Do You Understand Women? |
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Side note: The only ground gained by America during WWII - or any battle since the Revolutionary War for that matter - was a 172-acre plot of land for American Cemetery and Memorial in Normandy, which was gifted to us by France. Do You Understand Women? Replacing Manpower, They Often Do a Good Job at Radio Counter
Day by day, more and more men are giving up their peacetime pursuits to "join the colors" and take an active part in fighting to preserve our way of life. Yet business and industry, must go on. It must go on to provide the civil population with the necessities of life and of living. Men must do our fighting on the battle fronts, and women must do their full share in business, in production and in taking a man's job on the home front. Women are taking the places of more fighting men in the Army. The WAACs will make a real contribution to Army administration. The WAVES are soon to take their places in the shore establishment of the Navy. Women are taking the places of men in industry, in manufacturing everything from zippers to airplanes, and doing a fine job. Women have made more radio tubes and radio sets than men ever will. Women can and will, take their place in your business, selling, servicing and maintaining your records. Many business men still harbor some prejudices against women in some jobs, but these are fast disappearing in the light of their performance. Light work, hard work, hand work, head work, machine work, office work, all now are women's work. Certainly, you have to train them, thoroughly and carefully. But first you have to select them. Natural Aptitudes
But many do not. You'll run into just as much trouble putting the wrong woman on a job as you would in putting the wrong man on the same job. With some careful selection, you will find most women will equal or excel men on: a. Selling b. Clerical work and filing c. Small part assembly d. Detail and fast repetitive work e. Fine production work. Because most women have not had the experience, you must be prepared to train them to bring out the full advantage of their natural aptitudes. In the selection of personnel there is no good reason why sex should be any more important a factor than nationality, or religion, given equal education and intelligence. Seek Necessary Qualifications Bear in mind when selecting women to replace men, that "beauty" is the poorest of all measures of ability. V erv often. you will find, that ''beauty and brains" are like "oil and water." Neatness is highly desirable in any employee. Women must be selected for their jobs as workers, not as women and they must be trained, disciplined and supervised on the same basis. It's true, of course, that the female psychology is somewhat different from that of the male. And so the methods of discipline and supervision must be adjusted accordingly. Women should be tested and fitted to their jobs by the same standards as men. That is, the same qualities are necessary to fit a woman for a particular job as for a man. You may find that quality more frequently in women than in men. But they may not always be present. So you must look for them. Salespeople, whether men or women, should have a pleasing personality, a sincere friendliness, an easy smile and a knowledge of the products they sell. Women who have these qualities have been very successful selling records, radio, home furnishings, home appliances. Do not expect more from women than you do from men. Careful Supervision Women in business expect to be treated like the workers and humans they are, with respect and impersonally. Preferences to some are quickly resented by others and in a way which can quickly cause trouble and confusion. Rules, regulations, privileges must be uniform. Most women do not have as high a sense of safety as do men; they short-cut the safety rules, have more minor accidents, fewer really serious ones, than do men. Thus they create the necessity for more constant and careful supervision on machine or productive work. And this supervision presents a different problem where women are involved They are more sensitive, more nervous than men. Sharp criticism for an error may produce hysterics which lasts for 10 minutes, "nerves" which lasts for 10 days and resentment lasts for 10 weeks. A woman is always to be preferred to a man, as a supervisor of women. More women are working today than ever before, and their number is fast increasing. Women have tackled every job within their physical ability, and their records of performance are outstanding, in every line of endeavor. Getting Results These records are uniformly better in the larger organizations than in the smaller ones. This is true because in the larger organizations women are more carefully selected, their individual abilities more accurately measured, their assignment to jobs more scientifically done, their training more thoroughly given. And this boils down to the fact that in most jobs, the factors of intelligence, education, training, are far more important than sex in fitting a worker to a job. Not Permanent Prospects But women are women - for all that, and differ from men in viewpoint, and in emotional equilibrium. These factors must always be kept in mind. Business, or industry to most women is a temporary thing. For nature has endowed women with the maternal instinct, which must look upon home, and mate, and family, as the permanent state to which they aspire. There are some exceptions, of course. And so, in employing women, do not make the mistake of placing too much dependence upon anyone, so far as certainty of continuity of service is concerned. The Fundamentals A woman seldom ceases looking for "her man." And this factor must be watched in business, for it can cause waste and inefficiency when "boy meets girl" in the same business, to a degree that is surprising. To expect the impossible from women is foolish. But women have '''made good" in every job they've tackled, and they will make good in yours, too, if you try them, under fair conditions and handle them with intelligence and understanding. Posted July 23, 2013 |
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