СНАР. XXI Why It Decays where its Position Is Becoming Diffi cult 66 how the prosperity of the English gentry became involved with the corn laws," of the Chilean hacendados with paper money. Thus gradually a governing class becomes less public spirited and more parasitic. The world over, universal suffrage has weakened the political position of the governing class, altho by its control of party organizations and the periodical press it has weathered democracy better than was to be expected. The manning of the state by trained men recruited from all social classes has been another blow to the monopoly of government by a class. Bureaucracy, however, raises problems of its own. A learned class dominating in matters of religion, morals, education and law, is possible owing to the prestige which learning has in ages of general ignorance. The priests and scribes of Israel, the Druids, the Christian clergy of the Middle Ages, and the literati of China are examples. Such a class aspires to do all the thinking for the people, is contemptuous of the folk culture, exaggerates the worth and difficulty of its learning, and discredits or suppresses the unprofessional thinkers and teachers. It rarely exploits the people, but it covets power and likes to be distinguished by privileges and insignia, such as benefit of clergy, special representation in government, monopoly of certain offices, academic degrees, cap and gown, academic professions, functions and honors. The differentiation of the learned professions, so that each is held in check by all the rest, the provision of free education culminating in the university, and the great increase in No Longer the number of callings which utilize the well-educated, have done away with the possibility of a unified and a self-conscious learned class. Traits of the Learned Class The Learned a Distinct Class CHAPTER XXII THE ORGANIZATION OF EFFORT ORGANIZATION is an effective way of combining the ef many for the achievement of a common end. CHAP. Stages zation From planless, haphazard cooperation — settlers fighting a in Organi prairie 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 in to 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 ganization dealing with brute matter, like a plantation or a factory, the spirit of the workers is by no means so important as in ganization the case of a newspaper staff, an associated charities, a propaganWhich dist society, or the soliciting force of a life-insurance companyall of them working in the realm of mind. Sullen men who hate their work may still cut sugar cane or tend machines, but no one who feels himself to be a slave, a drudge, or a cogwheel can teach, persuade, or inspire. All organizations, therefore, which work on people rather than on things, have to pay heed to the morale of their force. Obliged to rely on hope rather than dread to call forth the best powers of their workers, they must appease the demands of the latter to the point of contentment and supply the motives which arouse the higher faculties to their tasks. Pure folly, therefore, is the notion of some "practical men that the head of a college or a school system should be a glorified mill boss. Strict All Organi- Have to Crises Become "Military'' in 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 The XXII Type of Spread tion Has into Fields Where It Is Not ment bureaus and in business administration has prevailed the CHAP. 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 remonstrances 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 the Antithesis of Discipline In sharpest contrast to the discipline imposed by crisis stands Discipline 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 CHAP. Reasons for the Contrast Between the Treatment of 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." and the of the Monk Discipline Mild in an Organization of Irreplaceable Members Much 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 |