James Hartness

“ We overlook the fact that stagnation in place of progress of the men in the plant is deadly to the organization, and feel that if we get an extra- efficient man in a certain position that he must be kept there regardless of his own opportunity for advancement. We fail to realize that progress all the way through the organization, should be encouraged—that while man is distinctly a creature of habit, his mind as well as his body must be considered, and that only by changes of a progressive nature does he develop most favorably. ”

“ The ordinary work of machine design, in which well-known parts are grouped to accomplish a given end, without much thought of attaining anything approaching the best,—such designing is like painting a fence, so many square feet of paper should be covered per day. But the real higher type of work cannot be measured in this way. ”

“ Intrigue disappears when the management quits looking for it, and assures everybody, by the general method of conducting the business, that there will be no chance to oust this or that man. That each man will be retained in his place if he will but give reasonable application to the general interest of the organization and the particular work of his office.
The management does not "manage" if it perpetually changes its men. It should bolster up the man who lacks self-confidence; it should puncture false ambitions, and it should use men as they are found in the organization. ”

“ What are the boundaries that divide the Jack of all Trades, the specialist and the victim of an overdose of repetition work.
Why industrial managers should know the cardinal principles of invention, of industrial engineering, industrial management, industrial relations and the human factor in engineering and in the industries.
Why a plant may be growing in size and paying dividends and may still be dead so far as the spirit of enterprise is concerned.
Why some men try to manage industrial plants regardless of the cardinal principles of progress of workers and the state. ”

“ The drift away from specialization may not be disasterous today or tomorrow, especially, if there are no competitors who are specialists, but the inevitable result will be the burial of the "dead" organization when a real competitor comes into the field.
The calamity of the existence of "dead" industrial organizations is something more than the ultimate loss to the stockholders, it is the deplorable stagnation in which the workers find themselves with their progress blocked by lifeless management. ”

“ Every day requires a firm adherence to a definite policy. Nothing less than the firmest determination will hold an organization to a true course. With a division of opinion, the natural drift is away from the standards on which modern success depends. Not only is it necessary to have these principles understood by investors, but also by all whose opinions will in any way affect the spirit of the men in the organization.
The whole scheme, as it is set forth, is true to the fundamentals of human economics, for it provides ways by which the energies of mind and body are used most effectively. ”

“ A study of the design of any machine brings out the innumerable shortcomings.
If we see a machine that seems perfect, it is perfectly safe to set it down in black and white that we do not fully comprehend it. It is safe to say that the only perfect machine is the new model that is to be tried very soon.
With these facts in mind it does not require very much courage to go ahead with an imperfect design, but unfortunately these thoughts will not stay in the mind of the average designer. They are crowded out by the flood of ideas for still further betterment. ”

“ There is a chance for the thinker in most any of these places that have grown out of this process of finest subdivision of work. The hardship comes only when the mind cannot get interested in the work. In many cases this is undoubtedly due to a misfit, but in most cases it seems to be due to a false notion that there is nothing there of interest.
The subdivision of work must go on. If hindered in any one plant, industry or nation more than in others, the result will be a loss to that one, and on the other hand, the one that carries it to the most efficient point will become the most powerful. ”

“ The attitude of the workers and the general public should be cordial instead of antagonistic for every desirable industry is an asset of great value.
In theory and law an industry belongs to the stockholders, at least it is for the stockholders to elect the board of directors who through practical officers manage the business; but, as a matter of actual fact, to the man who has the best job in the world for himself right in that organization, the life of the organization is of greater importance than it is to any one of the stockholders. ”

“ A clear view of the scheme is not to be obtained on demand. The schemer must wait in patience, as the astronomer waits for steady air, and, like the astronomer, he must have every facility in shipshape. The clear view is only clear to the watching eye.
The coast-wise skipper in making a fog-bound harbor will see a buoy through a slight shift in fog, while a landsman might look in vain.
The wanderer in the happy dreamland of mechanical scheming must not be looking for complete drawings, specifications, and working model of the invention he wishes to bring into the breathless and waiting world. ”

“ A plan to create a new industry does not call for disloyalty to the employer, for as a rule it is very foolish to attempt to compete with an established organization excepting on some business that gives the new organization an advantage by one or more of the following points: invention, simpler product, simpler methods, a higher degree of specialization, a more effective and direct scheme of sales or a better spirit of personnel.
One of the essential things for the business man—if the business man is not the inventor—is to grasp the fact that his success is tied up to the inventor. ”

