33°

EMPLOYMENT  PSYCHOLOGY

part  of  the  judges.  The  judges  themselves,  in  turn,
should  be  subject  to  the  appraisal  of  their  superiors.  The
total  result  would  then  be  a  pyramid  of  appraisals  with
the  general  manager  or  the  board  of  directors  as  the  final
appraiser.  This  is  quite  in  accord  with  the  present  system,
in  which  managers  stand  or  fall  according  as  they  are
able  to  gauge  correctly  the  character  of  their  subordinates.
However,  this  method  goes  still  further,  by  introducing
a  great  refinement  into  the  present  more  or  less  individualistic ­
  hit-or-miss  process.  One  is  inclined  to  wonder,  in
this  connection,  whether  the  time  will  ever  come  at  which
this  method  will  also  work  backwards,  so  that  the  workers
will  similarly  appraise  their  superiors.
In  one  of  the  best  organized  companies  in  Buffalo,  it
is  the  practice  to  rank  all  foremen  and  assistants  in  a
fashion  similar  to  that  described  here  and  to  award  them
a  semiannual  bonus  upon  the  basis  of  their  standing.
If  any  one  fails  to  receive  a  bonus  and  asks  the  reason  why,
he  is  shown  this  record  and  his  shortcomings  are  pointed
out  to  him.  The  officials  of  this  company  assert  that  the
results  are  highly  beneficial.
Granting  that  the  proposed  method  outlines  certain
limits  and  standards  to  which  the  impressionistic  method
must  conform,  the  great  question  which  still  remains
is  this:  Does  this  method  eliminate  that  prolific  source
of  trouble,  prejudice?  The  unhesitating  answer  to  this
question  must  be:  No.  No  method  which  rests  in  the
final  analysis  upon  personal  impressions  or  opinions  can
be  free  from  prejudice.  However,  it  can  be  stated  with
equal  emphasis  that  the  method  described  will  tend  to
minimize  prejudices  most  decidedly.
In  the  first  place,  although  prejudices  can  never  be
avoided,  they  can  to  a  large  extent  be  neutralized.  A  prej ­