CHAPTER II ORGANIZATION Industrial Organization-Definition-Factors Determining The traffic department must find a place in every efficiently administered industrial organization that has any amount of shipping, either inbound or outbound. The term "industrial organization" as here used applies in a broad sense to all concerns engaged in barter and trade. The commission merchants handling shipments on consignment and disposing of them for the consignor's account on a commission basis would be so construed. Wholesalers or jobbers acting as an intermediary between the manufacturer and the retail dealer would come in the same category. It would include also those concerns whose industrial function is the conversion of raw or unfinished products into finished articles or commodities. The question of organization logically precedes the question of management. The rookies, or raw recruits, must be mustered before they can be drilled and trained to be fighting men. The character or type of the department that is best adapted to the individual requirements of a given industry naturally rests to a large extent on the number of shipments, the volume of tonnage, and the character of goods. A wholesale tailor, for instance, whose shipping for the most part consists of dry goods of light weight in and finished clothing of still lighter weight out has a somewhat elementary traffic problem. In an industry where the activities are many and varied and the items of transporation considerable, the problem is acute and requires the best efforts of a corps of practical and technically trained men to effect the best results. The failure of many men to make good as traffic managers, or the inadequacy of the department itself, is due in a large measure to a lack of knowledge of the fundamental principles of organization. EFFICIENCY "Efficiency" is, to state it mildly, a somewhat regularly employed word. To many men it is a visionary's "catch-a-penny" or "clap-trap," without real significance in the business world. This hazy conception of the term is reflected in the number of business failures in which the inefficient human element has played "the stellar rôle." As applied to traffic work, "efficiency" has been quite tritely defined as the greatest result by the employee or employees engaged. By "result" is meant benefit to the concern. It implies the least effort, the elimination of lost motion, the avoidance of unnecessary detail and routine. A certain office efficiency expert states that a wellconstructed office operates thru certain principles of efficiency which may or may not be conscientiously applied, and that if success be lacking, an analysis will show the cause to be the failure to apply at least one or more of these factors. Mr. Harrington Emerson, a recognized efficiency expert, has set forth a dozen efficiency principles which may well be considered in the organization and administration of a traffic department. They are as follows: Clearly defined ideals. Discipline. A fair deal. Immediate and adequate records. Dispatching. Standards and schedules. Standardized conditions. Standardized operations. Written standard-practice instructions. Ideals The first principle, that of clearly defined ideals, contemplates a definite goal. Without this, we have the sorry spectacle of the "we're here because we're here" or the "in out of the rain" traffic department or traffic manager. The success of modern merchandising or manufacturing is contingent almost exclusively on a satisfied patronage. "The customer is right" policy of some of our leading commercial and mercantile organizations is responsible for the development of a clientele that may be relied upon to stick thru thick and thin. "To give the greatest dollar's worth per dollar" is an irresistible magnet as far as a great number of our citizens are concerned. Loyalty is indispensable in any organization. Before a corps of employees can be loyal, however, it is necessary that they be definitely informed as to the ideals, the aims, and the purpose of the organization. Then they may adjust themselves accordingly and vigorously carry out the program. As a model code of principles, the following contains numerous clearly defined ideals that may be well employed in all traffic departments: TO BE THE BEST TRAFFIC DEPARTMENT IN THE WORLD. TO INSIST UPON AND DEMAND OUR RIGHTS AND RESPECT THOSE OF OPPOSING FACTIONS. TO BE BROAD AND LIBERAL AS WELL AS AGGRESSIVE IN OUR POLICY AND METHOD. TO BE LOYAL TO THE COMPANY, TO OURSELVES, AND TO TO PAY NO MORE OR NO LESS THAN THE LAWFUL CHARGE FOR OUR TRANSPORTATION. TO AVOID WASTE, TO IMPROVE PRACTICE, AND TO INCREASE RESULTS. Common Sense This, as a learned professor was wont to say, is perhaps the most uncommon thing in the world. We become so imbued with theories and false notions and are so inclined to pursue a will o' the wisp that quite frequently there is a deal of truth in the observation that "he is on his way but he does not know where he is going." It should, nevertheless, predominate in the selection of ideals, purposes, and plans that they may be readily appreciated by members of the staff and the rank and file of employees. The law of the land is said to rest largely if not exclusively on common sense. Its absence is frequently reflected in the unreasonable rules and practices that are established by transportation agencies, and in the unreasonable demands made at times by the shipping public upon the transportation agencies themselves. Competent Counsel Very few men profess to be masters of all trades, and naturally instances may arise in any vocation where it is necessary to consult specialists. The cheapest thing on the market to-day is the experience of others. Adaptable suggestions appearing in trade and technical journals should be turned to account wherever feasible, and conferences of an intradepartmental and interdepartmental nature should be arranged periodically for the exchange of ideas on improved methods and practice. The traffic clubs in the larger cities, chambers of commerce, and the like afford a very prolific field for the exchange of ideas among the representatives of contemporaneous or allied activities. Dinners may be arranged and the services of prominent citizens secured as speakers to insure large attendances and thus stimulate a healthy growth of the organization. |