Labour's First Year : 1945-46
1946 1946 1940s 27 pages but it is still often considered, even among Socialists, that working people are far too uninterested in their work, not to say too ill-educated or unintelligent, to be of much value in helping to solve the complex technological and administrative problems of industry. Ther...
| Institution: | MCR - The Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick |
|---|---|
| Language: | English English |
| Published: |
London : Common Wealth Publications Committee
1946
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10796/CCF234DD-EE34-45F2-8162-3BC39A86BD37 http://hdl.handle.net/10796/457F2049-81EA-4617-AA71-5E9AD45AA95C |
| Summary: | 1946
1946
1940s
27 pages
but it is still often considered, even among Socialists, that working people are far too uninterested in their work, not to say too ill-educated or unintelligent, to be of much value in helping to solve the complex technological and administrative problems of industry. There is, of course, an element of truth in these contentions. But are we not inclined to prejudge the results of thorough-going revolution in managerial technique from our experiences of hitherto half-hearted gropings in the same direction? A young sociologist, R.P. Lynton, has these comments to make on his experiences of a war-time Joint Production Committee : "In the final analysis, the effectiveness of Joint Production Committees depends on the belief that production is important ; that production is the source of all economic well-being, whether paid out in wages, or accruing to the community through social services. The realisation of this basic principle was lacking even in our representatives... In their minds, wages arose from employment as such, production being, so to speak, something to fill in the time; nor was there any obvious connection between what they produced by way of metal products and what they consumed — the food they ate, the houses they lived in, and so on. Without this degree of knowledge of economics, how can the J.P.C.'s be expected to work efficiently under post-war conditions? Can workers be expected to make suggestions entailing labour saving if they do not believe that Full Employment can exist, and hence place the importance of employment before that of production ?" (Pilot Papers, No. 1). Clearly, if Lynton's experiences are typical, a big job of education in the economics of Socialism has got to be done. But to admit the existence of difficulties is not to express doubts as to the need for Workers' Control — on production grounds alone. Briefly, Workers' Control is necessary for industrial efficiency because we all do our jobs better if we understand why we are doing them. But you cannot understand why you are doing a thing unless the technical experts and the management take you into their confidence by taking the trouble to explain things which you would otherwise overlook. If the management does this it reaps an unexpected harvest of practical suggestions for improvements. Among workers of the same grade, some are more experienced or intelligent than others ; skilled workers have a greater contribution to make than unskilled ; and technical experts must command attention proportionate with their knowledge. Lastly, management itself is a rare skill, difficult of acquirement, and impossible of performance unless accompanied by responsibility. Managers, 19
15X/2/98/21 |
|---|---|
| Physical Description: | TEXT |