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contrary to Mr. Cole's fears. In our drawing office we have men who 

 were machine men. Our time-study men were some of the first 

 workers who were studied. The planning department is manned 

 very largely by machine men. We find that just the very opposite 

 is the case to what Mr. Cole fears. 



The duties and requirements of the various management posts are 

 studied and scheduled almost as closely as the machine processes. 

 This is a natural result of the breaking up of the general control pre- 

 viously exercised by all grades of management officers and the 

 instituting of specialised control. One of the specialisations effected 

 under this scheme is the supervision of the human element, as such, 

 throughout the whole works organisation. This results in more 

 attention being paid to the discovery of latent talent and a greater 

 ease in making promotions, due, on the one hand, to this increased 

 knowledge of the individual capacities of workmen and staff, and on 

 the other, to the more exact knowledge of the requirements of any post 

 which is to be filled. 



To sum up the considerations relating to the second test, I am 

 inclined to think that Scientific Management is likely to bring about 

 a general upgrading of workers rather than to have the opposite effect. 

 This is distinctly evident in three directions : 



1. Promotion of the skilled man from machine to supervision. 



2. The semi-skilled man is enabled to do a better class of work 

 than he could possibly do otherwise. 



3. The functionalisation of management makes promotion all up 

 the line easier. 



The test which I gather is of most interest to you here is the effect 

 which Scientific Management is likely to have on the possibility of 

 increased control of industry by the workers. Personally I have a 

 great deal of sympathy for this desire, and I am convinced that Scientific 

 Management makes progress in this direction very much more possible 

 than it is at present. Don't run down Scientific Management because 

 it does not specifically offer joint control. Neither does the present 

 system. 



At present, bargaining between the trade union and the employer 

 is, to all intents and purposes, limited to a settlement of the time work 

 rate and of the minimum percentage above this which piece work 

 should yield. The setting of individual piece rates is, in the engineering 

 trade at least, largely a matter for settlement between the worker himself 

 and the management or, if you like, is imposed by the management. 

 I do not suggest that, under Scientific Management, it would be prac- 

 ticable for every standard time, and the corresponding rate, to be 

 referred, individually, to the trade union officials, but if the general 

 principles under which a time is set and payment made are agreed 

 to between the management and the union, the union will in effect 

 have achieved a considerable amount of control over the setting of 

 individual rates. The principles on which agreement would have to 

 be reached would cover the general method of making a time study ; 



