THE COMMITTEE SYSTEM

28. We have already referred to the necessity of coöperation in every successful organization. We do not wish to be understood as advancing this idea of coöperation for the benefit only of executive officers and heads of departments. It must extend farther than this—it must penetrate to every nook and corner of the shop.

We must have the coöperation of every workman, no matter how obscure his position, and to secure this coöperation it is necessary to instill in him an interest in the welfare of the business as a whole. Treat him as a mere cog in the wheel and he will very likely be content to do as little work as possible and still draw his pay, with no thought of bettering conditions in his department. But show him that you recognize his ability—that you know that he knows how his work should be done—and he will readily lend his coöperation. The problem of securing this coöperation has been given much study, and those who have met with the greatest success have done so by showing the workman that his advice and suggestions are appreciated.

No matter how willing you may be to receive them, the workman naturally hesitates to make suggestions personally. But give him an opportunity to discuss a point with others of his kind and it is surprising how many practical ideas will be brought out. Experience has shown that this spirit of working for the good of the business can best be maintained through the formation of standing committees. Such committees bring out the best ideas of the men composing them, and invariably work for the good of the business.

29. General Factory Committee. In the manufacturing branch of a business, the first committee to be formed is the general factory committee. This committee is usually composed of the superintendent, who acts as chairman, the chief engineer or designer, the tool room foreman, or the special designer of tools, the head of the cost department, and two or three foremen of the most important departments.

The work of this and all other committees must necessarily be adapted to the requirements of the business, but, as a general proposition, the matters to come before the committee may be stated as follows:

1.Reports and discussions of the standardization of the product.
2.Reports of progress on new designs or the redesigning of old product which has been authorized at previous meetings.
3.Discussion of economies in general operating methods, economies in cost of production, and all questions of a similar nature.
4.A report on routine work in the factory—whether stock or special contracts—condition of orders, and condition of stock to fill future orders.
5.The question of promotions. If all promotions in the shop are brought before this committee for approval, it will do away with the charge of favoritism of foremen in advancing relatives or personal friends without regard to their qualifications. A foreman who is obliged to recommend promotions to this committee, will be very careful that the promotion is deserved.

30. Departmental Factory Committees. Many factories manufacture more than one line of goods. In such factories it is advisable to have committees to discuss progress in each specific line. Members of the factory committee should act as chairmen of these departmental committees. The committees will be composed of the foremen interested, the tool room foreman, and the head of the cost department.

The work of the committee, so far as relates to a particular department, will be very similar to that of the general factory committee. The discussion will cover:

1.Standardization of product and suggestions for new designs.
2.Progress on improvements already started.
3.Economies in operating expense and cost of production.
4.Reports on routine work.

31. Job Bosses. Carrying the committee plan a step farther, it is well to hold occasional meetings of the job bosses. The foreman of each shop will act as chairman and discuss matters pertaining to work in his own shop with the job bosses under him.

In most factories it is also advisable to hold, at least once a month, a general foremen's meeting. This should be a meeting of all foremen, with the superintendent, for the discussion of problems of a general nature and problems relating to specific shops.

32. Sales Committee. In the commercial branch, perhaps the most important committee is the sales committee. This committee should consist of the general manager, who acts as chairman, the sales manager, advertising manager, chief engineer, and superintendent. At times it may be advisable to call in the head of the cost department and the tool room foreman.

At the meetings of this committee the following subjects will come up for discussion:

1.General sales report, showing progress of the business as a whole.
2.Territorial sales reports, showing sales in each territory. Both of these reports should exhibit comparisons between the current and preceding periods.
3.Reports of sales classified according to the nature of the product, or specific lines of goods. This is in some respects the most important of the reports, since it shows which are the fast and which the slow moving lines.
4.Suggestions for and a discussion of proposed improvements in the present products.
5.Discussion of proposed new product.
6.Standardization.

In the discussion of the three last named subjects the engineer and superintendent are especially interested, and it is here that the presence of the cost clerk or the tool-room foreman will be required. A salesman naturally assumes the attitude of considering his customers' desires of the greatest importance. Naturally he wants the factory to manufacture the goods that he can sell. But a discussion of difficulties to be surmounted, increased costs, and like questions will go far toward bringing him into line and convincing him that the interests of the house lie in his pushing standard goods.

33. Advertising Committee. A committee which is to a certain extent a subdivision of the sales committee is the advertising committee. The general manager should act as chairman, and will have with him on the committee the comptroller, advertising manager, and sales manager.

The work of this committee will be confined to a discussion of:

1.Results of past advertising, including periodical, street car, bill-board, and all other forms.
2.Appropriations for current advertising.

These advertising reports are very important, for, after sufficient time to establish an equitable cost basis has elapsed, all future advertising should be based on the cost of actual sales, giving due consideration of course to the season of the year, general tendency of the times, and other factors which might temporarily have a disturbing influence.

34. Organization Committee. Another committee of importance, which, for convenience, we will call the organization committee, is one which discusses all questions pertaining to accounting and record systems. This committee will be headed by the comptroller and will include the sales manager, advertising manager, credit man, purchasing agent, and superintendent. Sometimes it will be advisable to call into the meetings the chief accountant, cost clerk, stores clerk, and even shop foremen.

As indicated above, the chief work of this committee will be a discussion of systems. While the comptroller prescribes all systems of record, reports, statistics, and accounts, he should make no radical changes without discussing the proposed change with those whose work will be directly affected.

Many systems, good in theory and which with coöperation would work out in actual practice, have failed because they were forced on the business. A systematizer may install a good system and get it into operation, but unless he has secured the coöperation of those upon whom its operation will devolve, he will very likely find that after he leaves there is a gradual disintegration until conditions are worse than before the change was attempted.

It is seldom that a foreman or a clerk will resent a change if he is made to feel that he is, in part at least, responsible for the change. When new systems are introduced in the shop, the foremen are quite likely to look upon them as a means of checking up their departments—a sort of police supervision. The writer has had considerable experience in the introduction of systems into factories, and has invariably found that the coöperation of the shop foreman could be secured by asking for his advice. Before prescribing a form or a system of records for a department, he has made it a point to discuss the difficulties with the foreman, always leading the foreman to put forward what seemed to him the greatest difficulties, and then when these have been apparently solved, to ask the foreman if he does not think such and such a plan would work. When dealing with particularly obstinate foremen he has even gone so far as to suggest a plan which is plainly impracticable, for the very purpose of leading the foreman to suggest a practical solution. Needless to say, in such cases the foreman gives the plan his hearty support, because he has been made to feel that the importance of his suggestions has been recognized.

Committee Meetings. The frequency of meeting of the committees herein suggested must be decided by each manufacturer. No hard-and-fast rules can be laid down, but generally these suggestions will apply:

General factory committee, weekly.
Departmental factory committees, once in two weeks.
Job bosses and general foremen's meetings, monthly.
Sales committee, weekly.
Advertising committee, monthly.
Organization committee, monthly.

Committee Secretaries. At each committee meeting, a stenographer should be present to act as secretary. When no record is kept, discussions are quite likely to be rambling rather than confined to a specific subject. Then, too, matters which were discussed at the last meeting have grown hazy, and if a man who is responsible for putting into operation a given suggestion has failed in his duty, there is always the chance that no one will think of it at the next meeting unless he brings it up. If, however, an exact record is kept of these discussions and full reports are delivered to every member of the committee before the next meeting, a foreman, or other member, will be very careful about making statements or promises unless he knows that they can be fulfilled.

Where possible, it is best to have the same stenographer act as secretary to all committees, as he will become familiar with their work and can handle it much more expeditiously.