The Psychology of Management Part 29

WELFARE

DEFINITION OF WELFARE.--"Welfare" means "a state or condition of doing well; prosperous or satisfactory course or relation; exemption from evil;" in other words, well-being. This is the primary meaning of the word. But, to-day, it is used so often as an adjective, to describe work which is being attempted for the good of industrial workers, that any use of the word welfare has that fringe of meaning to it.

"WELFARE" HERE INCLUDES TWO MEANINGS.--In the discussion of welfare in this chapter, both meanings of the word will be included.

"Welfare" under each form of management will be discussed, first, as meaning the outcome to the men of the type of management itself; and second, as discussing the sort of welfare work which is used under that form of management.

DISCUSSION OF FIRST ANSWERS. THREE QUESTIONS.--A discussion of welfare as the result of work divides itself naturally into three parts, or three questions:

What is the effect upon the physical life?

What is the effect upon the mental life?

What is the effect upon the moral life?

UNDER TRADITIONAL MANAGEMENT NO PHYSICAL IMPROVEMENT.--The indefiniteness of Traditional Management manifests itself again in this discussion, it being almost impossible to make any general statement which could not be controverted by particular examples; but it is safe to say that in general, under Traditional Management, there is not a definite physical improvement in the average worker.

In the first place, there is no provision for regularity in the work. The planning not being done ahead, the man has absolutely no way of knowing exactly what he will be called upon to do. There being no measure of fatigue, he has no means of knowing whether he can go to work the second part of the day, say, with anything like the efficiency with which he could go to work in the first part of the day. There being no standard, the amount of work which he can turn out must vary according as the tools, machinery and equipment are in proper condition, and the material supplies his needs.

NO GOOD HABITS NECESSARILY FORMED.--In the second place, under Traditional Management there are no excellent habits necessarily formed. The man is left to do fairly as he pleases, if only the general outcome be considered sufficient by those over him. There may be a physical development on his part, if the work be of a kind which can develop him, or which he likes to such an extent that he is willing to do enough of it to develop him physically; this liking may come through the play element, or through the love of work, or through the love of contest, or through some other desire for activity, but it is not provided for scientifically, and the outcome cannot be exactly predicted. Therefore, under Traditional Management there is no way of knowing that good health and increased strength will result from the work, and we know that in many cases poor health and depleted strength have been the outcome of the work. We may say then fairly, as far as physical improvement is concerned that, though it might be the outcome of Traditional Management, it was rather in spite of Traditional Management, in the sense at least that the management had nothing to do with it, and had absolutely no way of providing for it. The moment that it was provided for in any systematic way, the Traditional Management vanished.

NO DIRECTED MENTAL DEVELOPMENT.--Second, mental development.

Here, again, there being no fixed habits, no specially trained habit of attention, no standard, there was no way of knowing that the man's mind was improving. Naturally, all minds improve merely with experience. Experience must be gathered in, and must be embodied into judgment. There is absolutely no way of estimating what the average need in this line would be, it varies so much with the temperament of the man. Again, it would usually be a thing that the man himself was responsible for, and not the management, certainly not the management in any impersonal sense. Some one man over an individual worker might be largely responsible for improving him intellectually. If this were so, it would be because of the temperament of the over-man, or because of his friendly desire to impart a mental stimulus; seldom, if ever, because the management provided for its being imparted. Thus, there was absolutely no way of predicting that wider or deeper interest, or that increased mental capacity, would take place.

MORAL DEVELOPMENT DOUBTFUL.--As for moral development, in the average Traditional Management it was not only not provided for, but rather doubtful. A man had very little chance to develop real, personal responsibilities, in that there was always some one over him who was watching him, who disciplined him and corrected him, who handed in the reports for him, with the result that he was in a very slight sense a free agent. Only men higher up, the foremen and the superintendents could obtain real development from personal responsibilities. Neither was there much development of responsibility for others, in the sense of being responsible for personal development of others. Having no accurate standards to judge by, there was little or no possibility of appreciation of the relative standing of the men, either by the individual of himself, or by others of his ability. The man could be admired for his strength, or his skill, but not for his real efficiency, as measured in any satisfactory way. The management taught self-control in the most rudimentary way, or not at all. There was no distinct goal for the average man, neither was there any distinct way to arrive at such a goal; it was simply a case, with the man lower down, of making good for any one day and getting that day's pay. In the more enlightened forms of Traditional Management, a chance for promotion was always fairly sure, but the moment that the line of promotion became a.s.sured, we may say that Traditional Management had really ceased, and some form of Transitory Management was in operation.

