L. M. Gilbreth - The Psychology of Management
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L. M. Gilbreth >> The Psychology of Management
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SUMMARY
RESULTS OF PROGRAMME TO THE WORK.--Under Traditional Management
the tentative calendar might cause speed, but could not direct
speed. Under Transitory Management elimination of waste by
prescribed methods and routing increases output. This increase
becomes greater under Scientific Management. Standardized routing
designs the shortest paths, the least wasteful sequence of events,
the most efficient speed, the most fitting method. The result is
more and better work.
RESULTS OF PROGRAMMES TO THE WORKER.--A programme clarifies the
mind, is definite. The Traditional worker was often not sure what he
had better do next. The worker under Scientific Management knows
exactly what he is to do, and where and how he is to do it.
The attention is held, a field of allied interests are provided
for possible lapses, as are also methods for recalling attention.
The programme provides for a look ahead, and the relief that
comes from seeing the path before one. This ability to foresee also
leads to a feeling of stability. The knowledge that there is a large
amount of work ahead, ready to be attacked with no delay, eliminates
anxiety as to future employment. This allows of concentration on the
work in hand, and a feeling that, this work being properly done, one
is free to turn to the next piece of work with the absolute
assurance that what has been done will be satisfactory.
RELATION BETWEEN RECORDS AND PROGRAMMES.--No discussion of
records and programmes would be complete that did not consider the
relation between them.
IMPORTANCE OF THIS RELATION.--The relation between records and
programmes in the various types of management is most important, for
the progress from one type to another may be studied as exemplified
in the change in these relations.
A BROADENING OF THE DEFINITIONS.--In order to understand more
plainly the complexity of this relation, we will not confine
ourselves here to the narrower definition of a record as a written
account, but will consider it to mean a registering of an experience
in the mind, whether this expresses itself in a written record or
not, A programme will, likewise, be a mental plan.
MANY POSSIBLE TYPES OF RECORDS AND PROGRAMMES.--In order to
understand the number of different types of records and programmes
that can be made for a worker, the table that follows may be
examined (Table I). It exemplifies twelve possible records and
twelve possible programmes.
TABLE I
/ /
| |1. unconscious record
| |2. conscious record,
/1. Man -----| | not written
| working | |3. written record
| for | |4. standardized record
| himself \ \
I. |
RECORDS----| /1. unconscious record
| |2. conscious record, not written
| /(a) One of a ---|3. written record
| | gang |4. standardized record
| | \ /(a) made by man
\2. Man -----| |(b) " " manager
working | /1. unconscious |(a) made by man
for | | record |(b) " " manager
another | |2. conscious -|(a) made by man
| | record, |(b) " " manager
\(b) Individual -| not written |(a) made by man
output |3. written |(b) " " manager
| record |(a) made by man
|4. standardize \(b) " " manager
\ record
/
|1. unconscious programme
/1. Man ------------------|2. conscious programme
| working |3. written programme
| for |4. standardized programme
| himself \
II. |
PROGRAMMES-|
| /1. unconscious /(a) made by man
| /(a) One of a ---| programme |(b) " " manager
| | gang |2. conscious |(a) made by man
| | | programme, |(b) " " manager
\2. Man --| | not written -|(a) made by man
working | |3. written |(b) " " manager
for | | programme |(a) made by man
another \(b) Individual -|4. standardized |(b) " " manager
output | programme |(a) made by man
\ \(b) " " manager
INTERRELATION OF THESE TYPES.--The man is classified first, as
working for himself, or working for another. There will usually be a
fundamental difference, at the outset, in the minds of these two
men, for the man working for himself will be of a more independent
cast of thought. There will be no question as to the man's output
showing up separately, unless he chooses to prevent this by having
others work with him. Neither will there be any question but that,
if a record is made, he makes it himself, unless someone who is not
vitally connected with the work, as some onlooker, interested or
disinterested, should make the records for him. But the typical case
of the man working for himself would be that he was working as an
individual, and that the record was made by himself. There would
then be four kinds of records--an unconscious record, a conscious
record not written, a written record and a standardized record. The
"unconscious record" would be, in reality, no record at all. It
would simply be, that somewhere in the man's mind there would be a
record of what he had done, which, except as a "fringe of
consciousness" would not particularly influence his programme. What
we mean by a "conscious record" would be more of a set habit, the
man knowing that he had done the work in a certain way. This would
begin to influence, more or less, his programme, and also his
knowledge of his capacity for work. With a written record, would
come a thorough knowledge on his part of what he had done and how he
had done it, and we must note that with this written record comes
the possibility for some sort of a set programme, the man knowing
what it will be possible to do, and how he had best do it. With the
standardized record comes the standardized method.
