The Psychology of Management by Lillian Moller Gilbreth
12. Appreciation must be shown.[11]
2291 words | Chapter 70
This list shows the effects of many fundamental principles of
Scientific Management,--but we note particularly here that over half
the rules demand that outputs be separated as a prerequisite.
None of the benefits of the Athletic Contest are lost under
Scientific Management. The only restrictions placed are that the men
shall not be grouped according to any distinction that would cause
hatred or ill feeling, that the results shall be ultimately
beneficial to the workers themselves, and that all high scores shall
win high prizes.
As will be brought out later under "Incentives," no competition
is approved under Scientific Management which speeds up the men
uselessly, or which brings any ill feeling between the men or any
feeling that the weaker ones have not a fair chance. All of these
things are contrary to Scientific Management, as well as contrary to
common sense, for it goes without saying that no man is capable of
doing his best work permanently if he is worried by the idea that he
will not receive the square deal, that someone stronger than he will
be allowed to cheat or to domineer over him, or that he will be
speeded up to such an extent that while his work will increase for
one day, the next day his work will fall down because of the effect
of the fatigue of the day before.
The field of the contests is widened, as separating of the work
of the individual not only allows for competition between
individuals, but for the competition of the individual with his own
records. This competition is not only a great, constant and helpful
incentive to every worker, but it is also an excellent means of
developing individuality.
ADVANTAGES TO MANAGERS OF SEPARATING OUTPUT.--The advantages to
the managers of separating the work are that there is a chance to
know exactly who is making the high output, and that the spirit of
competition which prevails when men compare their outputs to their
own former records or others, leads to increased effort.
ADVANTAGES TO WORKERS OF SEPARATING OUTPUT.--As for advantages
to the men:
By separation of the individual work, not only is the man's work
itself shown, but at the same time the work of all other people is
separated, cut away and put aside, and he can locate the man who is
delaying him by, for example, not keeping him supplied with
materials. The man has not only an opportunity to concentrate, but
every possible incentive to exercise his will and his desire to do
things. His attention is concentrated on the fact that he as an
individual 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,--
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