Business screen magazine (1938)

THE JOB BEGINS AT HOME (Continued jrom Page 11) coimmmity and the community has confidence in industry, how can the interests of either be fully served? ■'Third: With good relations inside the plant, and good relations within the plant community, you have the base for good relations with the public outside. But you can never take those relations for granted. Living right is not enough. People must know us. Know our company. What we really want is good relations with many more people than would find out about us were we content to allow the deed to speak for itself without any aid in its wider projection. "The art oj public relations is in the art iij multiplication — that is, the art oj niultiplyiny endlessly the good impressions oj a company. It involves the honest but .skillful employment of all the known media but, most important of all, a development of new approaches and a more advanced technique in their use than any we have as yet learned. The multiplier in public relations to work effectively must be a 1950 model. "In conclusion let me say that none of these things are easy of accomplishment. But none of them are impossible of accomplishment .They will not even be very difficult, as events seem to be shaping now, 07iC(' industry sets about its public relations with the same serious effort that in eras gone by it set about its financing, engineering , its production problems." # * * ♦ Good Employment Relations, the second in the series of National Association of Manufacturers sound slide films included in the Management Policy Conference Service, brings employers the recommendations of 75 outstanding manufacturers and industrial relations experts, the N. A. M. Committee on Employment Relations. This brief summary of highlighted subjects illustrated on this page will be of interest (See Illustrations At Left) : Announcer: "We offer, then, jor your guidance these major factors in employmerit relations: 1. Wages. "Remember, in the N.A.M, survey of employee attitude we found that 50% of them believe wage levels to be too low. Yes, wages are a vital factor." 2. Hours. "And now we come to — Hours! Along with consideration of wages comes, naturally, hours. Here the Committee findings show that companies with the most satisfactory employee relations arc tho.se main HERE WORKERS IN A KANSAS INDUSTRIAL PLANT WATCH AN INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS FILM DURING A RECESS PERIOD BRINGING THE STORY HOME TO YOUR OWN INDUSTRIAL COMMUNITY IN ONE OF THE REAL PROBLEMS OF PRESENT-DAY PUBLIC RELATIONS BEING SO SATISFACTORILY SOLVED WITH THE USE OF MOTION PICTURES AND SLIDE FILMS taining a general standard of working hours fully consistent with the welfare and health of employees . . . always keeping in mind the type of work, of course," 3. Working Co.nditions. "Another factor, as important as wages and hours, is working conditions. A comprehensive study, devoted to this subject alone, is now occupying the attention of a new N.A.M. Committee on Healthful Working Conditions. Meanwhile the Employment Relations Committee report recommends the maintenance of good working conditions." i. Grievances. "A big word in labor discussions today, but also a word which often breaks down to an accumulation of surprisingly trivial incidents." 5. Promotions, Transfer, Lay-Offs And Discharge. "Build up versatility, flexibility and skill in the working force by encouraging transfer of employees between departments and by filling vacancies from within the organization wherever possible." PUBLIC REL.\TIONS INDUSTRY'S NO. i JOB "Public relation!, therefore, is not someihitig that cat] be applied to a particular phase of a business — tlor is it an ttmbrclla covering everything but touching nothing. It is rather a fundamental attitude of mind — a philosophy oj management — which deliberately and with enlightened selfishness places the broad interest of the customer first in every decision affecting the operation of the business." "Public relations is not a specialized activity lil{e production, engineering, finance, sales. It is rather something that cuts through all these as the theme for each. It is an operating philosophy that management must seek to apply in everything it does and says." Paul W. G.\rrett Director Public RcLitions. Gen. Motors Corp. (i. Assignment To Different Rateu Job. "When an employee is transferred to a higher rated job, and fidly cjualifies, he should, get the established rate of pay for that job." 7. Hiring. "First of all, a new employee should be interviewed by one person or department charged with hiring responsibility . . . with final choice resting upon the department head under whom he is to work . . ." 8. Protection Ag.\inst Risks. "Cooperation with employees in making provision for needs arising out of death or old age and disability due to ill health or accidents." 9. Stabilizing Employment and Earnings. "Management should make every effort to stabilize emploj'ment related to irregularity of work and in this connection should study the annual wages of employees in relation to their hourly earnings and the number of days per year the plant operates. Even seasonal industries often find it possible to extend employment over ordinarily inactive seasons . . ." Id. Personnel Records. "The Committee recommends keeping permanent employment records covering pay, work and conduct of all employees. In this connection the N.A.M. has prepared a booklet on the maintenance of proper employment records, copies of which may be had from the Association." 11. And Finally . . . Commitments. Keeping Faith With Employees, In Both Letter And Spirit. "The committee feels that it is scarcely necessary to say that good business and fair play dictate the most scrupulous obscr^■ance, in both letter and spirit, of all commitments by the company to its employees," 12 MMITMFNTS