RELATIONSHIPS COMPLEX.--When we consider the man working for
another, he may either be one of a gang, or one whose work is
considered as that of an individual. In either case, any of the four
sorts of records can be made of his work that have been already
described for the man working for himself. Each one of these records
may be made by the man, or by the management; for with the man
working for another, naturally the second mind, that of the other,
or the manager, enters in, and a great many more combinations
are possible.
For example,--there might be an unconscious record made by the
man and a conscious record, or a written record, made by the
manager. There might be a conscious record made by the man, but an
unconscious or a written record made by the manager, etc. There are
too many combinations made to be here considered. Each one of these
combinations would have a definite and a different effect, both upon
the mind of the man, and upon the mind of the manager; and also upon
their relation to each other. The second half of this chart is
similar, but treats of programmes, as many variables enter here.
It may be thought that the details of the preceding chart and
the three following charts are uninteresting, obvious, and show too
many possible combinations. If this be so, then it is most necessary
to include them to illustrate the conditions that are passed through
and slipped back into too often in our schools, our apprenticeship
and in all but the best of managements.
The outline of advancement must be known and recognized if the
quality of teaching, efficiency, and management is to be graded in
its right class.
When we consider that each type of record bears a relation to
each type of programme, the complexity of the problems involved
become apparent. This will be better shown in Table II.
TABLE II
1. Unconscious record, unconscious programme.
2. Conscious record, unconscious programme.
3. Unconscious record, conscious programme.
4. Conscious record, conscious programme.
I. Man working 5. Unconscious record, written programme.
for himself. 6. Written record, unconscious programme.
7. Conscious record, written programme.
8. Written record, conscious programme.
9. Written record, written programme.
10. Standardized record, standardized programme.
ILLUSTRATION OF THIS COMPLEXITY.--Table II represents the man
working for himself, with subdivisions under it showing the possible
relationship between his record and his programme. We find that
these are at least ten, reaching all the way from the unconscious
record and unconscious programme of the migrating transitory laborer
to the standardized record and the standardized programme of the
manager who manages himself scientifically.
Each one of these represent a distinct psychological stage. The
progression may not be regular and smooth as is here given,--it may
be a jump, possibly even from one to nine. It may, however, be a
slow progression from one stage to another, largely to be determined
by the type of mind that is considered, and the opportunities for
development along scientific lines which are afforded. It is the
writer's intention to discuss these at length at some other time.
Here it is only possible to enumerate, in order to show the size and
complexity of the problem which is here involved.
The table does not indicate, as perhaps it should, the fact that
the relationship between an unconscious record and an unconscious
programme is slight, while the relation between a written programme
and a written record is very close indeed. In Table IV this will
be indicated.
TABLE III
1. One of a gang, unconscious
record, unconscious programme,
on part of both
manager and man.
II. Man working
for another.
2. Individual output,--standardized
record and programme,
known to, or made by, both
manager and man.
ELIMINATION OF WASTE POSSIBLE.--The third table--that of the man
working for another man--attempts to do no more than indicate the
first and last step of a long series, beginning with the man, one of
a gang, an unconscious record, and an unconscious programme, on the
part of both the manager and the man, down to the final stage of
individual output, with the written record and programme known to
both manager and man. It would be a most interesting problem to work
out the various steps stretching between these two, and the various
ways in which progression might be made through these steps, either
taking one step after another slowly or making the various possible
jumps long and short. A psychological discussion of each step would
be of value, and certainly must in time be made, but this book has
not the scope, nor can the time be devoted to such a discussion.
If this third chart had no other purpose, it would be useful to
suggest to the student the wide tracts which still remain for study
and development. It must not be thought that any of the steps
omitted on this chart are not in existence. Every single possible
combination of record and programme is in existence to-day, and must
be studied by the manager of men. Not until these are all
discovered, described, and standardized, the progression noted,
and standard progressions outlined, can methods of least waste
be adopted.
With a more thorough experimental study of the mind will come a
possible prediction as to which stages the various types of mind
must pass through. So, too, with the training of the young mind in
the primary schools and in the methods of Scientific Management,
will come the elimination of many stages now necessary, and the
possibility, even, that the final stage may be introduced at the
outset, and the enormous waste of time, energy and wearing of
unnecessary brain paths be absolutely abolished.
THE PROGRAMME DERIVED FROM THE RECORD.--Having considered the
various records and programmes and their relation, we will now
consider the four stages of the record,--(1) unconscious, (2)
conscious, (3) written, (4) standardized, and trace the derivation
of the programme from each stage.
