28o

EMPLOYMENT  PSYCHOLOGY

open,  regardless  of  the  fact  that  other  students  may  have
entered  the  school  at  an  earlier  time.
This  method  also  provides  an  element  of  competition
which  is  a  very  healthy  asset  to  the  work  of  novices.  It  is  a
well-known  psychological  fact  that  a  few  minutes  of
actual  competition  daily  will  do  more  to  increase  a  person’s ­
  ability  than  hours  of  steady  and  uninspired  routine ­
  practice.  Competition,  therefore,  contributes  toward
making  the  new  employee  competent  with  the  least  possible ­
  delay,  and  serves  to  bring  out  all  the  more  quickly
whatever  latent  moral  qualities  the  pupil  may  have  in
reserve.
The  work  of  the  vestibule  school  should  be  so  far  as
possible  work  that  is  actually  taken  over  from  the  main
office.  For  instance,  girls  who  are  being  trained  in  typing
or  in  filing  should  be  trained  largely  upon  the  work  of
typing  or  filing  as  it  is  actually  being  done  in  the  larger
office  for  which  they  are  being  prepared.  In  this  way,  not
only  will  the  preparation  of  the  individuals  be  most
closely  tied  up  with  their  prospective  duties,  but  at  the
same  time  a  considerable  saving  in  the  cost  of  conducting
the  school  will  be  effected.
In  order  to  attain  the  maximum  effectiveness,  the  instructors ­
  of  the  vestibule  school  should  be  clerks  of  a  high
grade  who  have  not  only  had  actual  experience  in  the
routine  which  they  are  to  teach  but  who  also  possess  the
ability  to  impart  their  knowledge  to  their  pupils.  An  instructor ­
  in  every  distinct  type  of  work  ought  to  be  provided. ­
  The  manager  of  such  a  school  must  be  a  man  or
woman  of  exceptional  character,  ability,  and  experience.
He  should  be,  first  of  all,  a  good  employment  manager  with
the  necessary  ability  to  examine  and  select  applicants.
Even  if  this  selection  is  controlled  by  means  of  a  specialist