Managing Research, Development, and Innovation: Managing the Unmanageable, Third Edition

2.3. STAFFING

Managers often say, "People are our most important resource." Indeed, in an R&D organization, highly trained, able, and motivated researchers provided with well-equipped laboratories are essential. Excellent and productive R&D organizations are all characterized by such assets.

In staff selection and staff development, some social issues, such as equal employment opportunity and biases against certain ethnic groups and women, are examined briefly in the chapter on diversity. These are important issues and there is clear and ample historical evidence of such biases. These biases first manifest themselves in the way people raise their children or in the initial counseling received in high school. They continue during interviews for ...