If he treats his men like machines, looks
at them merely as cogs in the mechanism
of his affairs, they will function like machines
or find other places. If he wishes to stir
the larger, latent powers of their brains and
bodies, thereby increasing their efficiency
as thinkers and workers, he must recognize
them as men and individuals and give in
<p 83>
some measure what he asks. He must identify
them with the business, and make them
feel that they have a stake in its success and
that the organization has an interest in the
welfare of its men. The boss to whom his
employees turn in any serious perplexity or
private difficulty for advice and aid is pretty
apt to receive more than the contract minimum
of effort every day and is sure of devoted
service in any time of need.
_The Effect of Personal Relations in creating
Loyalty in a Force_
It is on this personal relationship, this platform
of mutual interests and helpfulness, that
the success and fighting strength of many one-
man houses are built. As in the contractor's
dilemma already cited, it bears fruit in the
fighting zeal, the keener interest, and the extra
speed and effort which workers bring to bear
on their individual and collective tasks. All
the knowledge and skill they possess are
thrown into the scale; their quickened intelligences
reach out for new methods and short
<p 84>
cuts; when the crisis has passed, there may be
a temporary reaction, but there is likely to be
a permanent advance both in individual efficiency
and organization spirit.
On the employer's side, this feeling is expressed
in the surrender of profits to provide
work in dull seasons; in the retention of
aged mechanics, laborers, or clerks on the
payroll after their usefulness has passed;
in pensions; in a score of neighborly and
friendly offices to those who are sick, injured,
or in trouble. A reputation for ``taking care
of his men'' has frequently been a bulwark of
defense to the small manufacturer or trader
assailed by a greedy larger rival.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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