L. M. Gilbreth - The Psychology of Management

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THE PSYCHOLOGY
OF
MANAGEMENT

THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
NEW YORK * BOSTON * CHICAGO * DALLAS
ATLANTA * SAN FRANCISCO

MACMILLAN & CO., LIMITED
LONDON * BOMBAY * CALCUTTA
MELBOURNE

THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, LTD.
TORONTO

THE PSYCHOLOGY
OF
MANAGEMENT

_The Function of the Mind in Determining,
Teaching and Installing Methods
of Least Waste_

BY
L.M. GILBRETH, PH.D.

New York
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
1921

1914,
BY THE MACMILLAN COMPANY

----------

Set up and electrotyped. Published March, 1914

TO MY
FATHER AND MOTHER

====================================================================

CONTENTS

CHAPTER I PAGE

DESCRIPTION AND GENERAL OUTLINE OF THE PSYCHOLOGY
OF MANAGEMENT ............................................. 1

Definition of Psychology of Management--Importance of
the Subject--Purpose of this Book--Definition of
Management--The Three Types of Management--Possible
Psychological Studies of Management--Plan of Psychological
Study Here Used--Underlying Ideas or Divisions of
Scientific Management--Outline of Method of
Investigation--Conclusions to be Reached.

CHAPTER II

INDIVIDUALITY ............................................... 21

Definition of Individuality--Place of Individuality in
Psychology--Individuality Under Traditional
Management--Individuality Under Transitory
Management--Individuality Under Scientific
Management--Selection of Workers--Separating
Output--Recording Output Separately--Individual
Tasks--Individual Instruction Cards--Individual
Teaching--Individual Incentives--Individual
Welfare--Summary: (a) Effect of Individuality upon Work;
(b) Effect of Individuality upon Worker.

CHAPTER III

FUNCTIONALIZATION ........................................... 52

Definition of Functionalization--Psychological Use of
Functionalization--Functionalization in Traditional
Management--Functionalization Under Transitory
Management--Functionalization Under Scientific
Management--Separating the Planning From the
Performing--Functionalized Foremanship--The Function of
Order of Work and Route Clerk--The Function of Instruction
Card Clerk--The Function of Time and Cost Clerk--The
Function of Disciplinarian--The Function of Gang Boss--The
Function of Speed Boss--The Function of Repair Boss--The
Function of Inspector--Functionalizing the
Worker--Functionalizing the Work Itself--Summary: (a)
Effect of Functionalization upon the Work; (b) Effect of
Functionalization upon the Worker.

CHAPTER IV

MEASUREMENT ................................................. 90

Definition of Measurement--Importance of Measurement in
Psychology--Relation of Measurement in Psychology to
Measurement in Management--Importance of Measurement in
Management--Measurement in Traditional
Management--Measurement in Transitory
Management--Measurement in Scientific
Management--Qualifications of the Observer--Methods of
Observation--Definitions of Motion Study and Time
Study--Methods of Motion Study and Time Study--Summary:
(a) Effect of Measurement on the Work; (b) Effect of
Measurement on the Worker; (c) Future Results to be
Expected; (d) First Step Toward Obtaining These Results.

CHAPTER V

ANALYSIS AND SYNTHESIS ...................................... 123

Definition of Analysis--Definition of Synthesis--Use of
Analysis and Synthesis by Psychology--Importance of
Analysis and Synthesis in Management--Place in Traditional
Management--Place in Transitory Management--Place in
Scientific Management--The Work of the
Analyst--Determining Factor in Amount of Analysis--Field
of Psychology in Analysis--Qualifications of an
Analyst--Worker's Interest in Analysis--The Work of the
Synthesist--Results of Synthesist's Work--The
Task--Discussion of the Name "Task"--Definition of "Task"
in Scientific Management--Field of Application of the Task
Idea--Qualifications of the Synthesist--Summary: (a)
Effect of Analysis and Synthesis on the Work; (b) Effect
of Analysis and Synthesis on the Worker.

