io6 
EMPLOYMENT PSYCHOLOGY 
of office workers was asked to describe the work of those 
in his group he usually gave the description in stereotyped 
and technical terms which had very little relation to the 
fundamental requirements of the work in question, and 
which meant almost nothing to any one not closely ac 
quainted with the particular routine of the work being 
described. For instance, the work of a master plan clerk 
was described as preparing, scheduling, and closing out 
of all sub-orders; that of a check clerk as cutting amounts 
on checks and analyzing cash disbursements; auditor, 
checking the work of the blotter and inker. These de 
scriptions are somewhat ambiguous for one not familiar 
with the work. 
In order, therefore, to guide the analysis and descrip 
tion of tasks into specific channels and also in order to 
facilitate the use of this information after it had been 
obtained, the following outline was prepared and printed 
on a form card: 
Name of job Classification 
Department Division Section 
Characteristics of Work: 
Manual 
Writing—Figures—Drawing—Posting—Sorting. 
Machine 
Typing: Copy—Statistics—Dictation—Forms. 
Stenography: General Dictation—Technical—Secretarial. 
Comptometry: Add—Multiply—Divide—Decimal. 
Miscellaneous: 
Mental 
Filing: Alphabetical—Topical—Symbolical. 
Mathematics: Add—Multiply—Divide—Subtract—Percent 
age—Decimals. 
English 
Conversation—Correspondence—Grammar—Spelling—Han 
dling Inquiries.