The Organization of Research in the Radio Industry after the War

One of the serious weaknesses in the organization of research in the radio industry between the two world wars was the absence of adequate research or incentives to research, on the part of RCA licensees. Another weakness was the tendency to bureaucracy in the large industrial laboratories. Our major postwar scientific need is for more men who combine a thorough training in their subjects with creative originality. Such men can be produced, but industry must give further thought to the conditions which lead to the most effective flowering of group and individual scientific productivity. There has been a tendency in the radio and other industries to burn up our young research men and exploit their youthful energy. There were very few companies in the radio industry prior to the war that had acquired the research spirit. Most of them were essentially imitative. The major rewards in these companies went to manufacturing positions, and the research men were given very little freedom and were placed under considerable pressure for short-range results. Where significant research contributions were made, adequate recognition was not given. This pattern should be changed, but it cannot be done merely by giving lip service to research. Another vital task is the protection of research personnel during business depressions. If we go through a period of difficult postwar readjustment, there is a serious danger that the research interest which is now developing in the medium-sized and small companies will not survive.