Psychology and the day's work : a study in the application of psychology to daily life / by Edgar James Swift.

  • Edgar James Swift
Date:
[1918]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Psychology and the day's work : a study in the application of psychology to daily life / by Edgar James Swift. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    that a man no sooner adapts himself to one set of condi- tions than he must readapt himself to others. Those who cannot do so fall behind the more versatile. One of the largest manufacturers of engines failed to grasp the sig- nificance of the steam-turbine. The management sat still while other companies brought it to a successful commer- ) cial basis.” Methods of doing the day’s work also bring their prob- lems of organization and co-ordination. There is an enor- mous amount of overlapping of duties and responsibilities. A large furniture manufactory spent several days trying to determine the responsibility for failure to do a given piece of work satisfactorily and promptly. Each depart- ment concerned blamed another, and in the end no one was satisfied. Such inefficiency produces continual finan- cial loss and frequent dissatisfaction both within the or- ganization and with customers. Success in business, as in other matters, requires that conflicts be adjusted and difficulties overcome. Now the solution may be delayed until the problem is thought out. Then the several ways that suggest themselves may be thought through so as to determine how they would work out in practice. Again, one of the more promising solu- tions may be put to the actual test of a preliminary trial to determine what errors had been overlooked. As a mat- ter of fact, however, a man commonly uses neither of these methods. The idea in mind is the somewhat general notion of success, and the first method that seems to meet the exigencies of the situation is usually adopted. But the exigencies that are met are the immediate ones, those that are pressing for solution at the moment. The result is that the more remote, related conflicts are not adjusted. This was the case in the overlapping of responsibilities in the furniture factory to which we have referred. When we ask what determines the selection of the plan or method of meeting difficulties that arise in business or
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