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The difficulties and uncertainties associated with new product development are increasing along with the pressure to develop more new products. To succeed, companies are finding that they need to develop 'better' new products and they need to do so faster. Unfortunately, many companies still follow organizational arrangements and management practices that lead to slow product development. This article examines why product development delays occur, the nature of these delays, and what can be done to avoid them. The findings are based on field interviews and a mail survey of managers involved in developing new products. The study has identified four major areas that affect the performance of the new product development process: senior management support; early integration of functional expertise; availability of resources and how they are managed; and an organizational environment that supports teamwork. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

A number of abstracts are presented for articles pertaining to the subject of marketing policy decisions. They include "Coping With Technical, Market, Demographic Changes Requires Careful Product Development Work," "Entrepreneurship: A New Female Frontier" and "New Product Development: Still the Key to Profitability."

The article presents abstracts on marketing policy decisions. They include "Marketing Resource Allocation and Industrial Structure in a Regulated Industry," by Peter J. LaPlaca, "Make Your Marketing Communications System Sell," by Charles H. Hindersman, and "New Standards for Measuring Public Relations - A Program for Reorganization," by David L. Wilemon.

The article presents international marketing abstracts. They include "New Era Opens for Public Relations Abroad," by Sylvan M. Barnet, Jr., "The International Store Keeper," by Stanley C. Hollander, and "Radio and Television in the Netherlands."

The article presents abstracts on special markets. They include "Food Service Industry: Trends in the U.S.A. and California Environment to 1980," by William S. Penn, Jr., "Incentive Travel Aids Productivity, Helps Even Up Balance of Payments," by John R. Thompson, and "A System of International Comparisons of Gross Products and Purchasing Power," by Frank Meissner.

The article presents marketing abstracts relative to research and forecasting. They include "Long-term Forecasting of Consumer Durable Markets," by Peter F. Mason, "Some Observations on, and Developments in, the Analysis of Multivariate Survey Data," by Jim Inglis and Douglas Johnson, and "Aggregate Models of Consumer Purchases," by James R. Emshoff and Alan Mercer.

The article presents several abstracts pertaining to international marketing. They include "Modern Marketing: Problems of Transferral to Developing Economies," by William A. Strong and James E. Littlefield, "Agricultural Extension Plan for 1970," and "Marketing Problems in Overseas Operations," by Reuben Slesinger.

The article presents marketing abstracts pertaining to consumer behavior. They include "A Behavioral Model for Market Segmentation," by Richard H. Evans, "The Child Consumer: A New Market," by James U. McNeal, and "Personality Measures and Market Segmentation," by James F. Engel, David T. Kollat, and Roger D. Blackwell.

Discussed are the ten specific skills which have been identified with successful engineering management. These include: team building; leadership; conflict resolution; technical expertise; planning; organization; entrepreneurship; administration; management support; and resource allocation. (CS)

The article presents information about the interpersonal power in temporary management systems. In recent years, corporate managers and academic theorists have devised a number of organizational approaches that purportedly aid in reducing rigidities experienced by large organizations in coping with the infusion of new technologies and rapidly changing environmental demands. Attacks on the resistance to and inability of the large bureaucratic organization in coping with such problems is legend. Several approaches to organizational designs for ameliorating these problems have been proposed by both academicians and practitioners. While some suggest that project management is the new wave of the future some existing organizations already employ it as an overlay on the bureaucratic organization permitting them to capitalize on advantages of bureaucratic organization and yet minimize its inability to cope with multifaceted problems that transcend functional boundaries. The objective is to explore some of the organizational ramifications of these rapidly changing temporary systems in terms of various project management organizational arrangements currently being employed in sophisticated product development activities.

The article presents several marketing abstracts relative to advertising and promotion. They include "Survey Finds Cooled Economy has Little Effect on Sales Promotion," "Measuring the Impact of Real Estate Advertising," by Richard Hansen and Richard Scott, and "Studying the Advertising Media," from the July, 1970 issue of the journal "Supermarketing."

The article presents marketing abstracts pertaining to research and forecasting. They include "Operations Research in Marketing," by Peter E. Sandor, "Is Survey Postcard Verification Effective?," by Mathew Hauck, and "Husband-Wife Response Similarities on Evaluative and Non-Evaluative Survey Methods," by John A. Ballweg.

The article presents abstracts pertaining to retailing. They include "Computers: Making Merchandise Move," "Stamps Move Merchandise," and "The Role of Values in Public Opinion Research," by Milton Rokeach.

The article presents marketing abstracts pertaining to research and forecasting. They include "The Forecasting System and Techniques," by Colin Robinson, "Forecasting Problems in the Gas Industry," by F. J. Johnson, and "Motivational Research."

The article presents a series of abstracts of publications in the area of advertising and promotion, including "Learning Theory, Attitudes and Advertising," "Carlson and Gift Stars: Ready for New Markets," "Meeting the Great Middle-Class Gourmet."

Discusses emerging patterns in venture management, an organizational innovation that is intended to make companies more responsive to the challenges of their operating environments. Results of a survey of the venture-management concept as practiced in U.S. companies; Characteristics of venture managers; Top-management controls.

The article presents marketing abstracts relative to communication and public relations. They include "Mass Communication Among the Urban Poor," by G. Greenberg and B. Dervin and "Youth Junks the "Junk Culture--" Will Advertisers Follow?," by E. B. Weiss.

The article presents marketing abstracts relative to governmental and regulatory aspects. They include "Muckraker's Progress," "We Can Afford a Better America," by Edmund K. Faltermayer, and "WANTED: A Business-Government Partnership," by Carlton E. Spitzer.