TESTING TO SPECIFICATION IO9 
ln topical filing. Or the employment office may receive a 
requisition for a clerk whose work is very simple and re 
quires 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 em 
ployment 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 flexi- 
hity 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. Cer- 
tamly, there are many kinds of work besides those named