Employment Policies and Practices in American Organizations
Sabine River Walks of E. I. d" Pant de Nsmour. & Company, In=..Orang..
A
Texas
MEMBER of the du Pont Company was once asked D. W. DURHAM about the role of the chemist in his organization. He replied that it would be easier to enumerate the few things which a chemist does not do. This is not to E. I. d u Pont d e Nemours & Company imply that the chemist is employed initially for all wilmington, ~~l~~~~~ types of activities, but rather that over a period of years the duties performed by persons with chemical training are many and varied. Any person graduating from college is naturally filled with curiosity about what to expect when he takes his human beings, to have everyday friendly relationships first job, and he undoubtedly gives considerable thought with people united toward common objectives. Perto what type of work he should enter. His professional sonal development would be greatly hampered if only a venture is a definite turning point in his life, a major handful of mencontrolled the destiny of each employee. undertaking through which he hopes to contribute in a Instead of one vast "flying wedge," there are several manner befitting his abilities while earning a good living smaller entities, each with research, production, and for himself and his family. He may be able to interpret sales activities united toward business success in a his broad objectives but he probably is vague on just segment of the total Company's operations. how his basic college preparation will be put to use. In joining the du Pont Company, therefore, a chemist If he plans to enter a large chemical enterprise, it per- becomes identified with a group small enough to assure haps is even more difficult for him to imagine what his personal recognition of achievement by men with first few months will be like and how he will progress authority to look out for his personal welfare. He is definitely not a cog in a machine, but one who has close into the big unknown of the future. The du Pont Company is a large organization--every- relationship with high-caliber men who help guide him body knows that. It would not have attained its to positions which best satisfy his interests and abilities. present-day success, however, if its organizational Training is carried out in a rather informal manner. structure did not permit employees to be treated like There is no "training school" to serve the entire Com-
299
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL EDUCATION
effective. A man can do fine work but unless the results can be interpreted properly in terms of the over-all goal, the accomplishment may be quickly forgotten or merely labeled as interesting data. Aside from the hare technical achievements, intergroup relationship depends heavily on frequent meetings for discussion of mutually interesting matters. Through the written reports, a man's efforts receive much broader circulation than would be otherwise possible. Du Pont has chemically trained personnel in a broad variety of adminktrative and scientific positions. Being such a technical enterprise, there is naturally strong reason for requiring chemical people not only in basic chemical pursuits hut also in management, advertising, legal and patent service, purchasing, public relations, personnel, and many others. Most chemists usually begin in such fields as research, development, production, or sales. There are over 40 research laboratories in the do Pont Company. Some of the work in these laboratories may appear to he only remotely connected with comrnercia1 application and might therefore he classified as "fundamental research." This is a rather abused term, especially if it is contended that any problem having commercial value is not fundamental from a scientific viewpoint. In a company organized to manufacture chemical products, most of the research is naturally expected to relate in some way to commercial Lo," Tempelatwe Still significance, whether directly or indirectly. Within that framework, there are vast opportunities for repany; each of the divisions and groups trains its new search as fundamental in nature as any research conemployees in a manner most appropriate to the type of ducted within the halls of the nation's educational inwork involved. Training a production supervisor, for stitutions, and in reality, the volume of such research in example, may be quite different from breaking a man in industry today is on a scale seldom recognized by people for technical process improvement work. .4lthough a not engaged in the industrial field. Another term loosely used is "applied research." person is employed for a specific job in the beginning, it is not intended necessarily that he remain in that There can be no sharp cleavage between fundamental particular line of activity. Effort is made, however, to and applied research, but generally speaking the latter place him in the type of work in which he may have the term encompasses problems attendant to the developbest opportunity to develop. He may nevertheless ment and improvement of manufacturing processes and and the determination of ultimate usefulness gravitate toward a completely different type of ~ ~ o r products k through a chain of events in his experience as his real of products. There are many facets of such projects interests and abilities unfold. This is important to to tax the ingenuity of the researcher to the utmost, most people since actual experience is the best way in and often they are sufficiently fundamental in nature which a person may test his likes and dislikes. Du to fully satisfy the academician. Research projects come about in many ways. In a Pont's flexibility in organization permits a broad range chemist's investigation of literature, ideas may occur This does not mean that a man can move of exposure. from one job to another at the slightest indication of to him to serve as a basis for a research undertaking. dissatisfaction. He should make enthusiastic effort Present successes in a given field may encourage further to turn in a good performance on whatever responsibil- research to create products similar to those that have ities come his way, thereby demonstrating persistence, contributed to the public's standard of living. People leadership, cooperativeness, intelligence, and other in management of a research organization may recognize likely commercial possibilities in a certain unexqualities that may be important to any job. An important requirement in any man's employ- plored field.and therefore embark on a broad research ment, whether in the beginning or later in his career, program in that realm. Sometimes a need exists for a is his ability to express his thoughts clearly through synthetic type of product to supplement the present verbal and written expression. Active participation in supply from natural sources, thereby prompting regroup meetings and careful attention to written reports search synthesis endeavors. Desire to improve existing will be significant factors not only in his own personal products frequently spurs various types of research. salesmanship but in making the results of his work t ~ u l y With du Pont being in so many diversified fields, a vast
JUNE, 1950
301
