Employment Policies and Practices in American Organizations I
T H E MELLON INSTITUTE
BEFORE
entering into a detailed consideration of employment opportunities and career possibilities in institutional research as typified by those a t Mellon Institute, it may be well to describe briefly the inherent features of the Institute's mode of operation. These have a t various times been discussed a t length by the Director, Dr. E. R. Weidlein, and others of the Institute's staff'-5 so that we need only to sketch the basic frame-. in~ wEIDLEIN, E, R,, AND W, A. H ~ qCience ~ ~ MeGrsw-Hill. 1931: "Glancesat Industrial Research,"Reinhold, 1936.
BEAL,GEORGE D., "Mellon Institute and the fellowship systemof industrial research," Chem. Eng. News, 21,1865 (1943). H n h ~ oW. ~ , A., "The research around us in Mellon Institute," Cmnmonweallh, I, No. 9, 20 (1947). + WEIDLEIN,E. R., JR., "Mellon Institute," Research, 1, No. s YOUNG,G.
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H., "The Organization of Research Laboratories
by Individual Projects." Proceedings of the- First Annual Symposium on the Adminwrttion of Research, State College, Pennsylvania, 1947.
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Mellon Institute is a privately endowed nonprofit institution, incorporat,ed under the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for long-range research in the pure and applied natural sciences. No less important of training research ,vorkers for industry genis its erally, and of providing an expending reservoir of technical information adaptable to public advantage. The Institute was founded in 1913 through the generosity of ~~d~~~ W, ~ i ~ B.hM ~ ~ ~ I organid~ ~ ~ , made On the basis of a now plan for 'ation the operation of industrial fellowships in conjunction ,
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GEORGE H. YOUNG and KATHRYN A. JOSEPH
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with higher educational institutions. This plan was conceived by Dr. Robert Kennedy Duncan, first director of the Institute, and was designed to afford manufabturing enterprises a means for investigating specific problems of major importance, which by their solution would benefit the manufact,urer and a t the same time contribute to the welfare of the public a t large. Dr. Duncan had initiated the system a t the University of Kansas and was called to put it into practice at the University of Pittsburgh in 1910. From the time of the formal organization of the Institute in 1913, until 1927, it continued as an integral part of the University of Pittsburgh. It was separately incorporated in 1927 and has since been administered by an execut,ive staff which is responsible, through the director, to the Institute's own board of trustees. The Institute operates by means of contracts with fellowshipdonors for specified periods of time, which are required to be of at least one year's durabion. Only problems of fundamental importance or of unusual significance to science or industry are accepted for study. A manufacturer, seeking to investigate a major problem or hoping for general benefit from a planned scientific research program, may execut.e a contract with the Institjute provided that the proposed field of investigation is one in which the application of the natural sciences-particularly t,he chemical sciences-offers hope of success, and provided the field is one not already under invest,igation in the Institute. Here, only one research project in any given field is operated at a time; hence there is no conflict between donor company interests within the Institute, and cooperative association among our individual research specialists is encouraged a t all t,imes. Inasmuch as many, if not most, of our industrial Fellows eventually join the companies on whose researches they have been engaged in the Institute, we place considerable emphasis on the careful selection of adequately trained, well rounded, young men to staff our project,^. Thus, of the 609 Fellows who left the Institut,e betnecn 1913 and 1946, 40 per cent went with the donors of their fellowships and 6.7 per cent with other donors. The Institute thus serves effectively as an advanced proving ground for industrial specialists in the many technologies under study within its lahoratories. In most cases, senior research personnel are appointed only after exploratory interviews with the donor company's officers as mell as with the Institute's executive staff. In this way me insure compatibility of temperament and personality between donor and Fellow, in our opinion of equal importance to technical competence, when dealing with this method of organizing research. It should be emphasized that the closest liaison is maintained between every donor and his fellowship. Not only is there frequent personal contact, but the Institute's system of individual weekly and monthly project reports brings the Fellow and his worker in our laboratories constantly before his donor. Close cooperation with the University of Pittsburgh is
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Pmparing e n Intermediate for a P t e ~ i d i n eC o m p o u n d in the Program on Antianemic Agents
still maintained. Many of the junior members of the Institute's research staff regularly continue their educational training by taking graduat,e courses in technical departments of the University. In this manner, some 70 men and women with the rank of Fellow have received the doctor of philosophy degree, and about 45 have been awarded the master of science degree, while in the employ of Mellon Institute. Many more laboratory assistants on fellowship projects have received the primary bachelor of science degree while at the Institnte. Notwithstanding the extensive opportunities afforded younger men to advance their formal training, the majority of fellowship problems at the Institute are of a postdoctoral character. The work of Mellon Institute has contributed in many ways to the technical progress of American industry. From its inception, the Inst,itute has maintained three principal objectives: the conduct of productive research in both pure and