They are in many respects misguided men, and they require a
great deal of information that they have not got. So do most managers.
All that most workmen need to make them do what is right is a series of
proper object lessons. When they are convinced that a system is offered
them which will yield them larger returns than the union provides for,
they will promptly acquiesce. The necessary object lessons can best be
given by centering the efforts of the management upon one spot. The
mistake that ninety-nine men out of a hundred make is that they have
attempted to influence a large body of men at once instead of taking one
man at a time.
Another important factor is the question of time. If any one expects
large results in six months or a year in a very large works he is
looking for the impossible. If any one expects to convert union men to a
higher rate of production, coupled with high wages, in six months or a
year, he is expecting next to an impossibility. But if he is patient
enough to wait for two or three years, he can go among almost any set of
workmen in the country and get results.
Some method of disciplining the men is unfortunately a necessary element
of all systems of management. It is important that a consistent,
carefully considered plan should be adopted for this as for all other
details of the art. No system of discipline is at all complete which is
not sufficiently broad to cover the great variety in the character and
disposition of the various men to be found in a shop.
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