CHAPTER VI

STANDARDIZATION ............................................. 139

Definition of Standardization--Relation of the Standard
to the Task and the Incentive--Relation of the Standard to
Psychology--Purpose of Standardization--Standardization
Under Traditional Management--Standardization Under
Transitory Management--Value of Systems--Standardization
Under Scientific Management--Relation of Standard to
Measurement--Scope of Standardization Under Scientific
Management--Permanence of Results--Needs of
Standardization Likened to Needs in Field of
Spelling--Standard Nomenclature--Advantages of Mnemonic
Symbols--Standard Phraseology--The Standard Man--Standard
Means of Conveying Information--Definition of the
Instruction Card--Detailed Description of the Instruction
Card--Value of Standard Surroundings--Necessity for Proper
Placing of the Worker--Standard Equipment--Standard Tools
and Devices--Standard Clothing--Standard Methods--Rest
from Fatigue--Standardization of Work with
Animals--Standard Quality--Standard "Method of
Attack"--Summary: (a) Effect of Standardization on the
Work; (b) Effect of Standardization on the Worker; (c)
Progress of Standardization Assured.

CHAPTER VII

RECORDS AND PROGRAMMES ...................................... 183

Definition of Record--Records Under Traditional
Management--Records Under Transitory Management--Records
Under Scientific Management--Criterion of Records--Records
of Work and Workers--Records of Initiative--Records of
Good Behavior--Records of Achievement--Records of
"Exceptions"--Posting of Records--Summary of Results of
Records to Work and Worker--Definition of
Programme--Programmes Under Traditional
Management--Programmes Under Transitory
Management--Programmes Under Scientific
Management--Programmes and Routing--Possibility of
Prophecy Under Scientific Management--Summary of Results
of Programmes to Work and Worker--Relation Between Records
and Programmes--Types of Records and
Programmes--Interrelation of Types--Illustrations of
Complexity of Relations--Possibilities of Eliminating
Waste--Derivation of the Programme--Summary: (a) Effect of
Relations Between Records and Programmes on the Work; (b)
Effect on the Worker.

CHAPTER VIII

TEACHING .................................................... 208

Definition of Teaching--Teaching Under Traditional
Management--Faults Due to Lack of Standards--Teaching
Under Transitory Management--Teaching Under Scientific
Management--Importance of Teaching--Conforming of Teaching
to Psychological Laws--Conservation of Valuable Elements
of Traditional and Transitory Management--Scope of
Teaching--Source of Teaching--Methods of
Teaching--Instruction Cards as Teachers--Systems as
Teachers--Drawings, Charts, Plans and
Photographs--Functional Foremen as Teachers--Object
Lessons as Teachers--Training the Senses--Forming Good
Habits--Importance of Teaching Right Motions
First--Stimulating Attention--Forming
Associations--Educating the Memory--Cultivating the
Imagination--Developing the Judgment--Utilizing
Suggestion--Utilizing Native Reactions--Developing the
Will--Adaptability of Teaching--Provision of Places for
Teaching--Measurement of Teaching--Relation of Teaching to
Academic Training and Vocational Guidance--Summary: (a)
Result of Teaching in the Work; (b) Result of Teaching to
the Worker; (c) Results to be Expected in the Future.

CHAPTER IX

INCENTIVES .................................................. 271

Definition of Incentive--Importance of
Incentives--Direct and Indirect Incentives--Definition of
Reward--Definition of Punishment--Nature of Direct
Incentives--The Reward Under Traditional Management--The
Punishment Under Traditional Management--The Direct
Incentive Under Traditional Management--Incentives Under
Transitory Management--Rewards Under Scientific
Management--Promotion and Pay--Relation of Wages and
Bonus--Day Work--Piece Work--Task Wage--Gain
Sharing--Premium Plan--Profit Sharing--Differential Rate
Piece--Task Work with a Bonus--Differential Bonus--Three
Rate--Three Rate with Increased Rate--Other
Rewards--Negative and Positive Punishments--Fines and
Their Disposal--Assignment to Less Pleasant
Work--Discharge and Its Elimination--Use of Direct
Incentives--Summary: (a) Effect of Incentives upon the
Work; (b) Effect of Incentives upon the Worker.

