The Psychology of Management / The Function of the Mind in Determining, Teaching and Installing Methods of Least Waste

by Lillian Moller Gilbreth

Value of Psychology of Management. — Third, we must consider the value of the study of the psychology of management.[³]

This question, like the one that precedes it, is answered by Scientific Management. It has demonstrated that the emphasis in successful management lies on the man, not on the work; that efficiency is best secured by placing the emphasis on the man, and modifying the equipment, materials and methods to make the most of the man. It has, further, recognized that the man's mind is a controlling factor in his efficiency, and has, by teaching, enabled

the man to make the most of his powers. [⁴] In order to understand this teaching element that is such a large part of management, a knowledge of psychology is imperative; and this study of psychology, as it applies to the work of the manager or the managed, is exactly what the "psychology of management" is.

Five Indications of This Value. — In order to realize the importance of the psychology of management it is necessary to consider the following five points: —

1. Management is a life study of every man who works with other men. He must either manage, or be managed, or both; in any case, he can never work to best advantage until he understands both the psychological and managerial laws by which he governs or is governed.

2. A knowledge of the underlying laws of management is the most important asset that one can carry with him into his life work, even though he will never manage any but himself. It is useful, practical, commercially valuable.

3. This knowledge is to be had now. The men who have it are ready and glad to impart it to all who are interested and who will pass it on.[⁵] The text books are at hand now. The opportunities for practical experience in Scientific Management will meet all demands as fast as they are made.

4. The psychology of, that is, the mind's

place in management is only one part, element or variable of management; one of numerous, almost numberless, variables.

5. It is a division well fitted to occupy the attention of the beginner, as well as the more experienced, because it is a most excellent place to start the study of management. A careful study of the relations of psychology to management should develop in the student a method of attack in learning his selected life work that should help him to grasp quickly the orderly array of facts that the other variables, as treated by the great managers, bring to him.