252

EMPLOYMENT  PSYCHOLOGY

tralization  took  place,  it  was  the  custom  of  each  shop
foreman  to  hire  his  own  men.  The  shop  foreman  was  at
least  fairly  familiar  with  the  jobs  in  his  particular  shop,
and  could  interview  applicants  with  direct  reference  to  the
work  which  he  expected  them  to  do.  His  intimate  knowledge ­
  of  jobs  was  of  inestimable  value  in  selecting  the  right
man  for  the  right  job.  However,  the  growth  of  large
industries,  with  the  consequent  centralization  of  functions,
has  brought  with  it  the  centralization  of  all  employment
functions.  Consequently,  instead  of  ten  or  a  hundred
different  shop  foremen,  each  hiring  his  own  men  in  his  own
way,  we  have  one  employment  office  in  which  a  few  men
do  all  the  hiring  for  every  shop  and  office  in  the  organization ­
  and  for  nearly  all  of  the  dozens  and  often  hundreds  of
varieties  of  jobs  which  may  be  found  there.
The  advantages  of  the  centralized  employment  office  in
standardizing  rates,  records,  clerical  methods,  and  in
making  the  most  economical  use  of  the  labor  available  are
unquestionable.  There  is  no  longer  a  doubt  that  a  central
control  of  all  the  factors  in  the  relation  between  an  industrial ­
  organization  and  its  employees  is  indispensable.
However,  it  is  equally  certain  that  in  giving  up  the  old
form  of  decentralized  employment,  industry  lost  also  the
one  most  valuable  feature  of  the  old  method.  This  was
the  firsthand  knowledge  of  the  different  jobs  under  his
control  which  the  foreman  of  each  shop  had  and  which
he  was  able  to  apply  in  hiring  new  men.  When  the  functions ­
  of  hiring  were  centralized,  the  knowledge  of  these
jobs  was  to  a  large  extent  lost.  This  is  only  natural,  since
it  is  manifestly  impossible  to  maintain  a  force  of  interviewers ­
  who  shall  be  experts  in  all  of  the  jobs  concerned.
And  for  the  employment  manager  or  his  employment
clerks  to  have  this  knowledge  is  still  further  beyond  the