CHAPTER X

WELFARE ..................................................... 311

Definition of Welfare--"Welfare" and "Welfare
Work"--Welfare Under Traditional Management--Welfare Work
Under Traditional Management--Welfare Under Transitory
Management--Welfare Work Under Transitory
Management--Welfare Under Scientific Management--Physical
Improvement--Mental Development--Moral
Development--Interrelation of Physical, Mental and Moral
Development--Welfare Work Under Scientific
Management--Summary: (a) Result of Welfare to the Work;
(b) Result of Welfare to the Worker.

INDEX ....................................................... 333

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF MANAGEMENT

CHAPTER I

DESCRIPTION AND GENERAL OUTLINE OF

DEFINITION OF PSYCHOLOGY OF MANAGEMENT.--The Psychology of
Management, as here used, means,--the effect of the mind that is
directing work upon that work which is directed, and the effect of
this undirected and directed work upon the mind of the worker.

IMPORTANCE OF THE SUBJECT.--Before defining the terms that will
be used more in detail, and outlining the method of treatment to be
followed, it is well to consider the importance of the subject
matter of this book, for upon the reader's interest in the subject,
and his desire, from the outset, to follow what is said, and to
respond to it, rests a large part of the value of this book.

VALUE OF PSYCHOLOGY.--First of all, then, what is there in the
subject of psychology to demand the attention of the manager?

Psychology, in the popular phrase, is "the study of the mind."
It has for years been included in the training of all teachers, and
has been one of the first steps for the student of philosophy; but
it has not, usually, been included among the studies of the young
scientific or engineering student, or of any students in other lines
than Philosophy and Education. This, not because its value as a
"culture subject" was not understood, but because the course of the
average student is so crowded with technical preparation necessary
to his life work, and because the practical value of psychology has
not been recognized. It is well recognized that the teacher must
understand the working of the mind in order best to impart his
information in that way that will enable the student to grasp it
most readily. It was not recognized that every man going out into
the world needs all the knowledge that he can get as to the working
of the human mind in order not only to give but to receive
information with the least waste and expenditure of energy, nor was
it recognized that in the industrial, as well as the academic world,
almost every man is a teacher.

VALUE OF MANAGEMENT.--The second question demanding attention
is;--Of what value is the study of management?

The study of management has been omitted from the student's
training until comparatively recently, for a very different reason
than was psychology. It was never doubted that a knowledge of
management would be of great value to anyone and everyone, and many
were the queer schemes for obtaining that knowledge after
graduation. It was doubted that management could be studied
otherwise than by observation and practice.[1] Few teachers, if any,
believed in the existence, or possibility, of a teaching science of
management. Management was assumed by many to be an art, by even
more it was thought to be a divinely bestowed gift or talent, rather
than an acquired accomplishment. It was common belief that one could
learn to manage only by going out on the work and watching other
managers, or by trying to manage, and not by studying about
management in a class room or in a text book; that watching a good
manager might help one, but no one could hope really to succeed who
had not "the knack born in him."

With the advent of "Scientific Management," and its
demonstration that the best management is founded on laws that have
been determined, and can be taught, the study of management in the
class room as well as on the work became possible and actual.[2]

VALUE OF PSYCHOLOGY OF MANAGEMENT.--Third, we must consider the
value of the study of the psychology of management.[3]

This question, like the one that precedes it, is answered by
Scientific Management. It has demonstrated that the emphasis in
successful management lies on the _man_, not on the _work_; that
efficiency is best secured by placing the emphasis on the man, and
modifying the equipment, materials and methods to make the most of
the man. It has, further, recognized that the man's mind is a
controlling factor in his efficiency, and has, by teaching, enabled
the man to make the most of his powers.[4] In order to understand
this teaching element that is such a large part of management, a
knowledge of psychology is imperative; and this study of psychology,
as it applies to the work of the manager or the managed, is exactly
what the "psychology of management" is.

FIVE INDICATIONS OF THIS VALUE.--In order to realize the
importance of the psychology of management it is necessary to
consider the following five points:--

1. Management is a life study of every man who works with other
men. He must either manage, or be managed, or both; in any case, he
can never work to best advantage until he understands both the
psychological and managerial laws by which he governs or is governed.