TABLE IV
============================================================
I. Record unconscious. Programme cannot be definite.
Method is indefinite.
============================================================
II. Record conscious. Programme becomes more definite.
Method becomes more definite.
============================================================
III. Record written. Programme yet more definite.
Method definite.
============================================================
IV. Record standardized. Programme standardized, i.e.,
Results predictable.
Methods standard.
============================================================
UNCONSCIOUS RECORDS MEAN INDEFINITE PROGRAMMES.--First, then,
suppose that the records are unconscious. What does this imply? It
implies in the first place that the worker has no idea of his
capacity; never having thought of what he has done, he has no idea
what can be done, neither has he a comparative idea of methods, that
is, of how to do it. It is impossible for a definite programme to be
laid out by such a worker,--that is to say, no predictions by him as
to the time of completing the work are possible. Neither could a
method be derived by him from his previous work.
Note here the alarming amount of waste. All good methods which
the worker may possibly have acquired are practically lost to the
world, and perhaps also to him. Not only this, but all bad methods
which he has fallen into will be fallen into again and again, as
there are no warning signs to keep him out of them.
As there is no possibility of an accurate chronological chart,
the worker may undertake more than he can do, thus delaying work
which should have been done by others. On the other hand, he may
underestimate his capacity, and be left idle because work he should
have done has been assigned to others. Either of these leads to a
sense of insecurity, to wavering attention, to "hit or miss" guess
work, "rule-of-thumb methods," which are the signs of Traditional
Management.
WITH CONSCIOUS AND WRITTEN RECORDS COME DEFINITE PROGRAMMES.--We
turn now to the case where the record is conscious,--that is, where
the worker keeps in mind exactly what he has done. With this
conscious record the idea of capacity develops. The man realizes
what he can do. So also, the idea of method develops, and the man
realizes how he can do the work. Third, there comes gradually an
idea of a margin; that is, of a possible way by which capacity can
be increased for a higher speed, or methods can be slightly varied
to meet any particular deviation in the work to be done.
From this ability to estimate capacity, and to plan the method
ahead, comes the ability to lay out a more definite programme. When
the record becomes written the exactness of the programme increases.
Methods also become written, and, though accurate prediction is not
possible, such prediction is more and more nearly approached. This
increasing accuracy is the work of Transitory System in all its
stages.
STANDARD RECORDS PERMIT OF STANDARD PROGRAMMES.--In the last
case, the record is standardized, that is, the result of the method
of processes of analysis and synthesis. Through this process, as has
been shown, the reason for success is discovered and rendered
usable. The programme becomes standard, results can be predicted
accurately, and methods by which these results can be best obtained
are also standard.
It may at first escape notice that these standardized records,
of the ultimate or scientific management type, imply _not_ a greater
rigidity, but a greater elasticity. This because of the nature of
the elements of the records, which may, in time, be combined into a
great number of different, predictable programmes.
SUMMARY
RESULTS OF RELATIONS BETWEEN RECORDS AND PROGRAMMES ON THE
WORK.--The most noteworthy result of the closer relations between
records and programmes which appear during the evolution of
Scientific Management is the fact that they cause constant
simplification. The more carefully records are standardized, the
simpler becomes the drafting of the programme. As more and more
records become standard, the drafting of programmes becomes
constantly an easier and cheaper process.
PROGRAMMES BECOME RECORDS.--Under Traditional Management the
record that follows a programme may appear very different from the
programme. Under Scientific Management the record that follows a
programme most closely resembles the programme. Improvements are not
made between the programme and the following record,--they find
their place between the record and the following programme. Thus
programmes and records may be grouped in pairs, by similarity, with
a likelihood of difference between any one pair (one programme plus
one record) and other pairs.
RESULT ON THE WORKER.--The greatest effect, on the worker, of
these relations of record to programme under Scientific Management
is the confidence that he gains in the judgment that is an outcome
of Scientific Management. When the worker sees that Scientific
Management makes possible accurate predictions of times, schedules,
tasks, and performance; that the methods prescribed invariably
enable him to achieve prescribed results, his confidence in
Scientific Management grows. So also does the manager's confidence
in Scientific Management grow,--and in this mutual confidence in the
system of management is another bond of sympathy.
The place left for suggestions and improvements, in the
ever-present opportunities to better standards, fulfills that
longing for a greater efficiency that is the cause of progress.
CHAPTER VII FOOTNOTES: =============================================
1. Gillette and Dana, _Cost Keeping and Management Engineering_,
p. 65.
2. H.L. Gantt, Paper No. 1002, A.S.M.E., page 2.
3. Gillette and Dana, _Cost Keeping and Management Engineering_,
p. VII.
