ed, and all the details
in following any pattern are fitted together so as to make as few
motions as possible, to use as little energy as possible, and to reach
the end as quickly as possible. This is, says one, "the application of
the conservation principle to production." "The art of management," says
another of these experts, "is knowing exactly what you want the men to
do, and then seeing that they do it in the best and cheapest way." In
order to accomplish all this in, say, the business and work of a
factory, there must be an efficiency engineer, who shall spend days and
weeks and months in finding out what the right order of motions is, what
the best arrangement of the tools and materials shall be, what
elimination of unnecessary acts and things can be made in order that
every possible waste of energy may be pared off and the path to the end
may be absolutely, sternly direct. Then there is the route clerk, who
sees that this order is followed by each man until he is able to do it
involuntarily and as if by instinct. To make definite record of the
success of this work, the time-and-cost clerk will keep track of time
and per cent. items, and make known exactly what are the results of
doing things in one particular way. If not satisfactory, another way
must be chosen.

It is the belief of the advocates of scientific management that if we
thus make the individual efficient, his productive capacity will be
raised twenty-five or fifty per cent., or even sometimes doubled.

Scientific management calls for a careful study of the surroundings. The
appliances must be adequate, comfortable, handy, and such as require
the least percentage of rest. The scaffold or bench must be the exact
height to make as little strain as possible on the worker. The table
must be made at the right height so that the worker will not have to
stoop over for his tools. If he works on his feet, there must be
something for him to stand against so that he may have no fear of
falling. To get the full output, the right appliances must be devised,
standardized, used, and maintained. The worker's clothing must not be
ill-fitting, or it may restrict the movement of his arms and hands. It
must be of such material that he will not be in constant fear of ruining
it. Everything about him must be such as to increase speed and not
restrict motion. Nothing that will affect the eyesight unpleasantly is
to be tolerated. There shall be no reflecting surfaces from