Management. — As we have seen, Scientific Management has as a basic idea the necessity of divided responsibility, or functionalization. This, when accompanied by the interdependent bonus, creates an incentive to teach and an incentive to learn. Scientific Management divides the planning from the performing in order to centralize and standardize knowledge in the planning department, thus making all knowledge of each available to all. This puts at the disposal of all more than any could have alone. The importance of having this collected and standardized knowledge conveyed best to the worker cannot be overestimated. Through this knowledge, the worker is able to increase his output, and thus insure the lowered costs, that provide the funds with which to pay his higher wages, — to increase his potential as well as actual efficiency, and best to coöperate with other workers and with the management.
Importance of Teaching Element Best Claim to Permanence of Scientific Management. — Upon the emphasis which it places on teaching rests/a large part of the claim of Scientific Management for permanence. [3] We have already shown the derivation of the standards which are taught. We have shown that the relation between the planning and performing departments is based largely on means and methods for teaching. We have only to show here that the teaching is done in accordance with those laws of Psychology that are the laws of Pedagogy.
Teaching in Scientific Management Not the Result of Theory Only. — The methods of teaching under
Scientific Management were not devised in response to theories of education. They are the result of actual experience in getting work done most successfully. The teachers, the methods, the devices for teaching, — all these grew up to meet needs, as did the other elements of Scientific Management.
Conformity of Teaching to Psychological Laws Proof of Worth of Scientific Management. — The fact that teaching under Scientific Management does conform, as will be shown, to the laws of Psychology, is an added proof of the value of Scientific Management.
Change from Teaching Under Traditional Management. — Mr. Gantt says, "The general policy of the past has been to drive; but the era of force must give way to that of knowledge, and the policy of the future will be to teach and to lead, to the advantage of all concerned." [4] This "driving" element of Traditional Management is eliminated by Scientific Management.
Necessity for Personally Derived Judgment Eliminated. — So also is eliminated the old belief that the worker must go through all possible experiences in order to acquire "judgment" as to best methods. If the worker must pass through all the stages of the training of the old-fashioned mechanic, and this is seriously advocated by some, he may fail to reach the higher planes of knowledge afforded by training under Scientific Management, by reason of sheer lack of time. If, therefore, by artificial conditions caused by united agreement and collective bargaining, workmen insist upon forcing upon the new learners the
old-school training, they will lose just so much of the benefits of training under those carefully arranged and carefully safe-guarded processes of industrial investigation in which modern science has been successful. To refuse to start in where others have left off, is really as wasteful as it would be to refuse to use mathematical formulas because they have been worked out by others. It might be advocated that the mind would grow by working out every possible mathematical formula before using it, but the result would be that the student would be held back from any further original investigation. Duplicating primary investigations might be original work for him, but it would be worthless as far as the world is concerned. The same is absolutely true in management. If the worker is held back by acquiring every bit of knowledge for himself instead of taking the work of others as the starting point, the most valuable initiative will be lost to the world.
Bad Habits the Result of Undirected Learning. — Even worse than the waste of time would be the danger of acquiring habits of bad methods, habits of unnecessary motions, habits of inaccurate work; habits of inattention. Any or all of these might develop. These are all prevented under Scientific Management by the improved methods of teaching.
Valuable Elements of Traditional Management Conserved. — There are, however, many valuable elements of the old Traditional system of teaching and of management which should be retained and not be lost in the new.