The Psychology of Management - L. M. Gilbreth (read novel full TXT) 📗

Self-Knowledge Attained Through Records. — Through records of output, and especially through charts of such records, and timed motion-picture films, or micro-motion study pictures the worker may, if he be naturally observant, or if he be taught to observe, gain a fine knowledge of himself.

The constant exhibit of cause and effect of the relation of output to, for example, — drink of alcoholic beverages; to smoking; to food values; to nutrition; to family worries; and to other outside influences; — in fact, the effects of numerous different modes of living, are shown promptly to the worker in the form of records.

Two things should here be noted:

1. The necessity of having more accurate records of the worker and the work, that the relation o£ cause to effect may be more precise and authentic.

2. The necessity for so training the worker, before, as well as after, he enters the industrial world, that he can better understand and utilize the lesson taught by his own records and those of others.

Educative Value of Worker Making His Own Record. — Under Scientific Management in its most highly developed form, the worker makes his own records on his return cards and hands them in. The worker thus not only comes to realize, by seeing them and by writing them down, what his records are, but he also realizes his individual position to-day compared to what it was yesterday, and compared to that of his fellows in the same line of work. Further, he gains accuracy, he gains judgment, he gains a method of attack. He realizes that, as the managers are more or less recorders, so also he, in recording himself, is vitally connected with the management. It is, after all, more or less an attitude of mind which he gains by making out these records himself. It is because of this attitude of mind, and of the value which it is to him, that he is made to make out his own record under the ultimate form of management, even though at times this may involve a sacrifice of the time in which he must do it, and although he may work slower than could a specialist at recording, who perhaps would, in spite of that, be paid less for doing the work.

Exact Knowledge Valuable. — We cannot emphasize too often in this connection the far-reaching psychological effect upon the worker of exact knowledge of the comparative efficiency of methods. The value of this is seldom fully appreciated; for example, we are familiar with the many examples where the worker has been flattered until he believes that he cannot make mistakes or do inefficient work. This is most often found where the glowing compliments to the manufacturing department, found in the advertising pages of the magazine and in the praises sung in print by the publicity department, oftentimes ends in an individual overconfidence. This unjustified self-esteem is soon shattered by accurate comparative records.

On the other hand, hazing of the new worker and the sneers of the jealous, accompanied by such trite expressions as — "You can't teach an old dog new tricks," have often destroyed self-confidence in a worker, who, in the absence of accurate records of his efficiency, is trying to judge himself at new methods. The jibes and jokes at the new man at the new work, and especially at the experienced, efficient man at unfamiliar work cease, or at least are wholly impotent, so far as discouraging the man is concerned, provided the worker sees by the records of a true measuring device, or method, that his work compares favorably with others of the same experience, made under the same conditions.

Definition of Programme. — The word "programme" is defined by the Century Dictionary as "a method of operation or line of procedure prepared or announced beforehand. An outline or abstract of something to be done or carried out."

Two Meanings of "Programme" in Management. — The word "programme" has two meanings in management.

1. the work, as it comes to the management to be done

2. the work as it is planned out by the managers, and handed over to the worker to be done.

Programme as here used is a plan for doing work, the plan which the planning department lays out and hands over for the performers, or the workers, to do.

Under Traditional Management No Accurate Programme Is Possible. — Under Traditional Management the plan is at best a repetition of records of unscientifically planned work. The most that the managers can hope to do is to lay out the time in which they expect, after consulting previous elapsed time records, the work to be done. Methods are not prescribed, so there is no assurance that the calendar will be followed, for the times are set by guess, or at best by referring to old unscientifically made records.

Under Transitory Management Calendars Can Be Designed. — Under Transitory Management, with the introduction of systems, that is, records of how the work has been done best at various times, come methods and a possibility of a more exact calendar. There is some likelihood under Transitory System of the work being done on time, as the method has been considered and, in many cases, is specified.

