The Psychology of Management by Lillian Moller Gilbreth
2. Outside the work. He has, under Scientific Management, more
1523 words | Chapter 227
hours away from work to enjoy ownership, and more money with which
to acquire those things that he desires to own.
The teacher must make clear to him both these opportunities, as
he readily can, since the instinct of ownership is conserved in him
in an identical manner.
CONSTRUCTIVENESS A PART OF SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT.--Every act
that the worker performs is constructive, because waste has been
eliminated, and everything that is done is upbuilding. Teaching
makes this clear to the worker. Constructiveness is also utilized in
that exercise of initiative is provided for. Thus the instinct,
instead of being weakened, is strengthened and directed.
PROGRESS IN UTILIZING INSTINCTS DEMANDS PSYCHOLOGICAL
STUDY.--Teaching under Scientific Management can never hope fully to
understand and utilize native reactions, until more assistance has
been given by psychology. At the present time, Scientific Management
labors under disadvantages that must, ultimately, be removed.
Psychologists must, by experiments, determine more accurately the
reactions and their controlability. More thorough study must be made
of children that Scientific Management may understand more of the
nature of the reactions of the young workers who come for industrial
training. Psychology must give its help in this training. Then only,
can teaching under Scientific Management become truly efficient.
SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT REALIZES THE IMPORTANCE OF TRAINING THE
WILL.--The most necessary, and most complex and difficult part of
Scientific Management, is the training of the will of all members of
the organization. Prof. Read states in his "Psychology" five means
of training or influencing the will. These are[59]
"1. The first important feature in training the will is the
help furnished by supplying the mind with a useful body
of ideas.
"2. The second great feature of the training of the will is
the building up in the mind of the proper interests, and the
habit of giving the attention to useful and worthy purposes.
"3. Another important feature of the training of the will is
the establishing of a firm association between ideas and actions,
or, in other words, the forming of a good set of habits.
"4. Another very important feature of the training of the
will has reference to its strength of purpose or power of
imitation.
"5. The matter of discipline."
Teaching under Scientific Management does supply these five
functions, and thus provide for the strengthening and development of
the will.
VARIATIONS IN TEACHING OF APPRENTICES AND
JOURNEYMEN.--Scientific Management must not only be prepared to
teach apprentices, as must all types of management, it must also
teach journeymen who have not acquired standard methods.
APPRENTICES ARE EASILY HANDLED.--Teaching apprentices is a
comparatively simple proposition, far simpler than under any other
type of management. Standard methods enable the apprentice to become
proficient long before his brother could, under the old type of
teaching. The length of training required depends largely on how
fingerwise the apprentice is.
OLDER WORKERS MUST BE HANDLED WITH TACT.--With adult workers,
the problem is not so simple. Old wrong habits, such as the use of
ineffective motions, must be eliminated. Physically, it is difficult
for the adult worker to alter his methods. Moreover, it may be most
difficult to change his mental attitude, to convince him that the
methods of Scientific Management are correct.
A successful worker under Traditional Management, who is proud
of his work, will often be extremely sensitive to what he is prone
to regard as the "criticism" of Scientific Management with regard
to him.
APPRECIATION OF VARYING VIEWPOINTS NECESSARY.--No management can
consider itself adequate that does not try to enter into the mental
attitude of its workers. Actual practice shows that, with time and
tact, almost any worker can be convinced that all criticism of him
is constructive, and that for him to conform to the new standards is
a mark of added proficiency, not an acknowledgment of ill-preparedness.
The "Systems" do much toward this work of reconciling the older
workers to the new methods, but most of all can be done by such
teachers as can demonstrate their own change from old to standard
methods, and the consequent promotion and success. This is, again,
an opportunity for the exercise of personality.
SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT PROVIDES PLACES FOR SUCH TEACHING.--Under
the methods of teaching employed by Scientific Management,--right
motions first, next speed, with quality as a resultant product,--it
is most necessary to provide a place where learners can work. The
standard planning of quality provides such a place. The plus and
minus signs automatically divide labor so that the worker can be
taught by degrees, being set at first where great accuracy is not
demanded by the work, and being shifted to work requiring more
accuracy as he becomes more proficient. In this way even the most
untrained worker becomes efficient, and is engaged in actual
productive work.
