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  acquainted ­
  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  descriptions ­
  are  somewhat  ambiguous  for  one  not  familiar
with  the  work.
In  order,  therefore,  to  guide  the  analysis  and  description ­
  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—Percentage—Decimals. ­

English
Conversation—Correspondence—Grammar—Spelling—Handling ­
  Inquiries.