Toward Better Utilization of Scientific and Engineering Talent: a Program for Action; Report (1964) / Chapter Skim
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UTILIZATION AND INDUSTRY
UTILIZATION AND INDUSTRY
Pages 23-30
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From page 23... ...
FIGURE VII DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS FOR PERFORMANCE OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN INDUSTRY, 1962 FEDERAL FUNDS AIRCRAFT AND MISSILES 36% ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS 22% V CHEMICALS MACHINERY AND ALLIED 8% PRODUCTS , 10% OTHER INDUSTRIES MOTOR 1? % VEHICLES 58% OF TOTAL FUNDS Based on Reviews of Data on Research and Development, National Science Foundation, #40, September 1963 AND OTHER TRANSPORTATION EQUIPMENT 7% *
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From page 24... ...
Each company employing large numbers of scientists and engineers has its complement of highly talented individuals, some of whom are able and eager to originate and carry forward large programs or projects, others of whom could make their greatest contribution in specialties or disciplines not directly bearing upon projects. Unless these individuals, and the groups they form, are recognized and enabled to exercise their special capabilities, both the firm and the individuals lose valuable opportunities.
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From page 25... ...
The effectiveness of a project team appears to depend very largely upon the abilities of the few men who form its nucleus or core. As shown in the case studies of Titan II and the Naval Tactical Data System that were prepared for the Committee, the technical and administrative management of the system-development process at both government and industry levels was performed by a handful of key individuals.
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From page 26... ...
The nation needs more managers who understand the interdependence of technical and managerial decisions, and are equipped to appreciate the technical as well as managerial issues in system development. Companies that use scientific and engineering manpower should actively seek ways to help their high-talent manpower augment and replenish their professional capabilities.
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From page 27... ...
Current doctrine in this area is not comparable with the body of doctrine available for financial or production management. The Committee concurs in the following observation stated in a study made for its use: "After a generation of intuitive platitudes concerning leadership, supervision and benign personnel practice, such broad areas as creativity, motivation, group dynamics, organizational behavior, and interpersonal communications remain today in the forefront of research in the social, behavioral, and management sciences."*
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From page 28... ...
"Stockpiling," when not excessive, permits a company that is permanently committed to government-sponsored developmental work to keep some of its skilled teams of scientists and engineers at work anticipating future trends, considering possibilities raised by the changing state of the art, and writing preliminary proposals to stimulate the imagination of the civilian and military officials who are the company's principal customers. In the Committee's opinion, the best means of minimizing abuses in the government's major procurement programs -- and hence of minimizing the accompanying waste of scientific and engineering manpower -- are the development of incentives to make the objectives of contractors and the government more congruent, and a steady improvement in the quality of the government and industrial teams that direct and participate in large research and development projects.
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From page 30... ...
In construction, for example, the problems include local building codes, labor practices, and the small-company pattern of the industry. To facilitate research and innovation in such industries, the federal government should stimulate and support initiative shown by industrial and labor groups and communities in developing new arrangements that will open the way to more intensive application of research and technical knowledge.
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