THE MEASURE OF COMPARATIVE PRODUCTIVENESS 315 
or, on the other hand, depriving the foreman entirely of 
the right to exercise such judgments, a sane middle course 
may be adopted. The importance and effectiveness of per 
sonal and emotional estimates should be recognized from 
the outset by providing a column in which they shall be 
expressed. However, such estimates, instead of being 
entirely free, shall be controlled and guided. Now, it is 
evident from the form which has been provided that this 
can be done. On one side of the foreman’s column is the 
worker’s record of productiveness. If the foreman is in 
clined to rate a good man too low, a glance at his adjacent 
production record will automatically remind him of the 
worker’s good points. If the foreman has, as sometimes 
happens, made it particularly easy or hard for a man to 
get out his work, a glance at the attendance record on the 
other side will remind him of the man’s steadiness and 
reliability. Furthermore, if the opinion of a worker’s value 
must be expressed in terms of A, B, C, and D, rather than 
more highly colored terms, the danger of emotional excess 
is still further reduced. Finally, by requiring a periodic 
expression of opinion rather than a sporadic one, another 
danger of excess is removed. In industrial situations the 
principle, count ten before you speak, can be applied with 
great profit. If there is something of special significance 
which must be said, space is provided under “Remarks"; 
although this place is intended also for the recording of 
many other factors which should affect an employee’s 
retention; namely, “attends night school”, “understands 
electrical work”, “popular with the men”, “would like 
a trial as a tool setter ”, and so forth. There are a thousand 
and one unpredictable facts or incidents which have a 
bearing upon the individual’s record but for which no 
standard procedure can be devised. Under “Reason for