"SQUARE DEAL" LACKING.--Perhaps the worst lack under Traditional Management is the lack of the "square deal." In the first place, even the most efficient worker under this form of management was not sure of his place. This not only meant worry on his part, which distracted his attention from what he did, but meant a wrong att.i.tude all along the line. He had absolutely no way of knowing that, even though he did his best, the man over him, in anger, or because of some entirely ulterior thing, might not discharge him, put him in a lower position. So also the custom of spying, the only sort of inspection recognized under Traditional Management of the most elementary form, led to a feeling on the men's part that they were being constantly watched on the sly, and to an inability to concentrate. This brought about an inability to feel really honest, for being constantly under suspicion is enough to poison even one's own opinion of one's integrity. Again, being at the beck and call of a prejudiced foreman who was all-powerful, and having no a.s.sured protection from the whims of such a man, the worker was obliged, practically for self-protection, to try to conciliate the foremen by methods of a.s.suming merits that are obvious, on the surface. He ingratiates himself in the favor of the foreman in that way best adapted to the peculiarities of the character of the foreman, sometimes joining societies, or the church of the foreman, sometimes helping him elect some political candidate or relative; at other times, by the more direct method of buying drinks, or taking up a subscription for presenting the foreman with a gold watch, "in appreciation of his fairness to all;" sometimes by consistently losing at cards or other games of chance. When it is considered that this same foreman was probably, at the time, enjoying a brutal feeling of power, it is no wonder that no sense of confidence of the "square deal" could develop. There are countless ways that the brutal enjoyment of power could be exercised by the man in a foreman's position. As has already been said, some men prefer promotion to a position of power more than anything else. Nearly all desire promotion to power for the extra money that it brings, and occasionally, a man will be found who loves the power, although unconsciously, for the pleasure he obtains in lording over other human beings. This quality is present more or less in all human beings. It is particularly strong in the savage, who likes to torture captured human beings and animals, and perhaps the greatest test for high qualifications of character and gentleness is that of having power over other human beings without unnecessarily accenting the difference in the situation. Under Military Management, there is practically no limit to this power, the management being satisfied if the foreman gets the work out of the men, and the men having practically no one to appeal to, and being obliged to receive their punishment always from the hands of a prejudiced party.

LITTLE POSSIBILITY OF DEVELOPMENT OF WILL.--Being under such influence as this, there is little or no possibility of the development of an intelligent will. The "will to do" becomes stunted, unless the pay is large enough to lead the man to be willing to undergo abuses in order to get the money. There is nothing, moreover, in the aspect of the management itself to lead the man to have a feeling of confidence either in himself, or in the management, and to have that moral poise which will make him wish to advance.

REAL CAPACITY NOT INCREASED.--With the likelihood of suspicion, hate and jealousy arising, and with constant preparations for conflict, of which the average union and employers' a.s.sociation is the embodiment, naturally, real capacity is not increased, but is rather decreased, under this form of management, and we may ascribe this to three faults:

First, to lack of recognition of individuality,--men are handled mostly as gangs, and personality is sunk.

Second, to lack of standardization, and to lack of time study, that fundamental of all standardization, which leads to absolute inability to make a measured, and therefore scientific judgment, and

Third, to the lack of teaching; to the lack of all constructiveness.

These three lacks, then, const.i.tute a strong reason why Traditional Management does not add to the welfare of the men.

LITTLE SYSTEMATIZED WELFARE WORK UNDER TRADITIONAL MANAGEMENT.--As for welfare work,--that is, work which the employers themselves plan to benefit the men, if under such work be included timely impulses of the management for the men, and the carrying of these out in a more or less systematic way, it will be true to say that such welfare work has existed in all times, and under all forms of management. The kind-hearted man will show his kind heart wherever he is, but it is likewise true to say that little systematic beneficial work is done under what we have defined as Traditional Management.

DEFINITE STATEMENTS AS TO WELFARE UNDER TRANSITORY MANAGEMENT DIFFICULT TO MAKE.--It is almost impossible to give any statement as to the general welfare of workers under Transitory Management, because, from the very nature of the case, Transitory Management is constantly changing. In the discussion of the various chapters, and in showing how individuality, functionalization, measurement, and so on, were introduced, and the psychological effect upon the men of their being introduced, welfare was more or less unsystematically considered. In turning to the discussion under Scientific Management and showing how welfare is the result of Scientific Management and is incorporated in it, much as to its growth will be included.

WELFARE WORK UNDER TRANSITORY MANAGEMENT IS USUALLY COMMENDABLE.--As to the welfare work under Transitory Management, much could be said, and much has been said and written. Typical Welfare Work under Transitory Management deserves nothing but praise. It is the result of the dedication of many beautiful lives to a beautiful cause. It consists of such work as building rest rooms for the employes, in providing for amus.e.m.e.nts, in providing for better working conditions, in helping to better living conditions, in providing for some sort of a welfare worker who can talk with the employes and benefit them in every way, including being their representative in speaking with the management.

AN UNDERLYING FLAW IS APPARENT.--There can be no doubt that an enormous quant.i.ty of good has been done by this welfare work, both positively, to the employes themselves, and indirectly, to the management, through fostering a kinder feeling. There is, however, a flaw to be found in the underlying principles of this welfare work as introduced in Transitory Management, and that is that it takes on more or less the aspect of a charity, and is so regarded both by the employes and by the employer. The employer, naturally, prides himself more or less upon doing something which is good, and the employe naturally resents more or less having something given to him as a sort of charity which he feels his by right.

