For example, within limited time, project managers are required to bring together people with different values from different workplaces, solve problems and achieve the goal of R&D. In the fairly-developed industrial countries and newly industrializing countries, one is required to work in a completely different condition from the places in developed countries in terms of the scale and equipment. If the collaboration with other areas is required or if technology which is developed in the other area is introduced, the capacity to clearly explain the reasons is also required.
To develop such personnel, it used to be popular in Japan to have young staff experience a lot of obstacles at the workplace. It was also common that the supervisors brought up subordinates by showing good attitude without any words. However, as many global corporations began to carefully manage R&D, the workplace with a lot of obstacles has decreased. The amount of work for the supervisors has also increased, and it becomes increasingly difficult for them to have sufficient communication with their subordinates. Then, how can we develop a strong workforce?
Based on the philosophy that creativity is a skill, DuPont provides trainings on methodologies to exercise creativity. In another company, in order to raise awareness of the subordinates, the supervisors venture on creating a scene where they completely deny their subordinates’ opinions and create a temporary harsh working environment with obstacles.
To develop competent personnel, it is essential for the trainers to reach out, in an appropriate manner, at the appropriate time, when the trainees think they need assistance. There are five walls that the global technical personnel need to overcome. First, it is necessary to clearly show the trainee the image of the expected role and the requirements. The trainer should provide a development menu for the trainees to go over the walls such as judgment for direction, action and continuation, after making them acknowledged their current situation and convinced them with their career direction.
The superiority of technology and products can be caught up in a short period of time. However, the human resources and the system to grow human resources cannot be easily imitated. The system to produce the human resources that will be responsible for technology management will be the key for the sustainable development.