The Manufacturing Forum: A final report of discussions

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1993 edition. Excerpt: ... of U.S. science and technology policy and the needs of the changing environment. Immediately after the Second World War, the United States was economically and technically dominant with a unique large market. Its heavy commitment to de-fense R&D also generated new technologies to meet civilian needs, and its science policy led to the expansion of the higher education system. Very large projects were undertaken to build a national infrastructure, including projects in such areas as space; antiballistic missile defense; highways; electric power distribution; and communications via television, satellites, and microwave networks. Now, however, many changes have occurred, including new foreign competitors in technologies and products, growth in foreign markets, the loss of U.S. world market share in key areas, a shift to the civilian sector as the vanguard of new technology, foreign government targeting of technology through private-government partnerships, and the divergence of interests between the federal government and multinational corporations. These changes have had a number of important and undesirable effects, according to Bloch, including negative impacts on downstream and upstream industries resulting from a loss of market shares; negative impacts on human resource development; difficulties in recovery by individual firms; and foreign owners and foreign company control of standards, availability, and distribution of strategic products. After advising against another round of analysis, Bloch advocated development of a proposal to the administration and Congress for a new U.S. technology strategy to cope with these changes and their effects. He said this strategy should include organizational options such as a National Technology Foundation,...