Work Study a Factor That Cannot be Ignored
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QUMMING up on his exhaustive review of work study as applied to public cleansing, Mr. Frank Flintoff (director of public cleansing, Westminster) said that this was a factor management could not ignore.
The use of financial inducements related to accurate work measurement were necessary in this materialistic age. during full employment, to enable local government to keep up with industry in productivity and recruitment. The final lesson of their experiences at Westminster was the renewal, if that were necessary, of confidence in the adaptability and ultimate loyalty of those men who, by ridiculous convention, stood at the bottom of the social ladder, the dustman and sweeper. The time to introduce work study was before it became necessary. Many of the difficulties encountered at Westminster, particularly in refuse collection, would have been avoided but for the need to achieve bonusing quickly. Pretraining of shop stewards in the essentials of work study was one of the reasons of success in his authority but failure to draw the middle ranks of supervision into the scheme was a serious omission. The ill-informed could not be blamed for opposing something not completely understood. Middle management should have the opportunity to criticize work specifications before adoption. The work study team must be kept within its brief which was to devise better methods when possible.