Evaluation method for engineering activity through comparison with competition — Four years´ experience

Evaluation measures for engineering activities are an arguable area of engineering management. A description is given of a Japanese manufacturer´s engineering activity evaluation over a four-year period. The effectiveness of the engineering activity evaluation method is substantiated. This method (see ibid., vol.EM-28, p.13-16 Feb. 1981) involves an ordinal scale measurement of rival companies. Correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis point out the intrinsic meaning underlying the evaluation value. The data analysis shows a correlation between the evaluation for `product competitiveness´ and `policy to invest for development´. It also shows the predictive nature of `policy to invest for development´ to `product competitiveness´.