CHAPTER XXII THE ORGANIZATION OF EFFORT ORGANIZATION is an effective way of combining the ef CHAP. Stages zation forts of many for the achievement of a common end. From planless, haphazard cooperation - settlers fighting a in Organiprairie fire or rioters storming a jail — organization is approached by a number of steps. One is the submitting of like efforts to direction, as when planters fortify a levee against a flood or citizens come together as a sheriff's posse. Another is the combining, under direction, of unlike efforts, as in road-building, a barn-raising, a rabbit-drive, or a "round-up" of cattle. When, as in railway operation, a military envelopment movement, or a fleet maneuver, the several diverse efforts must be very precisely timed and adjusted to one another, direction will be very minute and authoritative. If the work is difficult, an authority will be needed to assign tasks according to individual aptitude or skill, and, if the organization is permanent, to provide that individuals are especially trained for the performance of their special functions. In large organizations there appear subheads, deputies, and supervisors, so that an entire hierarchy grows up, uniting the apex of the pyramid with the base. Finally, organizations may, with or without modification, be combined into larger organizations, and these, in turn, enter into still more comprehensive schemes. THE DETERMINANTS OF ORGANIZATION The chief determinant of the character of organization is the nature of the task. If it is something to be done, say erect a building or move trains, an organization is called for, the parts of which work smoothly together like the wheels and levers of a machine. But if the purpose sought is the beneficial influence which members may exert upon one another, organization is merely a means of promoting association and fellowship. Again, is the effect aimed at physical or psychical? In an or СНАР. In an Or- Works on Than on Is All-important Strict All Organi- Have to Crises Become "Military' in ganization dealing with brute matter, like a plantation or a fac- When life and death are at stake, responsibility must be definite, and strict obedience will be exacted even from an intelligent personnel. Thus, after trained nurses came into hospitals, a great quarrel broke out between nurses and doctors over the question whether the nurse should be entirely subordinate to the physician or enjoy some discretion. The issue was settled by the complete subordination of the nurse. In the management of railroads and of ships the links in the chain of authority are very definite; the subordinate must in every case show an order received as his warrant for doing whatever he has done. Still greater is the subordination required in dealing with tasks which are subject to crisis. When tremendous consequences for weal or woe hinge on what is done in a few hours, or even a few minutes, mistake and failure must be eliminated at all costs. A fighting force, then — whether it is to cope with foes, mobs, fires, Character surf, floods, or epidemics — tends toward a military organization. Not only is literal and prompt obedience enforced by severe penalties, but, in order that the right thing may be done in the emergency, it must be ingrained as habit. Hence, all organizations which are subject to crisis make much of drill. Military organization, just because it reached a high development as early as the middle of the eighteenth century, has unfortunately served as pattern for later types of organization which are not subject to the strain of crisis. Hence, in govern CHAP. XXII The Type of tion Has Spread into Fields Where It Is Not ment bureaus and in business administration has prevailed the false idea that the usefulness of the subordinate to his superior consists in executing orders and furnishing reports. It is irra- Military tional, however, to repress the natural doubts, queries, or remon- Organizastrances of the intelligent and loyal subordinate in a non-fighting organization. In an industrial concern, a school system, or a government bureau there ought to be an interchange of thought between those who have to determine policies and those who may be called upon to carry them out. The higher may well consult with the lower, while retaining the power to decide. Question or criticism or demur from the intelligent under-man, with reference to orders or policies that seem unworkable, ought not to be treated as if it were the murmur of a soldier under fire against the commands of his officer. Suitable Monastic Discipline the Antithesis of Discipline In sharpest contrast to the discipline imposed by crisis stands monastic discipline, which is imposed not by the needs of a common task but by the difficulty of realizing the religious ideal of Military life. Under the Rule of St. Benedict, the disobedient and unruly monk should secretly be warned by the deacon once, and again. If this warning prove fruitless, he should be shut off from the common table or from common prayer. In the case of a serious misdeed the monk is also forbidden intercourse with other monks; but, in order that no offender should be driven into obstinacy, the elder monks, with the permission of the abbot, should sometimes approach him to comfort him and try to move him to repentance. A monk hardened in wickedness should suffer bodily punishment; if this is unavailing, the abbot with all the monastery should pray for his recovery. If he remains obstinate, he should be turned out of the monastery. If a monk who has been turned out sees his fault and prays penitently to be taken in again, his wish should be granted to him, even to three