Shop Management

SHOP MANAGEMENT 75 laborer, through the trained laborer, helper, rough machinist, fitter, machine hand, to the highly skilled special or all-round mechanic. And while in a large establishment there may be often enough men of the same grade to warrant the adoption of piece work with the task idea, yet, even in this case, they are generally so scattered in different parts of the shop that laying off one of their number for incom- petence does not reach the others with sufficient force to impress them with the necessity of keeping up with their task. It is evident then that, in the great majority of cases, the four leading principles in management can be best applied through either task work with a bonus or the differential piece rate in spite of the slight additional clerical work and the increased diffi- culty in planning ahead incident to these systems of paying wages. Three of the principles of man- agement given above, namely, (a) a large daily task, (5) high pay for success, and (c) loss in case of fail- ure form the very essence of both of these systems and act as a daily stimulant for the men. The fourth principle of management is a necessary pre- liminary, since without having first thoroughly stand- ardized all of the conditions surrounding work, neither of these two plans can be successfully applied. In many cases the greatest good resulting from the application of these systems of paying wages is the indirect gain which comes from the enforced standardization of all details and conditions, large and small, surrounding the work. All of the ordi- nary systems can be and are almost always applied