JOINT STOCK COMPANIES AND THEIR EMPLOYEES.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1992, 24 February 1914, Page 3

JOINT STOCK COMPANIES AND THEIR EMPLOYEES.

. bu-.—fo say that, joint stock compan.ics as a nite scldote.Bccutfl.thc loyalty tftlmir employees may at ii.rsfc glance *Ppeai ■ to bo a ridiculous exaggeration, but a httto reflection frill show that the' statement Comes well w Hhin the four coram of trrtb Tho vo bvious reason tor this is that the directors of a joint Stock caimany aro seldom loyal to their, sen-ants. The. directors a« only oarMv mtoestcd in the affairs of their• mow efforts **s diluted towards paying drndewlj, and often these dividends are obtained, by "su-eatinfi" the employees There i,»t the. pnrscmal' relation, between the directors a id their Bryants which obtains « most private MMoru... The ewct* J -«». me j I| .lß only a tempo rar y officer rf tho flom jj whip some direotors take their Ws seriously and do their best, tire majority view a directorship fl.B a. convenientmeans of earning guinea:?, and excellent tor advertoHig purposes. As; a general rule, tte directors knoiv very IJttls of tha business of the company they undertake to manage and wntrel, and they know P&rli.aps i still,less about the employees, ■the weekJy or may bo .monthly, returns aw> plased before tkem, and if these are adverse, the manager or secretary is told to..ciifc down'expenses, and forthwith some unfortunate employee is dismissed, mcreasmg the toil of those who remain. ■the employees of a. joint stock company, realise iftstinctively that the difce•to.rs "are not at' all interested in them except as part of the machine for dividend earning, and they!two consequeiity not, at all loyal. There- is .plenty of lip loyalty, hut a. conspicuous, absence or the gsautno. loyalty' \yliich is to bo seen among tho employees of some private firms. The disloyalty,is shown hv waste of timo and material: tfliat do they care? They are ■merely 'sojourners m tho aainp—sowe are there to gain oxperionce, 6oaie because..they; cannot help aild some because-they were put tlicro by telaiives.- A noticeable thing with joint stack companies is the number of employees who are related to the.'directors, o.r the manager, or 1 secretary, or some pfommeiifc official. The directors aro disloyal to the employees, and the employees - return ,the complitnent., Tho disloyalty of the directors is mown in a pronounced nia'jiief when some of : the higher posts in the service of the i-ompauy become vacant. .It may be manager, Secretary, accountant, or factory foreman. Whim sUeK a .vacancy occurs, instead of .promatirig a member of the. staff, tho directors set about "finding" a eood matt; , their plan is briefly somewhat as follows :---Thev advertise. If it is a £sfj@ or : £6(Xf position, it -is likely they will advertise throughout N<jw Zealand and: ih-Sydnoy and Melbourne. Wheal the applications are i», the directors will sit arcou'd the Board table and. hear tfe i recommends tions of tho siib-coijimittee, laok vefy wise. Anally a ehoiife i.s'.'.made, the deciding .point being probably, that- some< body-told somebody "ho.is a.good man." The directors start out : wit.h tho tjetermitiaiion of buying- a bultelog, and almo# invariably finish up'hj" .purchasing a .pup, with, tho .dis-tojimer. They are not competent judges of what is'needed,; but. they are the. directors, and therefore' they think they'.'d'a'kiio*, and must know, better thai! "aiiyonn else. In the selection of -such a;n officer or ,serviirtt as we have Wieiited.vmi'appHcairt residing in the city tiro head, quarters of the joint steck comp3.ny is lojftted has very little o'ltaneb-of being selected, and a servant of /the company lias none whatever. The employees of the company 'have no hoffc -of promotion, oouseaitantly they. hav«.nothing to work' for. fho host Yiunaged -And-most successful companies aro those who stick pretty closely to the promotion rule. Such concerns always. attract tho pick of .the workers, and tliey Auttlicf seenre the' genuine loyalty of tiieir'iji.en. Where there is promotion,' there is something to work for. somctfi.hig to fool: for, and the employees are there to -.stay, the aompajnes' that do fittje'or no 'promoting «Te .everlastingly ©HaiiciiiK. their haJKls/ There is ahtti.vs sdni'ebbcly gbing and coming; awi thfitefore there.is continued unrest. The directors' of' joint stock companies are not a tittle to hlamo for the laifest among the workers, .both hofeatid in ether parts of the wdiid.-—< I xnu-ete.; ■■'"'.' OESERVM, February 23, 1D14,'. > -