Abstract
This article explains the Core Technology Program of the NEC Corporation, which is based on the concept of systems engineering. Diversification and concentration are the basic concepts of NEC's R&D management strategy. Speciality, organization, location and opportunity all lead to a diversified corporation. That is why NEC's organizational system brings about the diversification of R&D activities. These elements also help to organize the management of projects, enhance communication amongst organizations and help to fit everything into the general business strategy of NEC. The Core Technology Program plays an important role in the planning and management of diversification and concentration. The purpose of the Core Technology Program is to define the technological fields in which technologies should be estabishied in order to contribute to the solid development of the corporation. The program also helps to establish long-term guidelines for R&D in order to endure that these technologies will continue to develop while R&D activities stay within the limits of the resources allocated for R&D. The Core Technology itself is defined as a group of common and fundamental technologies that the R&D group will continously research and develop. The first Core Technology Program started in 1975 and the third Core Technology Program has been carried out since 1992. This paper describes procedures for the planning of the Core Technology Programs. A five year mid-term R&D active plan is made on the basis of the Core Technology Program, and the yearly R&D action plan is crated as a result of the mid-term R&D action plan and proposals by each researcher.
