The Psychology of Management by Lillian Moller Gilbreth

These two divisions are handled differently, as follows: THE SHORT TIME JOB.--On the short time job that probably will never be repeated, there is little opportunity and no economic reason for specially training a man for its performance. The available man best suited to do the work with little or no help should be chosen to do it. The suitability of the man for the work should be determined only by applying simple tests, or, if even these will cause costly delay or more expense than the work warrants, the man who appears suitable and who most desires the opportunity to do the work can be assigned to it. If the job is connected with a new art, a man whose habits will help him can be chosen. For example:--in selecting a man to fly, it has been found advantageous to give a trick bicycle rider the preference. There is no other reason why the man for the short job should not be fitted as well to his work as the man for the long job, except the all-important reason of cost for special preparation. Any expense for study of the workers must be borne ultimately both by worker and management, and it is undesirable to both that expense should be incurred which will not be ultimately repaid. THE LONG TIME JOB.--The long time job allows of teaching, therefore applicants for it may be carefully studied. Usually that man should be chosen who, with all the natural qualifications and capabilities for the job, except practical skill, requires the most teaching to raise him from the lower plane to that highest mental and manual plane which he is able to fill successfully continuously. In this way each man will be developed into a worker of great value to the management and to himself. The man who is capable and already skilled at some work is thus available for a still higher job, for which he can be taught. Thus the long job affords the greatest opportunity for promotion. The long job justifies the expenditure of money, effort and time by management and men, and is the ideal field for the application of scientific selection and functionalization. SUMMARY EFFECT OF FUNCTIONALIZATION UPON THE WORK.--Under Traditional Management, there was little or no definite functionalization. If the quantity of output did increase, as the result of putting a man at that work for which he seemed best fitted, there was seldom provision made for seeing that the quality of product was maintained by a method of constructive inspection that prevented downward deviations from standard quality, instead of condemning large quantities of the finished product. Under Transitory Management, the Department of Inspection is one of the first Functions installed. This assures maintained quality, and provides that all increase in output shall be actual gain. Under Scientific Management, functionalization results in increased quantity of output,[16] with maintained and usually increased quality.[17] This results in decreased cost. The cost is sufficiently lower to allow of increased wages to the employés, a further profit to the employer, and a maintained, or lowered, selling price. This means a benefit to the consumer. It may be objected that costs cannot be lowered, because of the number of so-called "non-producers" provided for by Scientific Management. In answer to this it may be said that there are no non-producers under Scientific Management. Corresponding work that, under Scientific Management, is done in the planning department must all be done somewhere, in a less systematic manner, even under Traditional Management.[18] The planning department, simply does this work more efficiently,--with less waste. Moreover, much work of the planning department, being founded on elementary units, is available for constant use. Here results an enormous saving by the conservation and utilization of planning effort. Also, standard methods are more apt to result in standard quality, and with less occasion for rejecting output that is below the requisite standards than is the case under Traditional Management. EFFECT OF FUNCTIONALIZATION UPON THE WORKER.--Under Traditional Management, even if the worker often becomes functionalized, he seldom has assurance that he will be able to reap the harvest from remaining so, and even so, neither data nor teaching are provided to enable him to fulfill his function most successfully. Under Transitory Management the worker becomes more and more functionalized, as the results of motion study and time study make clear the advantages of specializing the worker. EFFECTS UPON THE SCIENTIFICALLY MANAGED WORKER.--Under Scientific Management the effects of Functionalization are so universal and so far reaching that it is necessary to enumerate them in detail. WORKER RELIEVED OF EVERYTHING BUT HIS SPECIAL FUNCTIONS.-- Functionalization, in providing that every man is assigned a special function, also provides that he be called upon to do work in that function only, relieving him of all other work and responsibility. Realization of this elimination has a psychological effect on action and habits of thinking.[19] PLACES ARE PROVIDED FOR SPECIALISTS.--Functionalization utilizes men with decided bents, and allows each man to occupy that place for which he is fitted.[20] Assignment to functions is done according to the capabilities and desires of those who are to fill them. SPECIALIZING IS ENCOURAGED.--It is most important to remember that the man with any special talent or talents, individuality or special fitness is much more likely, under Scientific Management, to obtain and retain the place that he is fitted for than he ever could have been under Traditional Management, for, while many fairly efficient men can be found who can fill a general position, a man with the marked desirable trait necessary to fill a distinct position requiring that trait, will be one of few, and will have his place waiting for him. ONE-TALENT MEN UTILIZED--.With Functionalization, men who lack qualifications for the position which they may, at the start, endeavor to fill, may be transferred to other positions, where the qualities they lack are not required. If a man has one talent, Scientific Management provides a place where that can be utilized. For example:-- Men who cannot produce the prescribed output constantly, are placed on other work. The slow, unskilled worker who has difficulty to learn, may be put upon work requiring less skill, or where speed is not required so much as watchfulness and faithfulness. The worker who is slow, but exceptionally skilled, has the opportunity to rise to the position of the functional foreman, especially in the planning department, where knowledge, experience and resourcefulness, and especially ability to teach, are much more desired than speed and endurance. Thus there are places provided, below and above, that can utilize all kinds of abilities. "ALL ROUND" MEN ARE UTILIZED.--The exceptional man who possesses executive ability in all lines, and balance between them all, is the ideal man for a manager, and his special "all round" ability would be wasted in any position below that of a manager. STABILITY PROVIDED FOR.--Every man is maintained in his place by his interresponsibility with other men. If he is a worker, every man's work is held to standard quality by the inspector, while the requirements and rewards of his function are kept before him by the instruction card man, rate fixer and the disciplinarian. PROMOTION AND DEVELOPMENT PROVIDED FOR.--Functionalization provides for promotion by showing every man not only the clearly circumscribed place where he is to work, but also by showing him the definite place above him to which he may be promoted and its path, and by teaching him how he can fill it. This allows him to develop the possibilities of his best self by using and specially training those talents which are most marked in him. Functional Foremanship allows many more people, to become foremen, and to develop the will and judgment which foremanship implies. MEN IN THE ORGANIZATION PREFERRED TO OUTSIDERS.--Men in the organization are preferable to outsiders as functional foremen and for promotion. Not only does a worker's knowledge of his work help him to become more efficient when he is promoted to the position of foreman,--but his efficiency as a teacher is also increased by the fact that he knows and understands the workers whom he is there to teach. ALL MEN ARE PUSHED UP.--Scientific Management raises every man as high as he is capable of being raised. It does not speed him up, but pushes him up to the highest notch which he can fill. Actual practice has shown that there is a greater demand for efficient men in the planning department than there is supply; also, that men in the planning department who fit themselves for higher work can be readily promoted to positions of greater responsibility, either inside or outside the organization. YEARS OF PRODUCTIVITY PROLONGED.--Under Functionalization the number of years of productivity of all, workers and foremen alike, are increased. The specialty to which the man is assigned is his natural specialty, thus his possible and profitable working years are prolonged, because he is at that work for which he is naturally fitted. Moreover, the work of teaching is one at which the teacher becomes more clever and more valuable as time goes on, the functional foreman has that much more chance to become valuable as years go by. CHANGE IN THE WORKER'S MENTAL ATTITUDE.--The work under functionalization is such as to arouse the worker's attention and to hold his interest.[21] But the most important and valuable change in the worker's feelings is the change in his attitude towards the foremen and the employer. From "natural enemies" as sometimes considered under typical Traditional Management, these all now become friends, with the common aim, coöperation, for the purpose of increasing output and wages, and lowering costs. This change of feeling results in an appreciation of the value of teaching, and also in promoting industrial peace.