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Show H "SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT." H It seems such a commonplace to say that an institution should fl operate at a maximum of efficiency that one wonders the idea was H ever questioned. Yet it took years of study to enunciate the dor- H trine of "scientific shop management" and even now there is bitter H opposition to it in some quarters. To some minds the suggestion H that a man should produce as much as possible during his hours ot H daily toil appears the height of absurdity. M Now that the federal government has approved the idea, how- B ever, it is possible that further opposition will be gradually broken S down. The application of accurate system in the conduct of an in- H-. dustrial plant means an increase of output, of profit, of wages to H the employes, of comfort and satisfaction to all concerned. H The formal approval of the United States government comes B' in a report of the Secretary of "War, based upon the findings of Gen. BM Crozier, chief of the Ordinance department. For three years B I "scientific shop management" has been on trial and under obscrva- Bfl- tion at the arsenal at "Watertown. The results have been identical H; with, those obtained in private establishments where tried In vari- Af ous cities of the land. m This government plant for the manufacture of ordinance wns H used .for three years as a sort of experiment station, with a view of H trying the theory of management before applying it generally B through the government service. The result, as Crozier reports, has H ' been an increase in the efficiency of the workmen and a material 'Vfl: reduction in the cost of production. Of even more importance is B the fact that this reform was accomplished without endangering a H single interest of the employers. Their pay was not decreased, no H unpleasant exertion was required; there was no "speeding up." fl-' Unless "scientific management" brought some advantage to H workmen as well as to employers, the public might well withhold Vfl' indorsement. Employes are entitled to participate in the rewards Pfl of increased efficiency. Unless tho new system accomplishes this, it BAT; fails of its full purpose. H The experiment at Watertown was organized to teach a truth. A planning room was provided to relieve the foreman of all clerical work. Men were assigned to keep the tools of other workmen in order. Laborers or messengers ran errands for higher-priced employes. em-ployes. Experts kept the shop in order so it could operate continuously continu-ously at highest efficiency. Precision gave way to the ordinary haphazard manner of operation. This simple, yet immensely important, innovation in industry threatens the right of no one. It deserves cordial approval. At the same time workmen arc certainly not to he criticised for demanding de-manding their share of tho advantage it brings. "Scientific management," too, has a wider application than can be circumscribed by the country's industrial plants. It may be adapted to the home and the office. It will help in one's personal per-sonal affairs. A good idea is worth experimenting with. |