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

is expected to do his very best. He has the moral stimulus of responsibility. He has the emotional stimulus of competition. He has the mental stimulus of definiteness. He has, most valuable of all, a chance to be an entity rather than one of an undiscriminated gang. This chance to be an individual, or personality, is in great contradistinction to the popular opinion of Scientific Management, which thinks it turns men into machines. A very simple example of the effect of the worker's seeing his output show up separately in response to and in proportion to his effort and skill is that of boys in the lumber producing districts chopping edgings for fire wood. Here the chopping is so comparatively light that the output increased very rapidly, and the boy delights to "see his pile of fire wood grow."

With the separation of the work comes not only the opportunity for the men to see their own work, but also to see that of others, and there comes with this the spirit of imitation, or the spirit of friendly opposition, either of which, while valuable in itself is even more valuable as the by-product of being a life-giving thought, and of putting life into the work such as there never could be when the men were working together, more or less objectless, because they could not see plainly either what they were doing themselves, or what others were doing.

Separation of the output of the men gives them the greatest opportunity to develop. It gives them a chance to concentrate their attention at the work on which they are, because it is not necessary for them to waste any time to find out what that work is. Their work stands out by itself; they can put their whole minds to that work; they can become interested in that work and its outcome, and they can be positive that what they have done will be appreciated and recognized, and that it will have a good effect, with no possibility of evil effect, upon their chance for work and their chance for pay and promotion in the future. Definiteness of the boundaries, then, is not only good management in that it shows up the work and that it allows each man to see, and each man over him, or observing him to see exactly what has been done, — it has also an excellent effect upon the worker's mind.

Individuality Developed by Recording Output Separately. — The spirit of individuality is brought out still more clearly by the fact that under Scientific Management, output is recorded separately. This recording of the outputs separately is, usually, and very successfully, one of the first features installed in Transitory Management, and a feature very seldom introduced, even unconscious of its worth, in day work under Traditional Management. It is one of the great disadvantages of many kinds of work, especially in this day, that the worker does only a small part of the finished article and that he has a feeling that what he does is not identified permanently with the success of the completed whole. We may note that one of the great unsatisfying features to such arts as acting and music, is that no matter how wonderful the performer's efforts, there was no permanent record of them; that the work of the day dies with the day. He can expect to live only in the minds and hearts of the hearers, in the accounts of spectators, or in histories of the stage.

It is, therefore, not strange that the world's best actors and singers are now grasping the opportunity to make their best efforts permanent through the instrumentality of the motion picture films and the talking machine records. This same feeling, minus the glow of enthusiasm that at least attends the actor during the work, is present in more or less degree in the mind of the worker.

Records Make Work Seem Worth While. — With the feeling that his work is recorded comes the feeling that the work is really worth while, for even if the work itself does not last, the records of it are such as can go on.

Records Give Individuals a Feeling of Permanence. — With recorded individual output comes also the feeling of permanence, of credit for good performance. This desire for permanence shows itself all through the work of men in Traditional Management, for example — in the stone cutter's art where the man who had successfully dressed the stone from the rough block was delighted to put his own individual mark on it, even though he knew that that mark probably would seldom, if ever, be noticed again by anyone after the stone was set in the wall. It is an underlying trait of the human mind to desire this permanence of record of successful effort, and fulfilling and utilizing this desire is a great gain of Scientific Management.

Mental Development of Worker Through Records. — It is not only for his satisfaction that the worker should see his records and realize that his work has permanence, but also for comparison of his work not only with his own record, but with the work of others. The value of these comparisons, not only to the management but to the worker himself, must not be underestimated. The worker gains mental development and physical skill by studying these comparisons.

Advantages to Worker of Making his Own Records. — These possibilities of mental development are still further increased when the man makes his own records. This leads to closer attention, to more interest in the work, and to a realization of the man as to what the record really means, and what value it represents. Though even a record that is made for him and is posted where he can see it will probably result in a difference in his pay envelope, no such progress is likely to occur as when the man makes his own record, and must be conscious every moment of the time exactly where he stands.

