CLERKS

T]

'he  most  striking  fact  about  these  group  averages  is
the  decided  superiority  of  the  time-study  group.  As  a
flatter  of  fact,  the  members  of  this  group  were  not  strictly
clerks,  although  they  required  clerical  ability  to  a  very
high  degree.  The  group  was  composed  of  young  men,
college  graduates,  whose  duty  it  was  to  go  into  the  shops
a nd  study  operations  of  various  kinds,  observing  and  recording ­
  with  the  aid  of  a  stop  watch  the  most  minute
elements  which  entered  into  those  operations.  This  requires ­
  not  only  a  very  high  degree  of  technique,  but  an
unusual  degree  of  intelligence  as  well.  On  the  basis  of
the  tests,  this  group  is  very  markedly  superior  to  every
other  group,  both  in  technique  and  intelligence.  This
corresponded  exactly  with  the  relative  importance  of  the
group,  both  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  wages  they  received, ­
  the  work  with  which  they  were  intrusted,  and  the
office  manager’s  opinion.  The  differences  between  the
r ernaining  groups  were  not  so  marked.  The  ledger  group,
however,  was  higher  than  the  other  two  in  both  technique ­
  and  intelligence.  This,  again,  corresponded  with
l he  relative  value  and  importance  of  the  group.  The  two
re maining  groups,  doing  less  important  work  and  receiving,
°u  the  whole,  lower  pay,  were  very  much  alike.  The
^omputing-machines  group  excelled  the  statistical  group
'u  technique  but  was  in  turn  excelled  by  them  in  intelligence. ­
  This  was  in  accord  with  the  fact  that  the  statistical
  group  was  engaged  in  work  not  quite  so  routine  as
that  of  the  other  group.
As  regards  the  ranking  of  individuals,  the  results  of  the
tests  were  more  striking.  Every  member  of  the  first
gtoup  with  one  exception  was  ranked  among  the  fifteen
highest  out  of  the  entire  number  of  fifty-two  clerks  tested.

Th.

e  exception  was  a  man  whose  work  was  unsatisfactory