REF ID:A65947 

Notes on Administration of Research Facilities 

The Administration Itself': 

"The basic problem in the organization of a scientific group is to set 

up a system which will permit the individuaJ.s to ap.J:'ly to the fullest extent 

their knowledge and abilities in the direction of' whatever is of' the greatest 

importance to the laboratory. The onlv' Virtue in orgap1 zation of any sort is 

to assist the scientist and the technice1 su,nervision to this end•. 

(Mees, The ~a.nization of Industrial Scientific Resear~ p. 175) L_£talics by !FSA personnel] 

Either we (.AFSA) agree with this statement or we do not - if we agree, 

we recognize that the prime function of the administrators and service groups 

is to assist the technical people by performing the necessary housekeeping 

functions, provision of supplies, etc., and the maintenance of a favorable 

environment. 

If we disagree with this premise, then we will use administrators not 

to insulate the technice1 people from the welter of top level paper work, 

but to add their own stream of orders, directives, memoranda, etc., to the 

existing torrent. 

Example: What is the f'undamental attitude of' the procurement 

groups? Are they primarily interested in the delivery or the goods to the 

technice1 consumer as quickly as possible or is their ambition one of 

having the most impressive record keeping and filing system? 

A scientist who orders an urgently needed piece of equipment, can be 

s,mpathetic toward the natural problems of delivery, shortages and priority. 

He will not be tolerant of' artificie1 obstacles erected on the grounds of 

administrative nicety such as "lead time", the fact that certain classes of 

material must be ordered in certain months, etc. 

This leads to the question or, 

Efficiencx 

The question here is simply that of' whose efficiency is to be nurtured. 

A tool room in a factory can be run with extreme efficiency if it issues 

only micrometers on Mondays, wrenches on Taesday, etc., but what of the 

efficiency of the factory? AFSA has the same problem: we can run machine 

shops, drafting rooms, supply rooms and other service facilities with great 

internal efficiency if we a.re willing to inconvenience the veople who are 

supposed to be served thereby, and again acce.1:1t an Agency-wise drop in 

efficiency. 

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REF ID :A65947· 

SUBJECT: Notes on .Administration ot Research Facilities 

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Scientists wb.o are wort.h their sal.t professionally are disgusted b,y 

wastefulness and inef'ficiency, and unlike unskilled employees are not 

content to sit arolllld and pleasurably accept enforced idleness so long as 

tmir checks keep coming in. 

Mora1e 

One characteristic or a scientis~ is that he is not an S hour dq 

producer. I:f his problem is of any interest whatever he probably thinks 

about it 16 hours a day. No scientist, if he is worth anything at aJ.l, 

is psychologica.lly able to leave his problem at the office. This fact has 

long been recognized b,y industry and those people are not expected tp punch 

time clocks. Even NRL is quite liberal. in this matter - what if a scientist 

does arrive 15 minutes late in the morning? Doesn't the company (or the 

Government) get richly repaid b,y the continual. study and thinking done by 

the scientist on bis own time and at his own expense? 

A research administration which fails in the above respects acts like 

a selection system, particularly in the present era. .After a period of 

time it can be assumed that the scientific and technical employees, with 

the exception of a few loyal and devoted men, will consist of those 

professiona1ly unqualified for work in greener pastures • 

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