The Eleventh Principle- Written Standard-Practice Instructions

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 Harrington Emerson’s eleventh principle is Written Standard-Practice Instructions. The primary basis of this principle is Emerson’s belief that all standards should be recorded in the form of written instructions for employees and employers. He believed these should detail the standards themselves which they should comply with, as well as the method of such compliance. [1]

 

Emerson believed that this was important for both safety and efficiency purposes. He uses the standardisation of gun practice, a relevant example of his time, to explain this. Emerson tells us that after years of monitoring the use of guns, the US government published a ‘voluminous book of instructions and suggestions’ on gun practices. This was done confidentially to ensure it was only used by US soldiers and it was done in-order-to inform them of the best ways to go about using a gun in a safe and effective manner. These guidelines were from then on the permanent standard-practice guidelines. [2]

 

Emerson believed that when the best practice is systematically reduced to writing with careful accuracy, progress may be made in industries and these standards can be built on-to within an industry. However, Emerson also recognises that like an industry’s records, their standards must be edited to remove discrepancies and to harmonise overall protocol. Any useless information must be cut out and any overlaps must be resolved before these standard-practices can be made available to employees within a company or industry. Emerson also notes that prior to the publishing of any such guidelines, a lawyer should be present to ensure no possible legal action can be taken against a company as a result of a discrepancies within its industry’s guidelines.[2]

 

In general Harrington Emerson believed that it was difficult to make some, if any, progression in an industry without written standard-practice instructions. He was firm in his belief that such written standard practices allowed the 

advancements of employees’ skills and ensures greater efficiency levels in a much faster time than simply allowing the industry to evolve by itself. Thus, he deemed that written standard-practices were essential in the progression of an industry and the efficiency of a company. [2]

 

-Jenny

 


[1]. Witzel, M. (2003) “Harrington Emerson (1853 - 1931),” in Fifty Key Figures in Management . London : Routledge , pp. 87–96. 

[2]. Emerson, H. (1993) “The Eleventh  Principle: Written Standard-Practice Instructions,” in Twelve principles of efficiency. London: Routledge / Thoemmes Press, pp. 317–340. 




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