Page "hobbies" Paragraph 993

`` A serious problem accompanying the technical-ladder approach is the difficulty of clearly defining responsibilities and standards of performance for each level.

With no set standards, there is the tendency to promote to the next highest level when the top of a salary band is reached regardless of performance.

Promotion is too often based on longevity and time in salary grade instead of merit.

If no specific organization plan exists limiting the number of scientists at each salary level, the result is a department top-heavy with high-level, high-salaried personnel ''.

Staff engineer dept. manager

`` We have two approaches for the technical man: the position of staff engineer, which is rated as high in salary as department manager ; ;

and an administrative organization to take the routine load away from department managers and project engineers as much as possible, thus allowing them more time for strictly technical work.

These are only halfway measures, and the answer will come when some way is found to allow the technical man in industry to progress without limit in salary and prestige ''.

A complete plan

`` We have made limited application of the ' parallel ladder ' plan.

The highest rated non-supervisory engineering title is ' research engineer.

The salary schedule permits remuneration greater than the average paid to the first level of engineering supervision ( engineering section head ).

We also have an ' engineering section head -- research engineer ' classification which has salary possibilities equivalent to that of a research engineer.

Above this point there is no generally used parallel ladder.