MEASUREMENT OF TEACHING AND LEARNING.--Under Scientific
Management the results of teaching and learning become apparent
automatically in records of output. The learner's record of output
of proper prescribed quality determines what pay he shall receive,
and also has a proportionate effect on the teacher's pay. Such a
system of measurement may not be accurate as a report of the
learner's gain,--for he doubtless gains mental results that cannot
be seen in his output,--but it certainly does serve as an incentive
to teaching and to learning.
RELATION OF TEACHING IN SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT TO ACADEMIC
TRAINING AND VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE.[60]--Teaching under Scientific
Management can never be most efficient until the field of such
teaching is restricted to training learners who are properly
prepared to receive industrial training.[61] This preparedness
implies fitting school and academic training, and Vocational
Guidance.
LEARNER SHOULD BE MANUALLY ADEPT.--The learner should, before
entering the industrial world, be taught to be manually adept, or
fingerwise, to have such control over his trained muscles that they
will respond quickly and accurately to orders. Such training should
be started in infancy,[62] in the form of guided play, as, for
example, whittling, sewing, knitting, handling mechanical toys and
tools, and playing musical instruments, and continued up to, and
into, the period of entering a trade.
SCHOOLS SHOULD PROVIDE MENTAL PREPAREDNESS.--The schools should
render every student capable of filling some place worthily in the
industries. The longer the student remains in school, the higher the
position for which he should be prepared. The amount and nature of
the training in the schools depends largely on the industrial work
to be done, and will be possible of more accurate estimation
constantly, as Scientific Management standardizes work and shows
what the worker must be to be most efficient.
VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE MUST PROVIDE DIRECTION.--As made most clear
in Mr. Meyer Bloomfield's book, "Vocational Guidance,"[63] bureaus
of competent directors stand ready to help the youth find that line
of activity which he can follow best and with greatest satisfaction
to himself. At present, such bureaus are seriously handicapped by
the fact that little data of the industries are at hand, but this
lack the bureaus are rapidly supplying by gathering such data as are
available. Most valuable data will not be available until Scientific
Management has been introduced into all lines.
PROGRESS DEMANDS COÖPERATION.--Progress here, as everywhere,
demands coöperation.[64] The three sets of educators,--the teachers
in the school, in the Vocational Guidance Bureaus, and in Scientific
Management, must recognize their common work, and must coöperate to
do it. There is absolutely no cause for conflict between the three;
their fields are distinct, but supplementary. Vocational Guidance is
the intermediary between the other two.
SUMMARY
RESULTS TO THE WORK.--Under the teaching of Traditional
Management, the learner may or may not improve the quantity and
quality of his work. This depends almost entirely on the particular
teacher whom the learner happens to have. There is no standard
improvement to the work.
Under the teaching of Transitory Management, the work gains in
quantity as the methods become standardized, and quality is
maintained or improved.
Under the teaching of Scientific Management, work, the quantity
of work, increases enormously through the use of standards of all
kinds; quantity is oftentimes tripled.
Under the teaching of Scientific Management, when the schools
and Vocational Guidance movement coöperate, high output of required
quality will be obtained at a far earlier stage of the worker's
industrial life than is now possible, even under Scientific
Management.
RESULTS TO THE WORKER.--Under Traditional Management, the worker
gains a knowledge of how his work can be done, but the method by
which he is taught is seldom, of itself, helpful to him. Not being
sure that he has learned the best way to do his work, he gains no
method of attack. The result of the teaching is a habit of doing
work which is good, or bad, as chance may direct.
Under Transitory Management, with the use of Systems as
teachers, the worker gains a better method of attack, as he knows
the reason why the prescribed method is prescribed. He begins to
appreciate the possibilities and benefits of standardized teaching.
The method laid down under Scientific Management is devised to
further the forming of an accurate accumulation of concepts, which
results in a proper method of attack. The method of instruction
under Scientific Management is devised to furnish two things:
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