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The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 4, Issue 12 (April 1, 1930)

How to Combine

page 17

How to Combine.

They were part of an organised system. Organisation simply meant the combining principle of an organism. It might be likened to the human body. If one part of the human organism got out of harmony with the others, physical pain resulted. A growing boy had growing pains—the workshops were in the growing stage, and some of the industrial pains manifested themselves in criticism of the kind he had mentioned. Sometimes the pain arose through one part of the organism not working in with the others.
A Typical Everyday Workshop Scene. (Rly. Publicity photo.) A section of the locomotive repair shop, Hutt Valley Workshops, Wellington, New Zealand.

A Typical Everyday Workshop Scene.
(Rly. Publicity photo.)
A section of the locomotive repair shop, Hutt Valley Workshops, Wellington, New Zealand.

“As a man fails in harmonising himself with his fellows, he fails in his job.” In his executive officers he had associated with him in the job of management, men who worked in with that ideal. It was possible that those who had to take instructions did not always agree with the decisions made, possibly because they were not in a position to have all the information upon which the decision was based. In any case, once the decision was made it was the job of those receiving the instructions to go right ahead and make the best of it. “I am satisfied,” said Mr. Sterling, “that unless you have men working with you who are doing their best to carry out the intentions of the management, and working with a will and loyalty to both those above and those below them, the management cannot succeed.”

He recognised that duty within the organisation ran downwards as well as upwards. The handling of men did not depend alone upon disciplinary methods. Sometimes it was thought that the only time attention was paid to those below them by senior officers was when things went wrong. That was a mistaken idea. The disciplinary part of the job was the least pleasant for everyone. “I always like to regard the men under me,” said Mr. Sterling, “as decent human beings who believe that I am actuated by the best motives for their welfare in the industrial and any other sphere, and I believe that you believe that! (Applause.)