Yes, but for hiring or tenure the researchers are always being evaluated by others in the field, so there would be a human sanity check.
Plus in practice as others have alluded to it's usually Prof. Alice's lab, where grad students Bob, Cindy, Dave and Evelyn each pursue their own corner of the research, and they're all on each paper with the first author designated appropriately.
Plus in practice as others have alluded to it's usually Prof. Alice's lab, where grad students Bob, Cindy, Dave and Evelyn each pursue their own corner of the research, and they're all on each paper with the first author designated appropriately.