INCENTIVE PRACTICES AS VIEWED BY SCIENTISTS AND MANAGERS OF PHARMACEUTICAL LABORATORIES 1

Abstract

Summary IN an effort to determine the incentives currently being used to motivate scientists and to explore incentive effectiveness, a questionnaire survey was conducted of research directors of 13 pharmaceutical companies and a sample of 75 scientists in one laboratory. In general there was high agreement between research management and scientists on the success of merit salary increases, promotions, and increase in complexity and challenge of assignments. These same three incentives were valued highly both by the more productive scientists as well as by their less productive colleagues. The more productive scientists also considered the incentives of greater freedom to come and go, and time off for attendance at professional meetings to be influential in motivating research output. However, neither of these incentives was ranked highly by the managers nor by the less productive scientists. Understandably, the younger scientists appeared to value educational assistance more than did their elders; while commendations for superior performance, stock options and purchases, and participation in company seminars or meetings made a greater impression on the older group. The area of recognition of performance received the greatest number of write‐in comments from both managers and scientists as the most effective nonfinancial incentive. Scientists, however, placed more stress upon the role of the supervisor in appraising and recognizing research performance.

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