times; but the fallen monk should prove his humility by taking the lowest place. No working organization could afford to be so patient with a recalcitrant. Again, does or does not the task in hand put a great strain on ordinary human nature? The more it does so the stricter will be the discipline, the harsher the penalties for disobedience. This is the culminating reason why military discipline is more methodical than any other, why rigid training is so insisted on for a man of СНАР. Reasons for the Contrast Between so little skill as the common soldier. To build a habit that shall hold him steady before the cannon's mouth and cold steel - this is the reason for the endless drill, the rhythmic regularity, the automatic obedience exacted by the makers of armies. "A perfect army," says a military writer, "would be one in which each the Soldier part would respond to the will of the commander as quickly and Treatment certainly as the muscles of the body respond to the impulses of the brain." the Treatment of and the of the Monk Discipline Mild in an Organization of Irreplaceable Members Much Which Pretends to Be The monk like the soldier is under a strain, but the end sought is utterly different. Military organization has in view physical action, while monastic organization is for the sake of the spiritual life. Hence, the rules of the former are clear-cut, to be carried out without hesitation; while the rules of the latter, though in their effects on personality far more gripping than military rules, are undefined in outline, fluid, subtle, complicated by particular circumstances, as one would expect when it is the soul that is to be controlled and not simply the body. Finally, a distinction is to be made between a working group the members of which from long practice have gained a smooth team play and one in which each man may readily be replaced. When, as in a football team, a magazine staff, or an orchestra, the members of an organization have become mutually adapted to one another, the dismissal of one hurts the whole, so that discipline will be milder than in an organization of interchangeable parts. Another determinant of organization is the character of the organized. Here is the cause of much roughness, which often Necessary pretends to be justified by the nature of the task. The peon, the Discipline green immigrant, the navvy, the needy working-girl, the child Oppression operative, are driven or underpaid because they are helpless. Is Sheer They are fined heavily for slight faults, not because team work demands it, but just because they are weak. Even an employer who treats his skilled help with consideration will, perhaps, give the ignorant and easily replaceable alien the last turn of the screw. On the other hand, those who enjoy options, the accountant, the ship's mate, the experienced salesman, the engineering expert, must needs be driven with a loose rein. In a dramatic troupe, or a symphony orchestra, the need of harmony of effort is much greater than in a factory, yet the discipline is never harsh, be cause actors and musicians are in a stronger moral and economic position than mill hands. Men who appreciate the indispensableness of plan and order in great undertakings will, without in the least lowering their self-respect, render due obedience to their superiors. The more intelligent, therefore, the rank and file of an organization the less is the need of prestige and severity in order to uphold the authority of the superior. Before hinds it may be necessary to set the officer apart by sword, gold lace, feathers, charger, and sternness of demeanor, in order that he may be looked upon as a higher being; but intelligent enlisted men may regard their officer as above them in a military sense without feeling that he is above them in everything. An army can never be a mass meeting or a debating society, but democrats may be organized into a well-disciplined fighting force without losing their sense of civic equality. Likewise the head of a school system, a hospital, or a bureau, while he must command the confidence of his teachers, nurses, or agents, is not obliged to inspire them with fear or awe in order to get his plans carried out. Unpaid workers cannot be disciplined by the crude methods of reprimand, fine, lay-off, demotion, or dismissal, but must be reached through esprit de corps or conscience. Unless it inflicts death, a secret revolutionary organization cannot punish without risking betrayal. A heavy hand on boy scouts, party workers, Red Cross volunteers, or friendly visitors will in the end disrupt the organization. The member of a relief party or an exploring expedition is controlled chiefly through pressure by his fellows. In the religious order, the priesthood, the ministry, or the foreign mission, the fulcrum for authority is the solemn vow by which one has freely surrendered one's self to God and the acceptance of this vow by order, church, or mission board. The means of discipline - entreaty, rebuke, isolation, prayer, warning, and suspension are not punishments so much as appeals to conscience. The contrast between exacted and volunteer service is so broad that the executive who has conducted with success military or industrial organization may fail ignominiously when directing a body of scholars, missionaries, or social workers. A third determinant of organization is the spacing between the organized. Men fall more readily into the grades imposed by the technique of associated effort if they are already spaced. Thus CHAP. ligent Will The Intel- ganization They Have Not Been Intimi dated Volunteer Workers Can Be Disciplined Only by Spiritual Measures |