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 individual 
istic 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