Possibilities of Making Individual Records. — Records of individual efficiency are comparatively easy to make when output is separated. But even when work must be done by gangs or teams of men, there is provision made in Scientific Management for recording this gang work in such a way that either the output or the efficiency, or both, of each man shows up separately. This may be done in several ways, such as, for example, by recording the total time of delays avoidable and unavoidable, caused by each man, and from this computing individual records. This method of recording is psychologically right, because the recording of the delay will serve as a warning to the man, and as a spur to him not to cause delay to others again.

The forcefulness of the "don't" and the "never" have been investigated by education. Undoubtedly the "do" is far stronger, but in this particular case the command deduced from the records of delay to others is, necessarily, in the negative form, and a study of the psychological results proves most instructive.

Benefits to Managers of Individual Records. — The value of the training to the foremen, to the superintendents and to the managers higher up, who study these records, as well as to the timekeepers, recorders and clerks in the Time and Cost Department who make the records, is obvious. There is not only the possibility of appreciating and rewarding the worker, and thus stimulating him to further activity, there is also, especially in the Transitory stage, when men are to be chosen on whom to make Time Study observations, an excellent chance to compare various methods of doing work and their results.

Incentives with Individual Records. — The greatest value of recorded outputs is in the appreciation of the work of the individual that becomes possible. First of all, appreciation by the management, which to the worker must be the most important of all, as it means to him a greater chance for promotion and for more pay. This promotion and additional pay are amply provided for by Scientific Management, as will be shown later in discussing Incentives and Welfare.

Not only is the work appreciated by the management and by the man himself, but also the work becomes possible of appreciation by others. The form of the record as used in Scientific Management, and as introduced early in the transitory stage, makes it possible for many beside those working on the job, if they take the pains to consult the records, which are best posted in a conspicuous place on the work, to know and appreciate what the worker is doing. This can be best illustrated, perhaps, by various methods of recording output on contracting work, — out-of-door work.

The flag flown by the successful contestants in the athletic contests, showing which gang or which individual has made the largest output during the day previous, allows everyone who passes to appreciate the attainment of that particular worker, or that group of workers. The photographs of the "high priced men," copies of which may be given to the workers themselves, allow the worker to carry home a record and thus impress his family with what he has done. Too often the family is unable by themselves to understand the value of the worker's work, or to appreciate the effect of his home life, food, and rest conditions upon his life work, and this entire strong element of interest of the worker's family in his work is often lost.

Relation of Individual Records to Scientific Management in General. — Any study of Records of an individual's work again makes clear that no one topic of Scientific Management can be properly noted without a consideration of all other elements. The fact that under Scientific Management the record with which the man most surely and constantly competes is his own, as provided for by the individual instruction card and the individual task; the fact that under Scientific Management the man need be in no fear of losing his job if he does his best; the fact that Scientific Management is founded on the "square deal"; — all of these facts must be kept constantly in mind when considering the advantages of recording individual output, for they all have a strong psychological effect on the man's mind. It is important to remember that not only does Scientific Management provide for certain directions and thoughts entering the man's mind, but that it also eliminates other thoughts which would surely have a tendency to retard his work. The result is output far exceeding what is usually possible under Traditional Management, because drawbacks are removed and impetuses added.

The outcome of the records, and their related elements in other branches of Scientific Management, is to arouse interest. Interest arouses abnormally concentrated attention, and this in turn is the cause of genius. This again answers the argument of those who claim that Scientific Management kills individuality and turns the worker into a machine.

Individual Task Under Scientific Management. — Individuality is also taken into consideration when preparing the task. This task would always be for an individual, even in the case of the gang instruction card. It usually recognizes individuality, in that, —

1. It is prepared for one individual only, when possible.

2. It is prepared for the particular individual who is to do it.

The working time, as will be shown later, is based upon time study observations on a standard man, but when a task is assigned for a certain individual, that proportion of the work of the standard or first class man is assigned to that particular given man who is actually to do it, which he is able to do. It is fundamental that the task must be such that the man who is actually put at it, when he obeys orders and works steadily, can do it; that is, the