The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1952-09-25
TodaY's
Busi
Easrv0T
By SAM DAWSON


being drawn into another three
way diSpute-wages VS.. profits VS..
prices. Which should get the bene-
fit of increased productivity?
American industrial supremacy
has been built on this boast: An
, American worker putting in an
hour on the job produces more
than any other worker. That's
productivity-or output per man
hour-and it's gone up over the
years, sometimes by fits and starts
and sometimes in one industry and
sometimes in another.
The new battle shaping up is
over how to divide the fruits of
this increased output of goods per
amount of human energy expend-
ed.
How much to labor in the form
of yearly hikes in wages for in
creased output?
How much to industry in the
form of profits and dividends for
supplying the management and
new machines and taking the
risks?
And how much to the consum-
ing public in the form of lower
prices? With the cost of living at
a record high, the public suspects
it's low man on the tattum pole.
Many companies are facing de-
mands now for a built-in annual
productivity increase in labor con-
tracts. The Wage Sterilization
Board was reported almost ready
last June to set an overall formula
for such an increase-between
and 3 per cent for all industries.
It ran into congressional opposi-
ton and is now rumored about
ready to junk the idea.
But productivity as wage de-
terminant is here to stay" accord
ing to 96-page study issued today
by the management consulting
firm, Fisher, Ridge & Neblett of
New York and Los Angeles. 1t
says companies had better find
out quickly, if they can, what the
productivity increase rate is in
their industry and be ready to ne
gotiate.
The trouble IS, as the National
Industrial Conference Board points
out, there are no official produc-
tivity figures for manufacturing as
a whole. The u. S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics has estimates for 1899
to 1850 for about 20 industries.
From these it figures that the
average gain in output per hour
worked is around per cent a
year.
The conference board, making
tentative estimates of its own for
all manufacturing between 1889
and 1919, shows output per man
hour gained an average of Ia per
cent a year.
In just one field, that of office
personnel of insurance companies,
the gain in efficiency between 1910
and 1850 is put at 81 per cent by
Devereux c. Josephs, president of
the New York Life Insurance Co.
He tells the meeting of the Life
Office Management Association
this week in Atlantic City that
most of this is due to the mech
anization of office work.
The Fisher, Rudge & Neblett
study also stressed arrangements
contention that most CT the prCiuc-
tivity increase is due to more eff
ficiency machinery.
II also notes that the BIS report
on 20 industries shows that in one
decade an increase of 1856 per cent
in productivity is shown by one
industry, while a second had only
l per cent, and a third lost IA per
cent in output per man-hour. Be
cause of this variation, the study
questions how valid any overall
national percentage figure would
be.
Labor's argument for tying wage
increases TO productivity gains is
this: Workers standards of living
should improve as the nations
economy continues to spread. 9th
erwise, the benefits of continued
national growth will accrue solely
to employers in the form of in
creased profits, while the en-
ployes' share dwindled proper
tionately.
The long-Suffering public's side
Part at least Of decreased costs
through output gains should be
passed along in the form of lower
prices or in improved quality of
goods and services.