Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1915-05-03

business organization, like the indivi-
duals composing it, is apt to be trou-
bled by disease-the vacation dis
ease. When one group of employees
goes away for two weeks, and then
another group for two weeks more,
you have a continuous state of dis
ruption in the business as a whole The
summer months are poor months for
trade, ON this account Business is
slack because business is inefficient.
And so has risen the efficiency va
cation. This is literally a resting of
the whole organization at one time,
for the ultimate we'll being of it and
its members.
Vacations are a problem from the
standpoint of the business head also.
ASK any businessman what it means
to the total receipts of the business to
have to hire and break in new help
for the summer months. When the
original force tries to meet the total
works four men must do five mems
work for ten weeks, as they individual
ly take their recreation time. The re-
suits to the business are obviously bad.
THAT an entire business should take
vacation seems at first glance fool
hardy, in these days of continued eff
fort and vigilance as the price of divi-
dends. That such a policy should
bring increased earnings to the COM
pdhy Se0lIiS SlllI more unlikely. But a
simple problem in arithmetic will show
the basis of the action. There are
twelve summer weeks in the year.
Take ten weeks of full business activ-
| ity, and two weeks of no activity, and
campare the sum to twelve weeks of
halfway efficiency The result has been
the efficiency vacation, as practised by
Elliott Fisher Company, of Harrisburg,
| Pa.
Uses Plant as Model
Here the work of the general Of
| fees, factories, and sales offices every
where, in this country and abroad, is
suspended for two weeks in the late
summer months. The plan has been in
use for four years. June, July and
August had always been looked upon
as dull months for business in the
| Elliott-F'isher Company. This was so
because a certain percentage of the
employees were away during all that
time, and the work was consequently
in state of disruption. In the small
branch offices the conditions were even
worse than in the large ones. Elliott
Fisher maintain siXty-siX branches
here in the United States and seven
abroad. In many of these only one
man carries on the work. or at most
| manager and assistant. In these
small offices, that they might keep
open all summer, new assistance had
to be procured merely for the two
weeks when the manager was out of
| town. This added appreciably to the
expenses of the business, and the new
help, with no special responsibility
or knowledge, was inefficient.
Business would be practically at a
standstill for the holiday period and
worse; lit would often take the return
ing manager days or weeks to get
the books and general system into
shape for work again. Almost as we'll
have no vacation, the managers
thought. as to have one that is haunt
ed by the spectre of inefficient work
back at headquarters"
Other firms following this plan are:
Brown and Sharpe Manufacturing
Company, of Providence, r. l.; Baker,
Vawter Company, of Benton Harbor,
Mich; Stetson Hat Manufacturing
Company, and the National Cash Reg
lister Company.