One of these companies was in France, one in
Germany, and one in the United States. Being to a certain extent rivals
in business and situated in different countries, naturally neither one
had anything to do with the management of the other. In the course of
his investigation, the writer found that the managers had never even
taken the trouble to ascertain the exact proportion of non-producers to
producers in their respective works; so that the organization of each
company was an entirely independent evolution.
By non-producers the writer means such employees as all of the general
officers, the clerks, foremen, gang bosses, watchmen, messenger boys,
draftsmen, salesmen, etc.; and by "producers," only those who actually
work with their hands.
In the French and German works there was found to be in each case one
non-producer to between six and seven producers, and in the American
works one non-producer to about seven producers. The writer found that
in the case of another works, doing the same kind of business and whose
management was notoriously bad, the proportion of non-producers to
producers was one non-producer to about eleven producers. These
companies all had large forges, foundries, rolling mills and machine
shops turning out a miscellaneous product, much of which was machined.
They turned out a highly wrought, elaborate and exact finished product,
and did an extensive engineering and miscellaneous machine construction
business.
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