Evening star., 1926-10-24
MANAGEMENT GETS
WEEK IN SPOTLIGHT
Check-Up on Methods Under
Way to Reduce Waste
in Business.
By HARDEN COLFAX.


American business men this week
will observe something akin to IA COM
bination ot a secular Lenten season
and a self education course.
No other nation has so many and
varied special Weeks" and Days"
as has these United States. All the
fruits, flowers and vegetables, the
minerals and the animals. have their
special Weeks" while Fathers
Day. crowds Father and Son Day"
and Mother and Daughter Day for
space on calendar all too short for
our united enthusiasm. Mingled
among the special occasions inspired
bt sentiment and by motives of a
purely commercial nature. there are
some of outstanding constructive
character which fall within neither of
the other classifications. One of these
is Management Week"
More than 125 cities in at least 3o
States will devote attention to Man
agement Week" beginning tomorrow.
Nearly 800 different meetings will be
held and 1t is anticipated that some
10000 business and professional men
Will participate in the programs.
American business and industry
have climed to present heights of eff
cheney and productivity on ladder
whose rungs have not always been
painless to the ascending foot. Con-
tnued prosperity and expansion do
not point In the direction of virgin
fields Of endeavor SO much as in doing
better the things now known, in the
opinion Of many leaders
Motive Back of Week.
One way to cut costs and thereby
tv%1y
at lower costs. while at the same time
giving greater returns to the investor
and to workers, Is to improve man.
agement. Such is the underlying
thought in Management Week."
1t Is significant that the topic chosen
for the central theme Of the meetings
to be held next week throughout the
Nation Is Progress in Waste Elimi.
nation" 1t Is recognized that it is
time to pause and take account. of
what has been accomplished and
where the individual industry and
business is headed in this program of
elimination of waste that has been
the slogan Of the country these last
few years. Through exchanges Of
ideas in the approaching meetings.
most of which will be in the nature Of
experience" meetings. it is hoped to
further promote assaults against
wasteful methods.
This will be the fifth annual "Man-
agement Week" Interest and attend.
ance have increased each year. The
events next week are sponsored by
national committee composed Of repre-
sentatives Of six organiZations-the
American Society Of Mechanical En-.
gineers. American Management Asso-
citation. American Institute Of Ac-
A- ~s4I ~r~{
neers. Taylor Society and the divi.
sion of simplifled practice Of the De-
partment Of Commerce. Cooperating
are chambers Of commerce. Rotary,
Kiwanis. Civitan, Lions and other
luncheon clubs; technical societies.
universities, labor organizations and
many large and small corporations
covering a wide field Of activities.
Waste Challenges Managers.
Management has been under fire.
half the waste Of which industry is
accused. It is being put to the test
increasingly by the changing charac-
ter of ownership Of corporations In
this country. where in numbers which
mount daily the general public is
becoming an investor in business and
in industry. Particularly is there a
trend toward employee ownership. La
bor Is becoming the money partner
Of capital.
When the consumer appears in that
role and also as stockholder and as
employe, which IS increasingly the
case. management must look more
closely to its laurels.
Waste is a term used not in the
sense Of a willful and wanton loss, but
&c ,neo ming <hn YYSo Of 0nv method
in business which can be supplanted
by better and cheaper method. 1t
is the thing that adds the prefix
high" to cost Of living. Using the
broad sense Of the term. Secretary of
Commerce Hoover has said that waste
is causing "the avoidable loss Of bill
lions Of dollars a year"
Excessive varieties Of stocks and
sizes, standardization. labor turnover,
accurate accounting, the use OF sta
tistics as charts. distribution methods
will be some of the subjects which
will be discussed during the coming
week from more than 800 rostrums.
A few years ago committe OF 1S
industrial experts of national stand
ing made a survey Of six basic indus
tries. It reported a grand average of
waste amounting to so per cent. and
charged more than half OF the re-
sponsibility to management and less
than a fourth to labor.
Since then there has been progress
in the elimination Of waste. A fresh
start is expected to result from the
audit of accomplishments and the ex'
perience exchanged during Manage
ment Week"
Al0 MI0Dn EDnRn CuJD