RECORDS AND PROGRAMMES
DEFINITION OF RECORD.--A record is, according to the Century
Dictionary--"something set down in writing or delineated for the
purpose of preserving memory; specifically a register; an authentic
or official copy of any writing, or an account of any fact and
proceedings, whether public or private, usually entered in a book
for preservation; also the book containing such copy or account."[1]
The synonyms given are "note, chronicle, account, minute, memorandum."
FEW WRITTEN RECORDS UNDER TRADITIONAL MANAGEMENT.--For the
purposes of this preliminary study of records, emphasis will be laid
on the fact that the record is written. Under Traditional Management
there are practically no such labor records. What records are kept
are more in the nature of "bookkeeping records," as Gillette and
Dana call them, records "showing debits and credits between
different accounts." In many cases, under Traditional Management,
not even such records of profit or loss from an individual piece of
work were kept, the manager, in extreme cases, oftentimes "keeping
his books in his head" and having only the vaguest idea of the state
of his finances.
IMPORTANCE OF RECORDS REALIZED UNDER TRANSITORY MANAGEMENT.--As
has been amply demonstrated in discussing Individuality and
Standardization, the recognition of the value of records is one of
the first indications of Transitory Management. Since this stage of
management has Scientific Management in view as "a mark to come to,"
the records evolved and used are not discarded by Scientific
Management, but are simply perfected. Therefore, there is no need to
discuss these transitory records, except to say that, from the
start, _quality_ of records is insisted upon before quantity of
records.
NO "BOOKKEEPING" RECORDS UNDER SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT.--Under
Scientific Management there are no "bookkeeping records" kept of
costs as such. Instead, there are "time and cost records," so
called, of the time and efficiency of performance. From these, costs
can be deduced at any time. Items of cost without relation to their
causes, on work that is not to be repeated, have little value. Cost
records, as such, usually represent a needless, useless expenditure
of time and money. It must be emphasized that Scientific Management
can in no way be identified with "cost keeping," in the sense that
is understood to mean aimlessly recording unrelated costs. Under
Scientific Management costs are an ever-present by-product of the
system, not a direct product.
RECORDS MUST LOWER COSTS AND SIMPLIFY WORK.--The quantity of
records that should be made depends on the amount, diversity and
state of development of the work done. No record should be made,
which does not, directly or indirectly, actually reduce costs or in
some way increase efficiency. The purpose of the records, as of
Scientific Management in general, is to simplify work. Only when
this is recognized, can the records made be properly judged.
Numerous as they may at times seem to be, their number is determined
absolutely by the satisfactory manner in which they--