TESTING  TO  SPECIFICATION  IO9
ln  topical  filing.  Or  the  employment  office  may  receive  a
requisition  for  a  clerk  whose  work  is  very  simple  and  requires ­
  no  ability  whatsoever  in  arithmetic.  In  the  former
Ca se,  a  stenographer  who  did  not  possess  ability  in  topical
filing  would  probably  prove  unsatisfactory.  In  the  latter
Ca se,  a  clerk  who  did  have  ability  in  arithmetic  would  be  a
Wa ste  of  human  material,  especially  if  such  a  clerk  were
Urgently  required  for  another  position  which  did  require
that  faculty.  Obviously,  therefore,  it  is  desirable  to  make
ar rangements  by  which  specifications  could  be  made  more
flexible,  so  as  to  cover  any  situation  which  might  arise.
This  can  be  done  by  means  of  the  requisition  blank.  To
fiegin  with,  a  copy  of  the  standard  specifications  must  be
kept  in  every  office  covering  the  tasks  being  done  in  that
°ffice.  A  complete  set  of  specifications  is  kept  in  the  employment ­
  office.  The  ordinary  requisition  for  help  may
therefore  be  made  by  merely  marking  on  the  requisition
“lank  the  name  or  symbol  of  the  particular  specifications
to  be  filled.  However,  when  an  exception  arises  for  which
the  standard  specifications  are  not  adequate,  the  form
a ^ r eady  described  can  be  sent  to  the  employment  office,
'''here  it  can  be  used  as  a  basis  for  selecting  the  proper
applicant.  In  this  manner,  a  considerable  degree  of  flexihity
  may  be  had.
There  is  nothing  theoretical  or  abstract  about  the
Procedure  described.  All  of  these  measures  and  more
nave  been  worked  out  in  detail  and  put  to  practical  use
"nth  increasingly  good  results.  Nevertheless,  a  word  of
' Va rning  must  be  given.  In  the  first  place,  the  activities
Numerated  here  as  elementary  or  fundamental  are  neither
comprehensive  nor  final.  It  may  be  possible  to  analyze
nem  into  other  still  more  fundamental  activities.  Certamly,
  there  are  many  kinds  of  work  besides  those  named