摘要:

An emerging trend in research and development (R&D) project valuation is the use of options approach, which permits a more flexible assessment of the future growth opportunities in the entire process. The traditional DCF method when naively applied fails to capture all the future opportunities that create value, thereby resulting in an under investment in R&D. The options approach is more appropriate in a world of uncertainty because it views an R&D project as an initial investment that creates future follow-on commercial opportunities that are undertaken only if the initial R&D project is successful. Valuation of R&D projects is usually complex due to substantial uncertainties at different project phases, including the R&D phase and commercialization phases.

ISSN:0013-791X    

DOI:10.1080/00137919908967506

出版商:Taylor & Francis Group    

年代:1999

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

Standard procedures for evaluating future cash flows are to find an appropriate discount rate consistent with the cash flow's risk and then to derive a present value. While discounted cash flows seem appropriate for many instances, finding appropriate discount rates is often difficult, or discount rates may not exist when the risk is actually a function of a decision that requires the cash-flow valuation. We consider two approaches that have been suggested to alleviate this problem: the capital asset pricing model (CAPM) and the risk-neutral pricing arguments from option theory. We discuss the assumptions inherent in these models and show the results on the well-known news vendor model. Our option pricing results correspond to Singhal's [17] results using CAPM and a different valuation procedure for the option pricing model. We, however, derive a simpler expression that clearly illustrates differences from the standard form ignoring risk.

ISSN:0013-791X    

DOI:10.1080/00137919908967507

出版商:Taylor & Francis Group    

年代:1999

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

Environmentally conscious design and manufacturing significantly increase the complexity of design decision making. This paper describes several aspects of environmentally conscious design, approaches taken, and research needs for developing engineering economic and decision analytic standards to address their limitations.

ISSN:0013-791X    

DOI:10.1080/00137919908967508

出版商:Taylor & Francis Group    

年代:1999

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

The process of product design is driven toward achieving design specifications while meeting cost targets. Designers typically have models and tools to aid in functional and performance analysis of the design but have few tools and little quantitative information to aid in cost analyses. Estimates of the cost of manufacture are often made through a cost multiplier based on material cost. Manufacturing supplies guidelines to aid in design, but these guidelines often lack the detail needed to make sound design decisions. The need for a quantitative way for modeling manufacturing costs at Motorola was identified. After benchmarking cost modeling efforts around the company, an activity-based costing method was developed to model manufacturing cycle time and cost. Models for 12 key manufacturing steps were developed. The factory operating costs are broken down by time, and cost is allocated to each product according to the processing that it requires. The process models were combined into a system-level model, capturing subtle yet realistic operational detail. The framework was implemented in a software program to aid designers in calculating manufacturing costs from limited design information. Because the tool provides an estimate of manufacturing costs at the design prototype stage, the development engineer can identify and eliminate expensive components and reduce the need for costly processing. Using this methodology to make quantitative trade-offs between material and manufacturing costs, significant savings in overall product costs are achieved.

ISSN:0013-791X    

DOI:10.1080/00137919908967509

出版商:Taylor & Francis Group    

年代:1999

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

It is widely accepted that over two-thirds of the average annual increase in per capita wealth of the United States is attributable to technological change as it becomes embodied in new products, new capital equipment and new production methods. Technological change is the result of research and development (R&D) carried out by the scientific and engineering communities. Surprisingly, since the first issue of The Engineering Economist appeared in 1966, only one article has addressed R&D as a public policy issue. Our profession distinguishes itself from that of conventional economists in that we are both economists and technologists. Apropos “going to the next level,” it is time to take a broader view of our professional role. Technology policy is defined as the government's decisions of how and whether to intervene in private R&D and its provision of funds for public R&D. This article addresses one instrument of technology policy: the research and experimentation (R&E) tax credit. Using a traditional engineering economics framework, we evaluate the potential effectiveness of the tax credit in stimulating R&D. Our general conclusion is that the R&E tax credit is a weak incentive for stimulating R&D.

ISSN:0013-791X    

DOI:10.1080/00137919908967510

出版商:Taylor & Francis Group    

年代:1999

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

Teaching engineering economy at the undergraduate level has changed little over the past century. In fact, it has become stagnant as its focus has turned toward financial mathematics and away from decision analysis. This is seen as a disservice to students who must eventually develop engineering economy studies. This paper provides motivation and suggestions to revitalize the curriculum, including teaching engineering economy in a decision-making context and integrating research advances into the curriculum. From these suggestions, a tested semester outline is presented. In the spirit of this special issue, it is hoped that these suggestions help move the teaching of engineering economy to the “next level” such that we can produce effective decision makers in the critical area of capital investment analysis.

ISSN:0013-791X    

DOI:10.1080/00137919908967511

出版商:Taylor & Francis Group    

年代:1999

数据来源: Taylor

ISSN:0013-791X    

DOI:10.1080/00137919908965282

出版商:Taylor & Francis Group    

年代:1999

数据来源: Taylor

ISSN:0013-791X    

DOI:10.1080/00137919908967512

出版商:Taylor & Francis Group    

年代:1999

数据来源: Taylor