up and deliver pretty much any message you want. It may not be particularly original or insightful but, then again, we don't really expect to learn much about business from retired sports stars . . . do we?
Business angels
Want an angel to make your business dreams a reality? A new Irish scheme plans to do just that .
Effortless communication
An innovativedesign to enable effortless communication between users of spoken and sign language has scooped a prestigious international design award.
Invention or innovation?
How do you measure levels of innocation, asks Ray Farrelly , head of R&D policy with Ibec.
Looking for likeable staff
Changing workplaces: The rules for work are changing. We're being judged by a new yardstick: not just by how smart we are, or by our training and expertise, but also by how well we handle ourselves and each other. This yardstick is increasingly applied in choosing who will be hired and who will not, who will be let go and who retained, who passed over and who promoted.
Strategy for success
Policy: Be careful what you wish for when it comes to success. You might get what you ask for and it might not suit. Such is the disarmingly simple message from Prof Danny Breznitz, an academic hardly known here but someone who has become an expert on Ireland's research and innovation policy.
'Empathy will matter more for businesses in the future
Daniel Goleman knows how to work an audience. At a conference hall near Sandyford, the American author of Emotional Intelligence has normally reserved Irish managers shouting out examples of when their colleagues "lost it" at work and approaching strangers in the room to learn how to "really listen" to others.
Wave goodbye to that free lunch
IT Strategy: Free Internet services have long been used by web companies to attract new customers, but many are now seeking to make money out of online sites, writes John Collins
Luxury options
Strategy: Low-cost airlines threatened to wipe out business class on many routes, but now companies are more willing to spend money in the sky, writes Siobhán Creaton

World Preview

Foreign investment go-ahead
BEIJING: While China once struggled to ensure its citizens kept valuable foreign currency in the country and held a tight rein on its citizens investing money abroad, things are beginning to change.
EU to finally settle patent issue
BRUSSELS: More than three decades of wrangling over how to introduce an EU-wide patent could be settled within one to three years, the head of Europe's patent watchdog said last week.
'Black Diamonds' driving South African economy
JOHANNASBURG: Once barred from the mainstream economy, South Africa's black population is on a spending spree - driving the demand for consumer goods, especially mobile phones, cars and clothes - to a record level. Joe Humphries reports
Chinese tiger economy may translate to virtual world
BEIJING: Entrepeneurs, start your computers: the next tiger economy may be virtual. Hot on the heels of well-known virtual world Second Life, which has a buoyant economy, currency (the Linden dollar) pegged to the US dollar, and a daily turnover of about $600,000 (€449,000), comes news of a Swedish/Chinese creation, Entropia Universe, to be capable of hosting an online population of seven million. Karlin Lillington reports
Wal-Mart to settle over fakes
PARIS: The luxury goods industry's campaign against counterfeiting has scored a victory against Sam's Club, a division of Wal-Mart, the US retailer. The discounter announced last week it would pay an unspecified amount to LVMH, owner of the Italian fashion house Fendi, to defuse a lawsuit relating to the sale of fake bags and wallets at Sam's Club, which it admitted. Adam Jones reports
Industry calls for green aircraft
VANCOUVER: The lead spokesman for most of the world's airlines challenged the commercial aerospace industry to develop a passenger aircraft with zero carbon emissions. Kevin Done reports
Elison's chief inspiration
SAN JOSE: Ask a billionaire chief executive to list the industry leaders he most admires and thinks are the best innovators, and the roster is bound to be interesting and revealing.
Imaginative students
SEOUL: A team of Irish students are travelling to Seoul to take on the world in a technology competition. Four students from NUI Maynooth will compete in the global championships of Microsoft's Imagine Cup in the South Korean capital this August.

Case Study

Counting the cost
In the first of our monthly case studies, we outline a clash of ambition and financial reality, while our panel of experts offer some solutions to the problem
The Expert's Advice
Facts are friendly, but need care. It is a time for honesty and presenting things with care, to ensure a balanced view is taken

Marketing & Design

Getting a good look
With global markets increasingly competitive, companies are turning to design to give them an edge.
Finding new designs
James Dyson interview: " People think designers have Eureka moments where they come up with a brilliant idea and the rest is easy. The reality is far less glamorous". . .
10 designs that changed the world
Designs which had the biggest impact. . .

Innovation Opinion

Knowledge's worth
New knowledge isn't worth very much if no one subsequently exploits it for whatever purpose, writes Dick Ahlstrom
Melodramas going mobile
Tragic melodramas - a Japanese entertainment staple for years - are now going mobile, writes David McNeill
Politics
Selling to the State is difficult, time-consuming and often risky for small companies, writes Mark Hennessy

Innovators

Smart thinking
Identifying unique opportunities and following them through with fresh thinking sets these companies apart, writes Ciaran Brennan.

Technology

A brighter future
Germany produces more than half the world's solar energy, promising untold wealth for 'Solar Valley', writes Derek Scally

Commercial Profiles

Getting the right biology
Studying human biology will form the basis of research into robotics at a new centre in the University of Ulster
Thinking outside the box
Converging media is impacting on communications with customers. Bartley O'Connor outlines the opportunities on offer for businesses

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