Under Scientific Management Accurate Calendars Possible. — Under Scientific Management programmes are based on accurate records scientifically made and standardized, and a calendar may be made that can be conformed to with exactness.

Programmes a Matter of Routing. — The problems of a programme under Scientific Management are two, both problems of routing: —

1. to route materials to the work place.

2. to route the worker to the placed materials.

At first glance it might seem simpler to consider the worker as static and the materials as in motion. The "routing" of the worker is really often not a question of motion at all, as the worker, if he were operating a machine, for example, would not change his position between various pieces of work — except to rest from fatigue — enough to be considered. The word "routing" is used figuratively as regards the worker. He is considered as transported by the management through the day's work.

But, whether the work move, or the worker, or both, programmes must so plan out the progress of each, in detail, for as many days ahead as possible, that the most efficient outcome will ensue.

Routing of Work. — The work is routed through schedules of materials to buy, schedules of material to handle, and schedules of labor to be performed. The skilled worker finds all the materials for his work ready and waiting for him when he arrives at the task, this being provided for by programmes made out many tasks ahead.

Routing of Workers. — The workers themselves are routed by means of the route sheet, route chart, pin plan and bulletin board.

The devices for laying out the work of the workers appeal to the imagination as well as the reason. The route chart is a graphical representation of a large river, starting with the small stream, — the first operation, gathering to itself as the tributaries, the various other operations, — till it reaches its full growth, the completed work.

The pin plan, with each pin or flag representing a worker, or work place, and following his progress on a plan of the work, presents a bird's-eye view in miniature of the entire working force; and the bulletin board, with its cards that represent work ahead, not only eliminates actual delay of shifting from one task to another, but permits studying out one task while doing another, and also destroys all fear of delay between jobs.

Impossibility of Describing Routing Devices Accurately. — These routing devices might all be described at length, but no description could do them justice. A visit to a shop, or factory, or other industrial organization operating under Scientific Management is necessary, in order to appreciate not only their utility, but the interest that they arouse. These programmes are no dead, static things. They are alive, pulsing, moving, progressing with the progress of the work.

Prophecy Becomes Possible Under Scientific Management. — The calendar, or chronological chart, becomes a true prophecy of what will take place. This is based on the standardized elementary units, and the variations from it will be so slight as to allow of being disregarded.

Results of Programme to the Work. — Under Traditional Management the tentative calendar might cause speed, but could not direct speed. Under Transitory Management elimination of waste by prescribed methods and routing increases output. This increase becomes greater under Scientific Management. Standardized routing designs the shortest paths, the least wasteful sequence of events, the most efficient speed, the most fitting method. The result is more and better work.

Results of Programmes to the Worker. — A programme clarifies the mind, is definite. The Traditional worker was often not sure what he had better do next. The worker under Scientific Management knows exactly what he is to do, and where and how he is to do it.

The attention is held, a field of allied interests are provided for possible lapses, as are also methods for recalling attention.

The programme provides for a look ahead, and the relief that comes from seeing the path before one. This ability to foresee also leads to a feeling of stability. The knowledge that there is a large amount of work ahead, ready to be attacked with no delay, eliminates anxiety as to future employment. This allows of concentration on the work in hand, and a feeling that, this work being properly done, one is free to turn to the next piece of work with the absolute assurance that what has been done will be satisfactory.

Relation Between Records and Programmes. — No discussion of records and programmes would be complete that did not consider the relation between them.

Importance of This Relation. — The relation between records and programmes in the various types of management is most important, for the progress from one type to another may be studied as exemplified in the change in these relations.

A Broadening of the Definitions. — In order to understand more plainly the complexity of this relation, we will not confine ourselves here to the narrower definition of a record as a written account, but will consider it to mean a registering of an experience in the mind, whether this expresses itself in a written record or not, A programme will, likewise, be a mental plan.

Many Possible Types of Records and Programmes. — In order to understand the number of different types of records and programmes that can be made for a worker, the table that follows may be examined (Table I). It exemplifies twelve possible records and twelve possible programmes.