applied sciences, the advanced training of research workers in the fields of their specializations, and the dissemination of technical information of constructive value to the professions concerned and to the general public. The Institute takes particular pride in the wide variety of fields of research interest which are under simultaneous study. This broad diversification of investigational programs is one of the outstanding advantages of the Inst,itute as a center of applied research. Current fellowship projects embrace virhally every branch of chemistry, physics, and their engineering counterpart,^. However perplexing the problem of an individual fellowship, there is usually a specialist from among the Institute's own research personnel vho has had direct. experience in that field, and who can advise a logical method of'approach to the particular question a t hand. Since the Institute operates only one research project on a given subject a t any one time there is little likelihood
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A View of the Institute's Technical Library
of conflict between fellowships. Free exchange of ideas is encouraged within the bounds of such discretion as will protect the interests of the fellowship donors, to whom naturally accrue the results of their sponsored researches. Numerous commercially interesting discoveries and patentable products and processes have resulted from the Institute's work. To March, 1949, 24 books, 224 bulletins, and 2,475 journal contributions have come from the organization, A total of 1,081 patcnts have been issued to Institute Fellows since 1911. ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION
Administrative supervision of our fellowships is carried on under the guidance and direction of the members of the executive staff. Each of these men is a specialist in some aspect of the over-all investigat,ioualprogram, and each of them is responsible for the progress of a number of groups of independent fellowships working in related scientific fields. The members of the executive staff advise the fellowship heads and coordinate the activit,ies of the fellowships, mindful of the interests of both the Institute and the fellowship donors. Freedom from arbitrary and restrictive regulations and an atmosphere of mutual cooperation and achievement have encouraged orderly thought, good will, and teamwork on the part of all members of the Institute. A minimum of emphasis on formal organization and lines of authority hasresulted in the creation of a large body of scientists of a more or less coequal and independent status with individual responsibility for the success of their own programs but with a willingness to help others for the success of the whole. This individual responsibility, with the attendant professional dignity it engenders, coupled with a generally prevailing spirit of healthy cooperation, has developed t o a point a t which the Inditute can be considered as a guild of scientists who are working together for the good of science, industry, and mankind. The entire Institute body is influenced in its professional and social structure by the Robert Kennedy Duncan Club, an active
organization of the members which keeps alive the name and ideals of the first director. Inestimable value is derived a t Mellon Institute from the departments of research in pure chemistri, chemical physics, and physical chemistry, which the Institute itself supports. These departments are engaged in fundamental investigations in their fields of science and their work has resulted in many original contributions to scientific literature. Members of these departments may also give advice and help to the industrial Fellows. Particularly in the field of chemical physics, where knowledge of much specialized and highly complex equipment is nov required, this intra-organizational assistance has proved invaluable to our industrial fellowships. Brief mention should also be accorded to another Institute activity. The Industrial Hygiene Foundation, which maintains its headquarters as the staff of a multiple fellowship at Mellon Institute, has carried out some seventy studies in industrial plants all over the United States during the past year. The program of the Foundation involves basic studies requiring the development of new procedures beyond the mere discovery and correction of industrial health hazards. The Foundation was established in 1936 by Mellon Institute and twenty-three companies and associations; there are now 350 members embracing representatives from a wide variety of American industrial organizations. THE FELLOWSHIP-PROJECT ORGANIZATION
In an organization scheme such as ours the setting down of a clear, concise, and carefully defined statement of scope and objectives constitutes the first step in activating a fellowship. This is a staff function, and one which is of basic importance. Having thus mapped out the terrain to he explored in one or more preliminary conferences with the donor's representatives, the Institute is in a position to determine first, whether there is likelihood of overlapping or duplication of already working projects, and secondly, what fundamental techniques and combinations of basic sciences are most probably going to have to be employed. That is, we are now in a position to draw up a "man specification" for the potential incumbent. Thus, we may decide that a Ph.D. in physical chemistry with a strong organic minor and applicable experience in the field of colloids is indicated. Or we may in another case decide that a combination of chemical and mechanical engineering training (almost always a t the doctorate level) is mandatory. The very nature of a research investigation is such that definite and concrete results in a h i t e time can never be predicted with safety.% For this reason, if for no other, each project is a kind of gamble.' Perhaps 8
HAMOR, W. A,, "How well can management predict?" Ad-
vanced Management, 12, No. 4, 159 (1947). 7 For a discussion of the fortuitous aspects of research see HAMOR, W. A,, "The rise of industrial research and it8 management," J. CREM.Eouc., 27, No. 1, 4 (1950).
