4
Conclusions and Recommendations
The scientific community has long enjoyed a favorable climate for international communications and collaboration. Unfortunately, however, the engineering community has experienced numerous constraints due to national economic and security reasons. These constraints will not be removed in the foreseeable future. However, without creating much better management for international engineering and science relationships for improving R&D productivity, we cannot cope with the crucial problems that have put world peace and the survival of the human race at risk.
Today's MNCs are desperately seeking many ways to ensure their own survival. They no longer can survive by considering only their own and their national interests, but they need to be good citizens in their host countries as well. They have to receive full support from the engineering community and customers in order to be successful. Hence they are establishing better engineering and science relationships with local communities. Strategic alliances in business and technical development constitute a step forward. The next step should be the establishment of symbiotic competition. As the current trend continues, nationalistic political powers may not be able to break up international collaboration networks and world peace may be advanced. We may also be able to secure comprehensive national security.
The Japanese working group recommends that not only MNCs but also the government should respect the basic principles of business management. Since there are so many excellent examples of success and MNCs can learn from them in order to succeed, we also think that no special guidelines are necessary to establish the rights and responsibilities of MNCs at this moment.