XXIII

MEASURING  BY  LIMITED  IMPRESSIONS
The  method  of  determining  correlations  described  can
be  applied,  with  slight  adaptations,  to  many  industries
where  large-scale  production  is  carried  on.  The  future
will  see  an  even  greater  division  of  labor  and  refinement
in  manufacturing  methods;  consequently,  the  method  of
comparative  productiveness  will  be  applicable  to  an  ever
increasing  extent.  Still  there  will  always  be  instances
where  relative  productiveness  can  not  be  computed  mathematically, ­
  and  where  the  process  of  production  will  not
meet  the  three  conditions  outlined.  The  following  instances ­
  may  be  given  as  representative  of  conditions  under ­
  which  the  method  of  comparative  productiveness  is
not  applicable:
1.  The  small  factory,  in  which  the  variety  of  work  to  be
done  is  large  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  workers  employed. ­
  Each  employee  is  likely  to  be  engaged  in  several
different  operations  each  day,  making  it  impossible  to
compare  individuals  on  the  basis  of  identical  work  done
under  identical  conditions.
2.  Offices,  in  which  the  variety  of  work  is  almost
infinite,  and  in  which  it  is  practically  impossible  to  compute ­
  the  relative  productiveness  of  individuals.
3.  Service  corporations  such  as  railroads,  street-car
companies,  etc.,  where  the  conditions  of  service  vary
greatly,  and  where,  in  consequence,  it  is  difficult  to  compute ­
  exactly  the  relative  usefulness  of  individuals.
320