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a better analogy lies in the field of military science. Project organization is thus surprisingly similar to battle organization. The field commander is the project leader; he is selected carefully by the high command-the management or executive staff. The hroad objectives are made clear to him. Suchstaff assistance and materiel as are likely to he needed during the campaign are budgeted for. Strategy, tactics, and logistics have much the same importance as in military combat. But ultimately, the tide of. battle moves with the man or men "on the firing line." Fully aware of this, the Institute's administrative staff is prepared a t all times to provide for additional help in the way of junior grade assistants, of adequate and diversified apparatus and equipment, and of staff support in the Fay of service departments offering glass blowing facilities, chemical stocks, technical library services, photographing and drafting facilities, machine shops, rout,ine analytical service, and the like. A major function of the executive staff is thus that having to do with supplies-of manpower, of services, of equipment, of chemicals. Few research projects are of so narrow or limited a scope as to require the attention of only oneinvestigator beyond the initial sorties. However, we of the Institute believe firmly in building project teams slowly and only as the need for addit,ional personnel can be plainly seen. The constitution of these growing combat teams or "task forces" is one which will vary, depending upon the nature of the individual project. We lay down as a basic mle, however, that duplication of training as such is generally to he avoided. Thus, if the senior incumbent is an organic chemist, the next man added to t,he project may advantageously be a physical chemist, for example. I n other words, we plan on a diversification of available skills, talents, and techniquesj as well indicated, as the group is recruited. We are firm believers in the adage that "too many cooks spoil the broth." Almost without exception, each fellowship has only one supervising head and the members of his team have been carefully selected to complement and round out his particular training and experience. He is consulted a t every stage of a recruiting program, and we make it an inviolate principle that the final choice of an assistant or junior fellow from a panel of qualified candidates shall rest mith the man who is in charge of the fellowship. A basic principle in organizing research by projects calls for individual choice qf team members, with the closest possible attention to compatibility factors consistent with diversification of trainines and skills. ~ - The practice of hiring "sight unseen" on the sole basis of checked-off job specification sheets and the like fmds no place in organizing research teams a t Mellon Institute. ~
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now to point out some of the more obvious advantages and disadvantages of this mode of research administration, as typified by Mellon Institute. Advantages. First of all, the project method almost automatically develops a feeling of individual and group responsibility for the successful completion of the assigned task. Complete and absolute concentration of research effort on a single problem or group of closely related problems in a given field is not only possible but virtually guaranteed under this type of organizational scheme. The fellowship head, once selected, has every opportunity for rapid and complete specialization in his field. He very quickly identifies himself &h the men, materials, and products he is morking mith. As his team grows, the new additions are easily indoctrinated with the same drive and spirit of moving toward a finite and attainable goal. There is nothing impersonal about team-conducted research; group moral is high and t,his always connotes a high level of productivity. Each man know he has been hand picked for his job. This in itself is a spur to sustained best efforts. At the Institute one finds a very highly developed sense of individual competence which extends well below the group leader level. We see both the collaborative and competitive instincts operating a t their best. New ideas are freely offered, and there is almost no may in which the testing of them can bog down in administrative red tape. Concrete accomplishments are likely to be forthcoming earlier under the Institute's system. Progress in any one major investigation is independent af progress on other problems. There are few if any holdups due to the necessity to key into an over-all work schedule involving diverse groups, pooled facilities, etc. The key work in a project-organized laboratory is independence of the other fellow. And this independence is a t the "firing line"; progress on a given research is scaled to the problem, and not managemental or supervisory preferences or considerations which can and usu-
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SOME ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF ORGANIZATION ON PROJECT LINES
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ally do prejudice one problem versus another in strictly departmental organizations. Further, by maintaining the integrity of the individual projects and fellowships one insures freedom from inter- and intra-departmental bickerings, jealousies, and jockeying for "credit" in the eyes of top management. Thus, "ingrade" promotions and professional advancement generally are relatively independent of organization-wide considerations. We like to say at the Institute that a man can get ahead just as fast as he is good. Certainly, what is happening on Fellowship A has no bearing on promotions and the like on Fellowship B. Finally, this organization along project lines makes for an inherent fle~ibilit~y in administration. Each fellowship is staffed without prejudice to the others. A minimum of duplication of men and skills is practicable. These pocket task forces are basic teams, and they operate without excess personnel or equipment. Promotions, intra-project shifts, and reorientation are feasible without dist,urbing other groups. Factors such as seniority mhich plague the laboratory head in the usual department,al set-up, offer few difficulties a t Mellon Institute. Disadvantages. A valid criticism, generally applicable to pro,iect-organized laboratories, is that they tend t,o become inbred and ingrown if not constantly guarded. There is a risk of such over-concentration in one's immediate technology inherent within the scheme