2. A knowledge of the underlying laws of management is the most
important asset that one can carry with him into his life work, even
though he will never manage any but himself. It is useful,
practical, commercially valuable.

3. This knowledge is to be had _now_. The men who have it are
ready and glad to impart it to all who are interested and who will
pass it on.[5] The text books are at hand now. The opportunities for
practical experience in Scientific Management will meet all demands
as fast as they are made.

4. The psychology of, that is, the mind's place in management is
only one part, element or variable of management; one of numerous,
almost numberless, variables.

5. It is a division well fitted to occupy the attention of the
beginner, as well as the more experienced, because it is a most
excellent place to start the study of management. A careful study of
the relations of psychology to management should develop in the
student a method of attack in learning his selected life work that
should help him to grasp quickly the orderly array of facts that the
other variables, as treated by the great managers, bring to him.

PURPOSE OF THIS BOOK.--It is scarcely necessary to mention that
this book can hope to do little more than arouse an interest in the
subject and point the way to the detailed books where such an
interest can be more deeply aroused and more fully satisfied.

WHAT THIS BOOK WILL NOT DO.--It is not the purpose of this book
to give an exhaustive treatment of psychology. Neither is it
possible in this book to attempt to give a detailed account of
management in general, or of the Taylor plan of "Scientific
Management" so-called, in particular. All of the literature on the
subject has been carefully studied and reviewed for the purpose of
writing this book,--not only what is in print, but considerable that
is as yet in manuscript. No statement has been made that is not
along the line of the accepted thought and standardized practice of
the authorities. The foot notes have been prepared with great care.
By reading the references there given one can verify statements in
the text, and can also, if he desires, inform himself at length on
any branch of the subject that especially interests him.

WHAT THIS BOOK WILL DO.--This book aims not so much to
instruct as to arouse an interest in its subject, and to point
the way whence instruction comes. If it can serve as an
introduction to psychology and to management, can suggest the
relation of these two fields of inquiries and can ultimately
enroll its readers as investigators in a resultant great field of
inquiry, it will have accomplished its aim.

DEFINITION OF MANAGEMENT.--To discuss this subject more
in detail--

First: What is "Management"?

"Management," as defined by the Century Dictionary, is "the
art of managing by direction or regulation."

Successful management of the old type was an art based on no
measurement. Scientific Management is an art based upon a
science,--upon laws deducted from measurement. Management continues
to be what it has always been,--the _art_ of directing activity.

CHANGE IN THE ACCEPTED MEANING.--"Management," until recent
years, and the emphasis placed on Scientific Management was
undoubtedly associated, in the average mind, with the _managing_
part of the organization only, neglecting that vital part--the best
interests of the managed, almost entirely. Since we have come to
realize that management signifies the relationship between the
managing and the managed in doing work, a new realization of its
importance has come about.[6]

INADEQUACY OF THE TERMS USED.--It is unfortunate that the
English language is so poor in synonyms in this field that the same
word must have two such different and conflicting meanings, for,
though the new definition of management be accepted, the "Fringe" of
associations that belong to the old are apt to remain.[7] The
thoughts of "knack, aptitude, tact, adroitness,"--not to speak of
the less desirable "Brute Force," "shrewdness, subtlety, cunning,
artifice, deceit, duplicity," of the older idea of management remain
in the background of the mind and make it difficult, even when one
is convinced that management is a science, to think and act as if
it were.

It must be noticed and constantly remembered that one of the
greatest difficulties to overcome in studying management and its
development is the meaning of the terms used. It is most
unfortunate that the new ideas have been forced to content
themselves with old forms as best they may.

PSYCHOLOGICAL INTEREST OF THE TERMS.--Psychology could ask no
more interesting subject than a study of the mental processes that
lie back of many of these terms. It is most unfortunate for the
obtaining of clearness, that new terms were not invented for the new
ideas. There is, however, an excellent reason for using the old
terms. By their use it is emphasized that the new thought is a
logical outgrowth of the old, and experience has proved that this
close relationship to established ideas is a powerful argument for
the new science; but such terms as "task," "foreman," "speed boss,"
"piece-rate" and "bonus," as used in the science of management,
suffer from misunderstanding caused by old and now false
associations. Furthermore, in order to compare old and new
interpretations of the ideas of management, the older terms of
management should have their traditional meanings only. The two sets
of meanings are a source of endless confusion, unwarranted
prejudice, and worse. This is well recognized by the authorities
on Management.

