Men, Machines and Productivity

Abstract

It has become commonplace to say that we live in an age of mechanisation, with its inevitable accompaniments of rapid technological development and large scale industrial production. The results of this, however, from the point of view of their relation to human skill and efficiency, have been very much less fully considered than is desirable. Frequently, especially by those whose chief admiration is for the past, it has been asserted that human skill has diminished or in some way deteriorated. This has not been demonstrated and it is hard to see that it ever can be. It may be that the varied expertness of the multi-craftsman is less often given its opportunity, though even this, especially, for example, in many building developments, is neither as obvious nor as true as is often supposed. Skills have changed rather than disappeared. There is still all the scope that can be desired for the controlled capacities of the tool and machine designer and of all those who are concerned with the maintenance of machines and tools. Even the frequently disregarded skill of the rank and file of machine operators demands an accuracy of perception and judgement and a beautifully timed precision of bodily movement which must be exceedingly impressive to any but the most biased minds.

Originally published in Occupational Psychology, 22 (1948) 190–6. Reprinted by permission.