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of organization by fellowships. This arises from the circumstance that there is not, nor can there be, compulsory counseling with other workers on other projects, skilled in other techniques, although r e a t the Institute make every effort to see that opportunity to learn about what is going on around us is always there. The encouragement of broadening contacts, even though they be highly informal and of no directly apparent application, is thus a constant responsibility of the executive staff of the Institute. In this may, we in measure hope to overcome the tendency to both physical and mental isolation mhich is so easy to acquire nnder any project-organized system. We cannot leave this point without mention again of the professional and social organization of the Institute's personnel, our Robert Kennedy Duncan Club. This is a self-administered group in which all Institute employees are eligible for membership. Through the cooperation of t,heir advisory council and committees, the task of administration a t the Institute has been immeasurably lightened. Important matters such as safety rules, first aid teams, and recreational programs have always been well taken care of by RKD Club committee groups. The Club is a major factor in preventing individual isolationistic trends from becoming a serious problem. And finally, the executive staff must be constantly on the watch for accidental or deliberate inequities between fellowshius in t,he elemental matters of salaries. bonuses, rates of salary increase, frequency of excused absences, working conditions, job content, and all the other details which fill the executive's days. Where t.here is no coordination hetween projects, no similarity in the ends sought, no duplication of jobs nor even of the basic skills required, the task of insuring a fair and reasonable uniformity of salary, hours worked, conditions under which the job is done, is sometimes a difficult one indeed. WORKING CONDITIONS
Thus far we have outlined t,he Institute's history, and described its almost unique organizational and administrat,ive setup in some detail. In particular, we have emphasized those element,^ in its organic structure which give it its stability and merited prestige, and which can and do materially contribute t o the professional growth and advancement of its members. Logically, attention should also be directed at the Institute's physical "plantu-its laboratories, special equipment, and service departments. Inasmuch as the Institute's present building (dedicated in 1937) has been descrihed in detail elsewheres we need not dwell a t length on our laboratory constrnction and layout. The Institute's facilities are, of course, devoted primarily to basic research in the fields of chemistry, applied physics, chemical engineering, and directly related t,echnoloeies. Its fellowshiu svs8
COLEMAN.H. S.."The research 1s~horat.oriesof Mcllnn Ins&
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tem, by which scientific investigations are conducted for a large number of companies (78 as of the issuance of our 194849 Annual Reporte)concerned with widely varying types of problems, makes necessary the provision of many small laboratories for the use of one or several Fellows,whereas in a rompany research organization large laboratory rooms might he utilized advant,aieously. The Institute building actually contains eight floors, of which the fourth-that at street level-is given over to the administrative, accounting and general offices, and the library. Typical One of the Institute's Conference and Sooial Lounges laboratories occupy all of the four upmr floors: the three 1owerAoors house the auditorium, special lahoraThe main shop facilities comprise a completely t,ories and unit plants, shops, mechanical equipment, equipped machine shop, sheet metal shop, mood working storerooms, and recreational facilities for our members. shop, pipe shop, elect,rical shop, and paint shop, all The Institute's typical research laboratories are, in staffed by skilled mechanicians. Special apparatus general, of two sizes. Each standard two-window not available by purchase and diverse mechanical lahoratory occupies one bay of the building and includes devices for the various researches is constructed in two lahoratory benches, a built-in desk, clothes locker, these shops. and fume hood along the side walls. Each standard In t,he Institute's analyt,ical department data are large lahoratory with its adjoining office(three windom secured for research workers, relieving them of tasks in the laboratory and one in the office) occupies two for which their o1m laboratories may not be efficiently hays. The laboratory is equipped with a hood, a wall equipped and alloxing t,hem to devote their time to bench along each partition wall, and a center bench other important phases of their investigations. connected to the window mall, with a large sink on the There are also a glass-blowing depart,ment, a photofree end. Clothes lockers are located in the small graphic and drafting department,, a printing and repentry way from which access to hoth office and lahora- licating depart,ment, a lahoratory glassware washroom, and a laundry. t,ory is had. The staffs of many of our larger research projects The laboratory f u r n h r e is specially