4. H.L. Gantt, Paper No. 1002, A.S.M.E., p. 1336.
5. William James, _Psychology, Briefer Course_, p. 179.
====================================================================
CHAPTER VIII
TEACHING
DEFINITION OF TEACHING.--The Century Dictionary defines
"teaching" as "the act or business of instructing," with synonyms:
"training" and "education;" and "to teach" is defined:--
1. "to point out, direct, show;" "to tell, inform, instruct,
explain;"
2. "to show how (to do something); hence, to train;"
3. "to impart knowledge or practical skill to;" "to guide in
learning, educate."
"Educate," we find meaning "to instruct, to teach methodically,
to prescribe to; to indoctrinate;" and by "indoctrinate" is meant
"to cause to hold as a doctrine or belief." "To educate," says the
same authority, "is to develop mentally or morally by instruction;
to qualify by instruction and training for the business and duty
of life."
UNDER TRADITIONAL MANAGEMENT NO DEFINITE PLAN OF TEACHING.--
Under Traditional Management there is either no definite scheme of
teaching by the management itself, or practically none; at least,
this is usually the condition under the most elementary types of
Traditional Management. In the very highest examples of the
traditional plan the learner may be shown how, but this showing is
not usually done in a systematic way, and under so-called
Traditional Management is seldom in the form of written
instructions.
NO SPECIFIED TIME FOR OR SOURCE OF THE TEACHING.--Under
Traditional Management there is no particular time in which this
teaching goes on, no particular time allowed for the worker to ask
for the instruction, nor is there any particular source from which
he obtains the instructions. There is, moreover, almost every
hindrance against his getting any more instruction than he
absolutely must have in order to get the work done. The persons to
whom he can possibly appeal for further information might discharge
him for not already knowing. These persons are, if he is an
apprentice, an older worker; if he is a journeyman, the worker next
to him, or the foreman, or someone over him. An important fact
bearing on this subject is that it is not to the pecuniary advantage
of any particular person to give this teaching. In the first place,
if the man be a fellow-worker, he will want to do his own work
without interruption, he will not want to take the time off;
moreover, he regards his particular skill as more or less of a trade
secret, and desires to educate no more people than necessary, to be
as clever as he is. In the third place, there is no possible reward
for giving this instruction. Of course, the worker necessarily
improves under any sort of teaching, and if he has a receptive mind,
or an inventive mind, he must progress constantly, either by
teaching himself or by the instruction, no matter how haphazard.
GREAT VARIATION UNDER TRADITIONAL MANAGEMENT.--Only discussion
of teaching under this type of management with many men who have
learned under it, can sufficiently emphasize the variations to be
found. But the consensus of opinion would seem to prove that an
apprentice of only a generation ago was too often hazed, was
discouraged from appealing for assistance or advice to the workers
near him, or to his foreman; was unable to find valuable literature
for home-study on the subject of his trade. The experience of many
an apprentice was, doubtless, different from this, but surely the
mental attitude of the journeymen who were the only teachers must
have tended toward some such resulting attitude of doubt or
hesitancy in the apprentice.
MENTAL ATTITUDE OF THE WORKER-TEACHER.--Under the old plan of
management, the apprentice must appear to the journeyman more or
less of a supplanter. From the employee's standpoint it was most
desirable that the number of apprentices be kept down, as an
oversupply of labor almost invariably resulted in a lowering of
wages. The quicker and better the apprentice was taught, the sooner
he became an active competitor. There seldom existed under this type
of management many staff positions to which the workers could hope
to be promoted, certainly none where they could utilize to the
fullest extent their teaching ability. There was thus every reason
for a journeyman to regard the teaching of apprentices as
unremunerative, irksome, and annoying.
WORKER NOT TO BLAME FOR THIS.--The worker is not to be blamed
for this attitude. The conditions under which he worked made it
almost inevitable. Not only could he gain little or nothing by being
a successful teacher, but also the bullying instinct was appealed to
constantly, and the desire of the upper classmen in hazing days to
make the next class "pay up" for the hazing that they were obliged
to endure in their Freshman year.
ATTITUDE OF THE LEARNER.--The attitude of the typical learner
must frequently be one of hesitancy and self-distrust if not of
fear, though conditions were so varied as almost to defy
classification. One type of apprentice was expected to learn merely
by observation and imitation. Another was practically the chore boy
of the worker who was assigned to teach him. A third was under no
direct supervision at all, but was expected to "keep busy," finding
his work by himself. A fourth was put through a severe and valuable
training by a martinet teacher,--and so on.
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