The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-02-11
THE HOUSEWIFE AS
 AN EXECUTIVE E
By MRS. CHRISTINE FREDERICK Household Expert, Author "House-
 hold Engfneering


 It is the great misfortune of many women homemakers that each Of them must stand alone as the direct ing head of a separate establishment, without any trained efficient mrnu to guide them. On the other hand, the majority of workers in shop or factory are under the guidance of efficient foremen and overseers. The reason the output of industry is so large and generally produced with such little friction is that the mass of workers are under the constant training of guiding head--what we | call an executive" or "boss." But in the home almost every woman is her own "boss," at least as to the details of what work shall be done and how 1t shall be carried out. And that's where the trouble often comes in-most women in the home are not trained to be executives even over their own homes. It's not their fault, of course, simply their misfortune that they are forced to take a managing position for which they are so often unfitted. | Here's Mrs. H-She Is an excellent
 
 beat her at making appetizing dishes or hustling through work. But in the business world she would be classed as a detail worker"-one who sees all the small points, the details-but not the job as a whole! The result may be and often is that Mrs. B elaborates her work. prolongs 1t or emphasizes some part like cocSiing, at the expense of other equally inn portant branches like cleaning or child care.
 Every housewife must train herself to be an executives: She must learn to use her head more and her heels less; she must look at the manage ment of the whole house and plan accordingly not see just one part of it which she happens to like most. Woman's vanity has often kept her from admitting that many of her problems are distressing because she herself is not an executive and not because of fate" circumstances or other people.
 The good executive in business throws the chief objects he has in view, and bends every energy to ob- tain them. All too often the house. wife allows herself to work without any plan or object, just take work as it comes, multiplying small and unimportant work and losing sight of the main purposes. This type of woman says there's always plenty of work to be found'-and find 1t she can,
 The more human nature and psy- chology the woman in the home un- derstands the better she will be able to manage help or assistants under her. We don't like to admit that most women workers prefer to work for men than for women employers but they do! The average housewife has far yet to go to overcome pettl- ness, unfairness, snobbery and even glaring abuses in the treatment of her maids and helpers.
 She must learn and practice the modern principle of Teamwork" and openly acknowledge that the good management of her home is due to loyal help on the part of employees. Every bit of paternalism or I am better than you attitude must vanish if the home boss is to gain and hold respect of her helpers. The most suc- cessful men in high places take the greatest pride in always considering themselves and acting toward em- ployes as one of the boys'-how diff ferent from the typical mistress at titude' of the past-we can hardly stretch our imagination to think of any Mrs. Brown speaking of herself as lone of the girls"
 We have plenty of inventions for the housework-even a surplus Of labor saving devices; we have all sorts of information and advice and directions for this and that branch of housework. But what we really need is the development of the trained, thinking, home executive for efficiency in the home, as in fac tory or office, must first start in the directing mind of the establfshment- in the capabilities Of the boss" to manage his job.