Adaptation du travailleur dans l'entreprise The Adaptation of the Worker in the Enterprise

Sommaire

L'auteur, en précisant les trois termes: entreprise, travailleur et adaptation, se demande comment le travailleur qui est l'élément fondamental de l'organisation industrielle pourra être adapté aux nombreuses modifications inhérentes à l'entreprise. Il décrit ensuite la méthode de discussion de groupe qu'il conçoit comme la plus efficace à recommander au personnel de cadre. Pour mieux faire comprendre la nature de cette méthode, il présente deux cas concrets; faisant ensuite ressortir les avantages de cette technique, il poursuit en mentionnant les limites de la procédure et expose en dernier lieu le rôle du Service du Personnel et l'avantage de la collaboration syndicale dans la mise en oeuvre de cette technique d'adaptation.

Summary

The author defines, first of all, the three terms enterprise, worker and adaptation. The enterprise is a technical and a social organization. The worker is a mart endowed with the instinct of self-preservation or need of security, the instinct of person or human dignity, the instinct of society or the necessity to belong to a group; therefore his fundamental needs are not only of an economic nature, but psychological and social. Changes of technical and human policies in industrial organizations require from the worker an adaptation to new situations.

To solve this problem, he suggests and describes the method of group discussion which he feels is the most efficient to recommend to management. Group discussion is that method of total participation which permits all those affected in any way by the departmental change to take part in collective discussions initiated and directed by the foremen. In fact, any discussion of this kind is the concern of the head of the department involved; the representative of management first considers if the point brought out comes under his authority, analyses the situation created by the problem and after consideration, draws a plan for discussion. The person responsible for the meeting presents the problem in a clean and frank way and furnishes all the useful information. The leader of the discussion, while always respecting the opinions of the minority, exercises a certain control. The solution to the problem will come from all the points of view expressed during the meeting.

In order to understand more clearly, in principle, the nature of the method, the author presents two definite cases. He brings out the advantages of this technique which, while respecting individual liberties, democratizes industrial government and meets fully the psychological and social needs of the worker. However, certain difficulties may restrict its use or success. To minimize the difficulties coming; fiom the representatives of management, from the group and from the method itself, the technique and the art of this round-about dialogue must be understood by management and adapted to special circumstances. It must be remembered that the interests within the group do not always coincide with those of the employer.

The management of each company will find out better than anyone the various procedures which will serve as models for the basic technique and in order to do so, will no doubt count on the cooperation of the personnel department and the union. The personnel management, as advisor, will be of valuable help in perfecting the training programmes for the foremen in the techniques of group discussion. The union, to which the employees have recourse in expressing their aspirations, not only economic but also psychological and social, will be of very great assistance in the carrying out of this method of group discussion.