STANDARDIZATION ELIMINATES THE SHIFTING VIEWPOINT.--Under
old-time Traditional Management the way that the man happened to
feel at the particular time made a great difference, not only in his
work, but in his relations with other men. The standardization not
only of the relationship between the men, but of the relationships
between the foreman, the manager, and the worker, the fact that the
disciplining is put in the hands of a man who is not biased by his
personal feelings in his dealings with the men;--all of these things
mean that the viewpoint of the men as to their work and their
relationship remains fixed. This standardizing of the viewpoint is
an enormous help toward increasing output.
THE COMMON VIEWPOINT IS AN IMPETUS.--There are those who believe
that the concerted standard process of thought of the many minds
assists the operation of any one mind. However this may be, there is
no doubt that the fact that the standard thought is present in all
minds at one time at least eliminates some cause for discussion and
leads to unity and consequent success in the work.
INVENTION IS STIMULATED.--Chances for invention and construction
are provided by standardization.[14] By having a scientifically
derived standard method as a starter, the worker can exert much of
his mental power toward improvement from that point upward, instead
of being occupied with methods below it and in wasting, perhaps, a
lifetime in striving to get up to it,[15] this in distinction to the
old plan, where a worker knew only what he could personally remember
of what had been handed down by tradition, tradition being the
memory of society. Under Scientific Management a worker has many
repetitions of experience, some of which he does not always
recognize as such. When he does recognize them, he has the power and
daring for rapid construction that come to those only who "know that
they know."
Standardization of ultimate subdivisions, as such, brings that
power to the worker sooner. The conscious knowledge of familiarity
of process is an essential for attaining the complete benefits of
experience.
Far from making machines out of the men, standardization causes
a mental state that leads to invention, for the reason that the
worker's brain is in most intimate contact with the work, and yet
has not been unnecessarily fatigued by the work itself. No more
monotonous work could be cited than that of that boy whose sole duty
was to operate by hand the valve to the engine, yet he invented the
automatic control of the slide valve used throughout the world
to-day.
STANDARDIZATION PREVENTS ACCIDENTS.--The results of
standardization so far given, concern changes in the worker's mental
capacity, or attitude. Such changes, and other changes, will be
discussed from a different viewpoint under "Teaching." As for
results to the worker's body, one of the most important is the
elimination of causes for accidents.
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