The Moral Philosophy of Management: From Quesnay to Keynes by Pierre Guillet de Monthoux

Author:Pierre Guillet de Monthoux [Monthoux, Pierre Guillet de]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Ethnic Studies, Social Science, Political Science, Regional Studies, General
ISBN: 9781315486208
Google: Z-hmDAAAQBAJ
Goodreads: 30660493
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 1993-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

3.2 Standardization as Insurance against Production Risks

Increased productivity assumes technical development. This technical development builds upon a cooperation between scientists who are fascinated by fruitful ideas and the practical men who possess the means to transform such ideas into concrete products and services. In earlier times, technical development had proceeded so slowly that, like a creeping glacier, its progress went unremarked. All knowledge was stored in human memory and originated in instinct. The feeling for rhythm gave rise to repetitive work. Generation after generation of craftsmen produced swords or axes as both effective and beautiful instruments. The modern business, however, utilizes a purposeful standardization both of a general nature, such as that given by watts, ohms, and amperes in electrical units, and of a special nature, such as that employed, for example, in machine and clock manufacturing.34 Henry Maudslay, who had tired of marking his nuts and bolts, suggested a standard system that had been further developed by Joseph Whitworth. The development of the lathe enabled machine parts to be manufactured to fine tolerances. Machines created machines, and the nature of work had been simplified in a dramatic fashion. The Marshalls themselves, during one of their summer study tours, met a girl who manufactured files after only three hours' training on a file-making machine.35

When the dimensions of railway tracks had been standardized, a steel works could securely place its production in stock, knowing that a market for this commodity existed. Andrew Carnegie had noticed the many wooden bridges crossed by railway tracks and had set a team of engineers to work to construct a steel bridge that could be assembled from standard components. These, in turn, could be manufactured in security by small, specialized works. The ammunition factories during World War I adopted standardized production methods on a large scale. With the help of "patriotic sentiments," many shrewd innovations were now realized that had earlier only existed in print as, for example, those of Charles Babbage.36 Even relatively new branches of industry were standardized. The manufacture of British and American airplanes had been standardized during World War I, although France with its skilled mechanics had resisted taking this step. Large American businesses had begun to hire out standardized machinery for the manufacture of shoes, taking a payment on the basis of the number of shoes produced, which was registered by a meter on the machine. This made it possible for shops to order by telephone special types of shoes from specialized companies and to receive them after a standard delivery time. Even the flour, cocoa, mustard, and paper industries had adopted the production-line technique that enabled production to be regarded as a standardized flow. In the Chicago meat-packing business, workers were integrated into an organization that handled the ongoing flow of animal carcasses. The standardization of production had the further advantage in that quality was often raised. On a production line it was now possible, for example, to produce bicycles of such quality that earlier could have been produced by only the most skillful of craftsmen.

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