program can be supported, resulting in products being created which may not have otherwise been possible. There are opportunities in the research and other technical organizations to appeal to widely divergent interests. Becoming an expert in a given field is appealing to some chemists, and there is need in the various branches of du Pont for some people who make it their business to probe into every possible sideline of a special technology and thereby accumulate such a store of knowledge that they may act in a consulting capacity to other technical persons in the field. It would be a mistake for all researchers to aspire for administrative positions. A very good researcher is not necessarily a potential technical administrator. On the other hand, an administrator of a research program in du Pont must first be a strong technical performer. True scientific advancement and achievement carry professional prestige and other rewards that make it unnecessary for every researcher to feel that he has to become an administrator in order to be proclaimed a success. Development covers a broad field. The more practical phases of research certainly overlap into the field of development. Most research laboratories work rather closely with pilot plant operations in scaling up testtube developments. The fruits of research do not necessarily warrant pilot-plant investigation, and of course many products or processes which appeared promising in the early stages of research do not prove to be practical when tested in the pilot plant. While some chemical engineers as well as chemists engage in straight research, there are perhaps more chemical engineers than chemists in the development stages, increasing in predominance as the development undertakings approach full-scale plant operations. The pilot-plant type of operation is not necessarily confined to the researchorganization; pilot plants may be found in the big plants, simulating full-scale operations so that improvements can be developed. Design problems come into play, patent considerations must be taken into account, economic and market analyses are made, and many other investigations may enter into the picture a t various stages of any development pro&-am. Initial staws of nroduction of new chemicals present problems involving further reaction studies and further processdevelopment in order to reach an opti-
-
mum stage of efficiency. On older processes, investigation is continuous in the attempt to improve yield and quality and to decrease the cost of manufacture, oftentimes necessitating experimentation and testing on the plant equipment. Each plant must maintain laboratory facilities for the testing of raw materials, intermediates, and finished products to insure proper quality. In some cases, the control laboratory is used to train men for production assignments in the plant. There are, of course, some technicians and supervisors who make the control laboratory their full-time work. Many chemically trained people enter the industrial plant to receive training for production supervision. Development work may be regarded as a good preparation for production supervision, especially in the technically complex operations, but a large number of production trainees begin as "student operators." Leadership qualities are perhaps more important in the production supervisor than technical proficiency, but there are many complex manufacturing processes today in which the chemist or engineer can advantageously use his technical background in maintaining safety and efficiencyof operation. For example, in the manufacture of a certain new product, the cycle for which extended beyond the day shift, a night supervisor discovered that pressure and temperature had risen above the tentatively established limits. Being a chemical engineer he knew that the rate had been accelerated and was approaching a critical point beyond which the mass would polymerize to a rubbery solid. He was able to make some rapid calculations with the aid of
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL EDUCATION
plant, involving development and trouble - process 'shooting. Still another technical aspect of sales, often referred to as sales development, is the exploration of new markets for established products and the determinine of needs for new or improved products which may give impetus to current research programs or lay the basis for new programs. Such problems require not only expert technical attention but economic considerations as well. Many technically trained members of sales divisions enter the field of direct selling, where application of technical background becomes more general but having a technical knowledge of the products and their uses helps in the selling of these products to consumers. About 85 per cent of the du Pont products are sold to other companies for conversion to finished product rather than directly to the public. Other fields in which chemists may find themselves could be discussed; in fact, almost every type of endeavor normal to the chemical profession could be found somewhere in du Pont, which in itself emphasizes the broad opportunities available to an employee. All levels of chemical training are of interest. The person with a doctor's degree is usually interested in, and is considered for, some phase of research work. Less highly trained men may enter certain types of research, if they are so inclined, especially in application research or development; many of these men, especially with the bachelor's degree, enter production, sales, and other fields. Regardless of what type of work a man undertakes, he should realize that the battle cry of industrial progress today is embodied in the term "teamwork." There is relatively no place for the very narrow person who has little regard for other people's ideas and contributions. Scientific competence is important but it is not enough. Many surveys indicate that a high percentage of the technical people released by industry failed because of personal characteristics and not technical incompetency. The day of the chemical recluse is gone and the era of the chemical team is firmly established. A high percentage of the college graduates in du Pont are technical people. The turnover rate is low since the policy is one of promotion from within the organization. Many millions of dollars are spent annually on research which continually brings new ventures into the picture, new plants, and new sales opportunities. For the well-trained chemist with the power of independen6 and objective thought, the courage to take action and make decisions, and the ability to integrate smoothly his endeavors with those of his associates, the opportunities for success are virtually unlimited.
-
available curves provided by the research laboratory and therefrom control the reaction within proper limits. A variety of problems could be cited where, in the daily performance of duty in the production line, the chemist or chemical engineer finds direct application for his training. It should be emphasized, however, that the technical man entering production should have a strong interest in human relations, for he will supervise unskilled as well as skilled workers. Management's success in the field of labor relations will definitely be a reflection of the personal leadership abilities among men who enter the trainee ranks of production supervision. With over 80 plants, the training of production men naturally varies considerably in the different types of operations. Another field of endeavor in which an increasingly large number of people with chemical training find careers is sales. Initially the prospective employee is often assigned to laboratory or plant work in which he may acquire a thorough background of information and understanding about the products of a given department. In other cases, he may go through a special training course to prepare himself for technical sales. The field is very broad, but in general the technical service man in sales is the liaison on technical matters between a department of the company and the consumer. He may have certain special accounts to service or he may be regarded more largely as a general consultant. A large share of his attention may be devoted to acquainting customers with the technical background of products and their potential uses, or he may perform technical services in a customer's
