The Manager's View.
The important duty of weighing up these various views devolves on the management, and its action should be in accordance with the complete and corrected view. It must consider the subject from a top viewpoint, and must then act.
The manager keeps in mind that the machines must be built, purchased, and used by human beings, so he carefully studies their peculiarities. He knows that change of thought or habit requires time.
In looking over the history of one of the companies engaged in machine building, we find that the cost of the labor has been lowered to about one-fifth of the original. In view of this and the fact that a very slight change in model sometimes involves a temporary increase in the cost of labor three-fold or more, we see good reason for reluctance in making changes, even though we know that two or three years later the labor cost may drop as low as that previous to the change in model.
The inventor, the promoter, the salesman, and the oversanguine manager do not always foresee such things.
The manager sees the enthusiasm with which the selling organization hails the new model. He realizes that they know the faults of the previous type, and he also knows that no one knows the faults of the new, but he lets it go. Some enthusiasm must be had, even if it be dearly purchased. He knows there will be many a troublesome delay due to the newness, even if the whole scheme proves very much better than the previous type.
This manager knows that his business success rests on the facility with which the machines are satisfactorily built, the readiness of the buyers, and, last but not least, the facility with which the product is used. The facility with which the product will be used, to his mind, is almost beyond overestimation.