Abstract :
During the 1950s and 1960s, Jack A. Morton was vice president of electronic technology at Bell Telephone Laboratories in Murray Hill, NJ. Morton led the company´s effort to transform the transistor from a promising research curiosity into a reliable commercial product that eventually revolutionized electronics. Morton was such a strong, intimidating leader that he could make incorrect decisions and remain unchallenged because of his aggressive style. For failing to recognize the potential of microchips and large-scale integration, Morton cost the parent phone company, AT&T, dearly and may have contributed to its eventual dismemberment. His untimely death in 1971 prevented him from witnessing the consequences of his decisions
Keywords :
consumer electronics; transistors; Bell Telephone Laboratories; device development team; electronic technology; large-scale integration; semiconductor industry; transistors; Automobiles; Costs; Engineering profession; History; Laboratories; Lead compounds; Lifting equipment; Research and development; Telephony; Transistors;