THE THREE TYPES OF MANAGEMENT.--We note this inadequacy of
terms again when we discuss the various _types_ of Management.

We may divide all management into three types--
(1) Traditional
(2) Transitory
(3) Scientific, or measured functional.[8]

Traditional Management, the first, has been variously called
"Military," "Driver," the "Marquis of Queensberry type," "Initiative
and Incentive Management," as well as "Traditional" management.

DEFINITION OF THE FIRST TYPE.--In the first type, the power of
managing lies, theoretically at least, in the hands of one man, a
capable "all-around" manager. The line of authority and of
responsibility is clear, fixed and single. Each man comes in direct
contact with but one man above him. A man may or may not manage more
than one man beneath him, but, however this may be, he is managed by
but one man above him.

PREFERABLE NAME FOR THE FIRST TYPE.--The names "Traditional," or
"Initiative and Incentive," are the preferable titles for this form
of management. It is true they lack in specificness, but the other
names, while aiming to be descriptive, really emphasize one feature
only, and in some cases with unfortunate results.

THE NAME "MILITARY" INADVISABLE.--The direct line of authority
suggested the name "Military,"[9] and at the time of the adoption of
that name it was probably appropriate as well as complimentary.[10]
Appropriate in the respect referred to only, for the old type of
management varied so widely in its manifestations that the
comparison to the procedure of the Army was most inaccurate.
"Military" has always been a synonym for "systematized", "orderly,"
"definite," while the old type of management was more often quite
the opposite of the meaning of all these terms. The term "Military
Management" though often used in an uncomplimentary sense would,
today, if understood, be more complimentary than ever it was in the
past. The introduction of various features of Scientific Management
into the Army and Navy,--and such features are being incorporated
steadily and constantly,--is raising the standard of management
there to a high degree. This but renders the name "Military"
Management for the old type more inaccurate and misleading.

It is plain that the stirring associations of the word
"military" make its use for the old type, by advocates of the old
type, a weapon against Scientific Management that only the careful
thinker can turn aside.

THE NAMES "DRIVER" AND "MARQUIS OF QUEENSBERRY"
UNFORTUNATE.--The name "Driver" suggests an opposition between the
managers and the men, an opposition which the term "Marquis of
Queensberry" emphasizes. This term "Marquis of Queensberry" has been
given to that management which is thought of as a mental and
physical contest, waged "according to the rules of the game." These
two names are most valuable pictorially, or in furnishing oratorical
material. They are constant reminders of the constant desire of the
managers to get all the work that is possible out of the men, but
they are scarcely descriptive in any satisfactory sense, and the
visions they summon, while they are perhaps definite, are certainly,
for the inexperienced in management, inaccurate. In other words,
they usually lead to imagination rather than to perception.

THE NAME "INITIATIVE AND INCENTIVE" AUTHORITATIVE.--The term
"Initiative and Incentive" is used by Dr. Taylor, and is fully
described by him.[11] The words themselves suggest, truly, that he
gives the old form of management its due. He does more than this. He
points out in his definition of the terms the likenesses between the
old and new forms.

THE NAME "TRADITIONAL" BRIEF AND DESCRIPTIVE.--The only excuses
for the term "Traditional," since Dr. Taylor's term is available,
are its brevity and its descriptiveness. The fact that it is
indefinite is really no fault in it, as the subject it describes is
equally indefinite. The "fringe"[12] of this word is especially
good. It calls up ideas of information handed down from generation
to generation orally, the only way of teaching under the old type of
management. It recalls the idea of the inaccurate perpetuation of
unthinking custom, and the "myth" element always present in
tradition,--again undeniable accusations against the old type of
management. The fundamental idea of the tradition, that it is
_oral_, is the essence of the difference of the old type of
management from science, or even system, which must be written.

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