Part 10

He must realize that it is the doing of work that counts and that the men who are doing things must not be annoyed. All plans for betterment must conform to the assimilating power of the men and must not cut off their food in time of change. In other words, the new plans should be so matched on to the old methods that the change to the new will not interrupt the production.

We have seen that the most efficient way to use man's energies is to allow him to follow habit lines of thought and action, and that the highest efficiency is reached when these habits are habits of concentration of attention and are restricted to the smallest variety of work.

Progressive Energy.

Progressive energy is so valuable that it needs no praise at this time. We have had its value stated so often that it is actually over-rated in the average mind. Not that it has been over-valued, but that the reiteration has obscured the importance of other qualities. There should be a greater appreciation of the value of energies that are wholly employed in accomplishing results by old means and methods.

Progressive energy, when it is kept within certain bounds, is a prime asset of an industrial organization. It is like a wholesome amount of labor to man; it may be drawn upon without loss, and its use actually strengthens its source. But when it is not wisely kept in control it only annoys and interferes with real progress and real accomplishment of results.

The only way to get work done is to let the worker move along habit lines. The only way to progress efficiently is to make the new ways and means lead off gradually from those in use.

The progressive man who actually directs work along such lines is the most valuable to the world. The one who ignores the "moment of inertia" is a disturber, whether he is a director or a "hewer of wood and carrier of water".

The man who is doing the real work in the world is not the so-called progressive. He is one who points out newer or better methods which may be easily established by a gradual exchange of old habits for new ones.

Profit by Experience.

In considering ways and means for efficient management of industrial organizations, it is not necessary to commence at the beginning of each plant. The method of dealing with the problems of existing plants is also applicable to new organizations, for a new organization is only new in a limited sense. It uses men of experience. It uses existing machines and implements. It follows existing methods of conducting business and in the general management of its affairs.

Even the so-called new method which may be the center around which the so-called new business is built contains very little that is new. The newest things in the ordinary industrial world contain many old and well-known elements. The very use of a so-called new method or machine as a center around which to build an organization is in itself so old that it is a confirmed habit with us to be lured on to investing in such things by the statement that some new process or means is to be employed.

A really new thing that calls for wholly new ways and new means for manufacture is almost inconceivable. The nearer we approach to newness in the industrial world the thinner becomes the ice on which we are moving. Therefore, let us know that when we advise following habit lines in all moves in management of an existing organization we imply that the same course should be taken in establishing a new company or organization.

In both cases we should employ existing ways and means, experienced men and well-tried implements. Both old and new should be conducted along the usual line in conformity with the state of the art, the habits of the workers, and other conditions indigenous to the locality. Any scheme of going contrary to the existing customs and usage must be entered into with full knowledge of the great need of patience, force and courage to offset the barrier of inertia.

Dissipation of Energies.

This tendency to dissipate energies by wandering into other fields is not confined to the worker; it is a most common tendency of business men. A manager of an industrial establishment has to continually combat his tendency to divert the energies of the organization along new lines. He knows from past experience how dearly bought is each new method that is introduced into his organization. He knows for example that it would make all of his men tardy at the plant in the morning if at the hour of arising he has issued a request for each man to dress by carefully thinking out each move. He knows that the day's work would never be well done if he asked each one to think before acting.

Even conversation comes under the law of habit. It must follow the line that has been carefully thought out.

We all know that when a man talks on subjects with which he is not familiar his words carry little weight.

The so-called spontaneous utterances that seem so full of life and are apparently the product of flashed thought are either the welling up of some subconscious ideas quickly reconstructed to fit the situation or they are a haphazard jumble either meaningless or conveying an unintended impression. They are generally in the humorous line and frequently make an impression that was not anticipated by the utterer.

The really useful talk and work is the result of wholesome habit of thought and action.

Tying up Capital in Stock in Process of Construction.

The amount of capital tied up in raw material supplies, stock in process and finished product should not be greater than that which is necessary to get the greatest output per dollar of investment.

In the machinery-building world there is no such thing as a steady long-lived demand for any machine. Hence the proposition to build a locomotive or printing-press by methods employed in watch or sewing-machine manufacture is entirely ill-timed at least.

For this reason the stock in process must not necessarily be considered insufficient if it appears to be on the hand-to-mouth plan. The dividing line between excessive and insufficient stock must be drawn in each individual case.

Raw material should be purchased in reasonable quantities with due regard to the price which varies with quantities but there should always be a regard for the amount of capital used for this purpose. Any excess represents just that much extra capital unnecessarily risked in the business.

There should be a constant supply of material throughout the entire work. The stock in process should flow through the plant in a rapid but thin stream. The quantity should be no greater than absolutely necessary to insure a steady supply for all of the workers, including the assembling and selling workers.

An excessive stock of this or that piece, or of all pieces, means that much capital idle, and it also tends to slackness of management. Frequently it is the outcome of carelessness.

A slip-shod management that disregards this point will use no care in purchase of material or in putting in the shop orders. All that is needed is to just hurry forward the stock that "happens" to be "out", and at the same time allow the accumulation of the unneeded stock to go on unchecked.

Immense storerooms for keeping finished stock are shown with pride, unmindful of the fact that every dollar's worth of unnecessary stock on the shelves in the stockroom, every dollar's worth of unnecessary work in the plant, represents idle money and faulty management.