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WITandWISDOM(tm) - January 1, 2002 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: The book is closed, The year is done, The pages full Of tasks begun. A little joy, A little care, Along with dreams, Are written there. This new day brings Another year, Renewing hope, Dispelling fear. And we may find Before the end, A deep content, Another friend. By Arch Ward Subjects: New Years ~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: Seventy years ago Elton Mayo, a Harvard professor, started a five-year study at the Western Electric Hawthorne Works in Chicago to find out what effect fatigue and monotony had on productivity. In the process he stumbled on a motivation principle that revolutionized the theory and practice of management. Mayo took five workers off the assembly line and put them under the watchful eye of a friendly supervisor. Then he began making frequent changes in their working conditions, always discussing the changes in advance. He changed their hours, number of rest breaks, and lunch periods. At times he would switch back to the original, harder working conditions. To his surprise, switches back to the tougher conditions didn't adversely affect production. It kept going up. The professor realized that when he singled out the five workers, he raised their self-esteem. They developed a friendly relationship with the supervisor and soon began to feel they were part of a team. Exercising a freedom they never had on the factory floor, the workers talked, joked, and began meeting socially after work. Mayo and the supervisor had secured their cooperation and loyalty. That explained why their production rose even when rest breaks were taken away. The part of the study dwelling on positive effects of benign supervision and the effort to make workers feel they're part of a team became known as the Hawthorne Effect. This spawned the human relations school of management that we see in various forms today. Source: Bits & Pieces, September 12, 1996, Copyright (c) Economic Press, Inc., http://www.epinc.com Subjects: Management, Teamwork ~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT: And God populated the earth with broccoli and cauliflower and spinach, green and yellow vegetables of all kinds, so Man would live long and healthy lives. But there is McDonalds. And McDonalds brought forth the 99-cent double cheeseburger. And McDonalds said to Man, "You want fries with that?" And Man said, "Supersize them." And Man gained pounds. And God said, "Try my crispy fresh salad. But there is ice cream. And Man gained pounds. And God said, "I have sent thee heart-healthy vegetables and olive oil with which to cook them." But there is chicken-fried steak so big it needs its own platter. And Man gained pounds and his bad cholesterol went through the roof. And God brought forth running shoes and Man resolved to lose those extra pounds. But there is cable TV with remote control so Man would not have to toil to change channels between ESPN and ESPN2. So Man watched others exercise and Man gained pounds. And God brought forth the potato, a vegetable naturally low in fat and brimming with nutrition. But there are deep-fat fried potatoes called potato chips and there is sour cream dip. And Man clutched his remote control and ate the potato chips swaddled in cholesterol. It tasted good but Man went into cardiac arrest. And God sighed and created quadruple bypass surgery. But there are HMO's. Author Unknown, Edited by Richard Wimer Submitted by John L. Hoh, Jr., http://www.geocities.com/brandedhand/ Subjects: Vegetables, Fast Food, Health ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: How would you find Adam and Eve in a crowd? They're the only ones without belly buttons. Source: Clean Laffs, http://www.shagmail.com/sub/sub-jokes.html Subjects: Appearance ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: When F. W. Woolworth opened his first store, a merchant nearby resented the competition and hung up a sigh that read: "I've been doing business in this shop for fifty years." The next day, Woolworth made his own sign. On it were painted these words: "Established a week ago. All new merchandise." You can guess who had the largest crowds. Subjects: Advertising, F W Woolworth |