“ Repetition of operation becomes an automatic (habit) action in which man accomplishes the most work for a given expenditure of energy.
These two results—proficiency and easy performance—are of greatest value, but repetition of action, like nearly all good things, is not without its drawbacks. An overdose of one kind of work with a limited range of action frequently leads to dulling the senses. This stultifying effect produces a most undesirable result. The harm begins when there is a loss of interest in the work, for it is through the interest that the progress is made. ”

“ Through it all, we must see to it, that our scheme of work is true to the fundamental law of specialization, and that we recognize that there must be some division between the physical and mental tasks, and that this does not necessarily lead away from democracy. In fact, we must recognize there are two extremes. At one extreme we find the ideal of a highly specialized organization in which the greatest value in quality of work and quantity of output is possible through a complete co-ordination of the work of all types of men, each at his own kind of work, in which each can excel ”

“ In general it is safe to have faith in the honesty of the workers and those who cooperate with them—at least we can start with the assumption that honesty and square dealing are not monopolized by other professions.
If we will remember that an industry has a vitality the same as a man, that its life can be destroyed by an ignorant investigator with a probe poking into every nerve and muscle, we will make Vermont a more natural place for industrial development and progress. ”

“ Our fundamental error in understanding our own kind seems to lie in the fact that we fail to recognize that man is a creature of habit to an extent not quite equal to that of the lower animals, but nevertheless to a degree that positively stands in the way of any man who tries to create or manage an industry without giving due value to this one element. ”

“ The greatest value of an industrial plant that has everything but a work to do and a leader to determine its major policies, lies in the skilled workers and able executives in work and office. The buildings and machinery come next in value, but the whole thing is worthless without the idea and the vision. ”

“ The personal side of this to each man is the supreme need of a better understanding of human economics; that is, he must know the best way to use his own energies, and since he must work in cooperation with others he should also know what constitutes the most effective and successful organization. As a skilled worker, as a scientist in some branch of the work, as an executive in charge of some department, as a manager, investor or banker, he must keenly sense the conditions on which progress is made. ”

“ When we consider the inertia of mind and body, it is truly marvelous that there has been any progress in machine design. In fact, if the machine-building trade were in retrogression, with only a few new men being taken in there would be little or no excuse for making machine tools of new design. The older workers would get along about as well without the improved machines. ”

“ It requires more ability to take up the work of another and change it, than to start out in some original scheme.
The machine builder knows that the success of any machine depends on the clear-sightedness of his designer and the oneness of purpose of all the heads of all the departments devoted to the construction, sale, and oversight of the running machines in the hands of the users. And last but not least, in these days of supremacy of specialization, he knows that success comes only to the largest group of men organized for this particular kind of work.
All Men are Human Beings. ”

“ The inventor, the officers, and mayhap the foreman, taken all together, do not and cannot make a successful machine or business without this supplemental work or ideas that come from actual work of all workers.
This new kind of knowledge should not take away a man's courage; on the contrary, it should give him a true sense of value of existing, "going" things. With this knowledge he can confidently and earnestly push a machine that is the product of a good organization. He will know the great value of much experience and practise of each of the many men in the organization. ”

“ The knowledge of the force of habit of man should therefore be used in two ways:
First, when the designer is trying to make the most natural machine for the purpose. Then he must overcome his own tendency to follow precedent. Second, when considering the kind of a machine that can be easily made, sold, and used, he must give due consideration to the inertia of others, for their inertia he cannot hope to quickly change. ”

“ To the men in an organization it is also of great value, for by it they can estimate their own prospects for progress. They risk not only their earning power but their chances for personal development. Their chances in acquisition of high degree of ability and in advance from position to position also depends upon the policy of management and success of the enterprise. The loss of opportunity of any of these men really transcends the loss of money, for it involves the loss of personal development and all that that means. ”

“ Even the so-called new method which may be the center around which the so-called new business is built contains very little that is new. The newest things in the ordinary industrial world contain many old and well-known elements. The very use of a so-called new method or machine as a center around which to build an organization is in itself so old that it is a confirmed habit with us to be lured on to investing in such things by the statement that some new process or means is to be employed. ”

“ The practical experience in the various departments of machine construction, its sale and its use, is undoubtedly almost absolutely necessary for the average man in this work.
Its value is primarily to give an opportunity to see things in actual operation. The shop affords an opportunity to see how a machine stands up to its work, where it is weak, and a thousand and one points that can best be seen in actual operation. But there is still another phase that is comprehended more readily by the practical experience, and this applies to the various departments of business as well as to the works. ”