A rational wages system : $b some notes on the method of paying the worker a reward for efficiency in addition to wagesAtkinson, Henry
General
A rational wages system : $b some notes on the method of paying the worker a reward for efficiency in addition to wages
Atkinson, Henry
Incentives in industry -- Great Britain; Wages -- Great Britain
It is not to the interest of the employer to treat the worker badly.
Firms with brains and foresight enough to adopt time study methods are
not going to spoil the whole business by getting the workers up against
them. It is more to the firm's interest than to the worker's to get a
continuously high efficiency; that is why time study and reward methods
were introduced by the employers, and not by the workers.
(_g_) ATTENTION TO SERVICE DETAILS.
It must be clearly understood that the Reward System does not pretend
to be by any means a solution of all the difficulties between employer
and worker.
Without mutual good-will no system will work satisfactorily. What is
claimed for the Reward System is that it provides a basis upon which a
good understanding and a mutual interest in increased production can be
built up and maintained.
The time study shows beyond argument the very quickest time in which
a job can be done by an average man with the means at his disposal. If
this is followed up by a rational organisation, the Reward System will
be entirely successful. But if an employer endeavours to foist the time
study and Reward System on an existing rule-of-thumb organisation, it
will undoubtedly fail, and will cause deep suspicion in the mind of the
worker as well as being wholly unsatisfactory to the employer. It will
be looked upon as an endeavour to get more out of the worker without an
adequate return, and this, as a matter of fact, is just what it will be.
One thing is certain: No employer will adopt the Reward System unless
he sees clearly that it is to his direct financial benefit, and there
is no reason why he should. He, on his part, would be foolish to take
on an increased responsibility without adequate return.
It follows, therefore, that the system is part of the rational
organisation of production, and it cannot be properly carried on
without such organisation.
Even when such a system is adopted, there are ample opportunities for
letting things slide and for unfair conditions to creep in. This is why
the worker should understand the system, because then only will he be
able to assert his position and see that conditions are fair.
The following are some of the things to watch out for:
Time study must not be used for speeding up day workers. There is a
tendency to do this when it is found that a job can be done in half the
time, but it must be remembered that conditions are quite different and
the incentive is lacking. The remedy is to put all workers on reward
as far as possible, and to adopt a profit-sharing or other scheme to
stimulate day workers.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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