THE MEASURE OF COMPARATIVE PRODUCTIVENESS 303 
facturing establishments all defective work is rejected or 
sent back to the responsible worker for repairs. In this 
way, the quantity of a man’s work is made directly depend 
ent on its quality. By comparative productiveness we 
mean both the quantity and quality of work produced by 
an individual in comparison with other workers. 
Another factor which enters into the productiveness of 
an individual is attendance. A worker may be a very fast 
and careful operator or mechanic, but if he is out for a day 
or two days at frequent intervals, his work stands idle and 
his productiveness may fall below that of another worker 
not quite so fast but more regular in attendance. At 
tendance is also a very good index of many other qualities 
essential to a good worker such as loyalty, health, indus 
try, habits, and so forth. Indeed, the matter of attend 
ance is now generally recognized as one of the most serious 
of all personnel and production problems. 
The question will undoubtedly be raised at this point: 
But what of honesty, patience, dependability, cleanliness, 
good moral habits, term of service, religious convictions, 
loyalty, and a host of other qualities just as important if 
not more so than mere ability to produce? We often find 
these qualities mentioned on interview and personal-record 
cards, and attempts are frequently made to describe 
workers in such terms. However, closer analysis will 
demonstrate that all of these factors enter into the pro 
ductiveness of an individual. The worker who is loyal, 
industrious, and steady, will show it by producing more 
work than the one who is not. The employee who is 
neat, conscientious, and honest, will produce better work 
than the man who does not possess these qualities. In 
deed, it is very difficult if not impossible to attribute such 
qualities to a worker except on the basis of comparative