What is wrong with R&D?

Any scientists out there?  Have you imagined yourself to be a researcher with the big "R"? Have you had a dream to become inventor with the list of inventions on your resume and that good feel - "I did something to improve mankind"? It is good time to restart your drive. Most of us got consumed by our work. Concept is that there is line drawn for you and you follow. This is how it is done, you were told. Of course every company needs invention and innovation but usually there isn't much of it. I have seen far to often this scenario:

• someone invents something new - creates company
• small group of innovators create new product
• the product breaks to the market and starts making money
• initially small company with high concentration of inventive power starts shifting, administrative sales force is on the rise and inventors are not necessarily good salesman - they are replaced
• managers become more to the ground - practical - efficient on administration - less educated - less inventive
• suddenly R&D under the lead of effective and more practical managers becomes more "efficient" by replacing experienced highly educated - expensive - risk averse scientists by young enthusiastic inexperienced - much less educated - cheap make-up scientists
• surprisingly every project becomes too complex and innovation rate slows down - even routine projects completion slows down
• the company is on decline - seeking help of consulting firms - they advice to consider buying younger fresh companies to compensate lack of invention (and missing R&D)
• soon after integration of new company new rules are enforced on new company and the "efficiency" process starts again - but the revenue got bigger with addition of new company product portfolio
• eventually revenue becomes big enough to be considered by "big established competition" as a threat and they might consider takeover/merger - cycle continues
• at some point the size is so big, that small fluctuations do not matter and stability is granted by sheer size - at this point invention and innovation are present, but efficiency-wise the numbers of inventions per number of people involved per unit of time are very disappointing

Who pays for all this? Well as it seems it is customer and stock holders and eventually tax-payers. Of course I am overgeneralizing, but as it seems the "mediocre" in this scheme profits most. 

So what is wrong with R&D? There isn't enough of it ..