ITS EFFECT IS DETRIMENTAL.--The psychological significance of this is very great. The employer, feeling that he has bestowed a gift, is, naturally, rather chagrined to find it is received either as a right, or with a feeling of resentment. Therefore, he is often led to decrease what he might otherwise do, for it is only an unusual and a very high type of mind that can be satisfied simply with the doing of the good act, without the return of grat.i.tude. On the other hand, the employe, if he be a man of pride, may resent charity even in such a general form as this, and may, with an element of rightness, prefer that the money to be expended be put into his pay envelope, instead. If it is simply a case of better working conditions, something that improves him as an efficient worker for the management, he will feel that this welfare work is in no sense something which he receives as a gift, but rather something which is his right, and which benefits the employer exactly as much, if not more than it benefits him.

WELFARE WORK NOT SELF-PERPETUATING.--Another fault which can be found with the actual administration of the welfare work, is the fact that it often disregards one of the fundamental principles of Scientific Management, in that the welfare workers themselves do not train enough people to follow in their footsteps, and thus make welfare self-perpetuating.

In one case which the writer has in mind, a n.o.ble woman is devoting her life to the welfare of a body of employes in an industry which greatly requires such work. The work which she is doing is undoubtedly benefiting these people in every aspect, not only of their business but of their home lives, but it is also true that should she be obliged to give up the work, or be suddenly called away, the work would practically fall to pieces. It is built up upon her personality, and, wonderful as it is, its basis must be recognized as unscientific and temporary.

SCIENTIFIC PROVISION FOR WELFARE UNDER SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT.-- Under Scientific Management general welfare is provided for by:--

The effect that the work has on physical improvement. This we shall discuss under three headings--

1. the regularity of the work.

2. habits.

3. physical development.

As for the regularity of the work--we have

(a) The apportionment of the work and the rest. Under Scientific Management, work time and rest time are scientifically apportioned. This means that the man is able to come to each task with the same amount of strength, and that from his work he gains habits of regularity.

(b) The laying out of the work. The standards upon which the instruction cards are based, and the method of preparing them, a.s.sure regularity.

(c) The manner of performing the work. Every time that identical work is done, it is done in an identical manner.

The resulting regularity has an excellent effect upon the physical welfare of the worker.

2. Habits, under Scientific Management,

(a) are prescribed by standards. The various physical habits of the man, the motions that are used, having all been timed and then standardized, the worker acquires physical habits that are fixed.

(b) are taught;[1] therefore they are not remote but come actually and promptly into the consciousness and into the action of the worker.

(c) are retained, because they are standard habits and because the rewards which are given for using them make it an object to the worker to retain them.

(d) Are reenforced by individuality and functionalization; that is to say, the worker is considered as an individual, and his possibilities are studied, before he is put into the work; therefore, his own individuality and his own particular function naturally reenforce those habits which he is taught to form.

These habits, being scientifically derived, add to physical improvement.

3. Physical development

(a) is fostered through the play element, has been scientifically studied, and is utilized as far as possible; the same is true of the love of work, which is reenforced by the fact that the man has been placed where he will have the most love for his work.

(b) is insured by the love of contest, which is provided for not only by contest with others, but by the constant contest of the worker with his own previous records. When he does exceed these records he utilizes powers which it is for his good physically, as well as otherwise, to utilize.

RESULTS OF PHYSICAL IMPROVEMENT.--This regularity, good habits, and physical development, result in good health, increased strength and a better appearance. To these three results all scientific managers testify. An excellent example of this is found in Mr.

Gantt's "Work, Wages and Profits," where the increased health, the better color and the better general appearance of the workers under Scientific Management is commented on as well as the fact that they are inspired by their habits to dress themselves better and in every way to become of a higher type.[2]

MENTAL DEVELOPMENT.--Welfare under Scientific Management is provided for by Mental Development. This we may discuss under habits, and under general mental development.

1. As for habits we must consider

(a) Habits of attention. Under Scientific Management, as we have shown, attention must become a habit. Only when it does become a habit, can the work required be properly performed, and the reward received. As only those who show themselves capable of really receiving the reward are considered to be properly placed, ultimately all who remain at work under Scientific Management must attain this habit of attention.

(b) Habit of method of attack. This not only enables the worker to do the things that he is a.s.signed satisfactorily, but also has the broadening effect of teaching him how to do other things, i.e., showing him the "how" of doing things, and giving him standards which are the outcome of mental habits, and by which he learns to measure.

2. General mental development is provided for by the experience which the worker gets not only in the general way in which all who work must give experience, but in the set way provided for by Scientific Management. This is so presented to the worker that it becomes actually usable at once. This not only allows him to judge others, but provides for self-knowledge, which is one of the most valuable of all of the outcomes of Scientific Management. He becomes mentally capable of estimating his own powers and predicting what he himself is capable of doing. The outcome of this mental development is

(a) wider interest.

(b) deeper interest.

(c) increased mental capabilities.

The better method of attack would necessarily provide for wider interest. The fact that any subject taken up is in its ultimate final unit form, would certainly lead to deeper interest; and the exercise of these two faculties leads to increased mental capabilities.

MORAL DEVELOPMENT.--Moral development under Scientific Management results from the provisions made for cultivating--