constructed in standard-sized interchangeable units easily fitted into a include secretarial assistants, but most of the stenosupporting structure of steel frames. Laboratory graphic and typing work for the fellowships is done in shelves are mounted on adjustable brackets which fit the general office. Here also are preserved the official int,o specially designed wall slots. Wall surfaces are correspondence and report files for each fellowship. The Institute's ample library and the services of its of glazed terra cotta, readily cleaned, and unattacked staff are available a t all times to members of the orby ordinary laboratory fumes. The ceilings are plastered and painted with a chemically resistant paint; ganization, and access is readily had to the reference books and journals pertinent to their work. The the floors are of ceramic tile. library has been built up soundly around general SERVICE DEPARTMENTS reference as well as specific fellowship needs. It is Adequate supplies of chemicals, laboratory apparatus, being expanded constantly to keep abreast of research pipe, sheet metal, fittings and sundries for laboratory, progress throughout the world, and according to the office, and maintenance are available from the In- requirements of the Institute's membership. stitute's two stockrooms. Special equipment and PROMOTIONS, SALARIES, INSURANCE, ETC. apparatus is in charge of a Curator whose department Although the Instit,ute's many fellowships are held maintains a servicing, calihrat,ing, and repair division. or headed by research scientisbs trained at the Ph.D. "Scientific research at Mellon Institute, 194849," Chem. level at least, and their projects are postdoctoral in character and scope, it must not be assumed that Eng. N e w , 27, 1591 (1949).
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except that members are expected to arrange for these and other absences by agreement with their staff advisers or supervisors. . Concerning salary considerations, the Institute's starting rates are quite representative of those in the average industrial research laboratory. Promotions and salary increases are realistically based on merit and proved ability to handle increased responsibilities. In making such readjustments the donor of the fellowship is almost invariably consulted and his concurrence obtained. Because the Institute is a chartered nonprofit institution, its members are presently excluded from participation in the Federal Social Security program. The Institute has given careful study to group pension plans and has found that there are no retirement policies vhich fit its unusual requirements. 9 primary objective of the Institute is the training of research workers for responsible positions in industry and educaStudying the Oxidation of Drying Oil8 tion. Consequently, our personnel is relatively young there is here no opportunity for younger chemists and and the average tenure a t the Institute is of shorter engineers. On the contrary, most of the Institute's duration than generally obtained in industrial or Fellows have a t least one research assistant. Our educational organizations. Many fellowship donors, ratio of Ph.D. men to those holding lesser degrees is however, extend participation in their own retirement about one in four, and many of our junior researchists insurance programs to qualified persons who are memare aggressively pursuing graduate studies a t our neigh- bers of those fellowships. I t is the Institute's practice boring Carnegie Institute of Technology and the Uni- to take adequate care of veteran employees on its versity of Pittsburgh, as mentioned previously ilf this executive, research, and servicing staffs on their retirement, treating each individual case on merit. This article. With the latter institution the institute has a for- procedure permits greater benefits than u-odd be malized cooperative arrangement whereby certain of our possible under any group insurance plan. The Institute's personnel is, of course, covered by younger people are given tuition-free status in the Graduate School up to six credits per regular semester. Pennsylvania Workmen's Compensation Insurance This is a privilege, not an inherent right, of Institute for accidental injuries while a t vork. Participating membership. It is extended only to those persons group life, hospitalization, and surgical insurance are holding at least the baccalaureate degree in one of the also a long-time feature of the Institute's responsibility sciences, whose undergraduate schooling and record to its members. The hospitalization and surgical otherwise qualify them for graduate-level study, and features are extended to cover the member's immediate who, in the opinion of the Institute's Committee on family as well. In addition, the familiar Blue Cross Graduate Studies and his staff adviser, is capable of hospitalization plan is available to individual members, carrying this additional work load superimposed on upon application. In conclusion. we wish to emvhasize this thought: what is in fact full-time employment. The Institute formally operates on a 40-hour, 5- Mellou ~nstitutkis a place of opportunity, for satisday week, although actually its laboratories are open fying professional stimulus and growth, for advanced to its members a t all times-it being well recognized and highly specialized training in the current techthat research cannot be measured nor regulated in nologies of diverse specific industries. I t is justly terms of man-hours "on the job." A liberal holiday proud of its reputation as a scientific research center, and vacation policy has long been in effect, our mem- but even more proud of the men and women who have bers being granted two weeks' vacation after their first been in the past, and now are, Institute members. year in the Institute, and three weeks after two years' Its slogan, "once a Fellow always a Fellow," is not an membership. There is no mandatory vacation time, empty phrase.
