Chapter C: E. Knoeppel (2)

The work in every office is largely routine, but the faithful performance of routine tasks is a necessary accompaniment to those larger tasks, which in themselves, appear of greater importance. Routine tasks are drudgery--something that every man seeks to escape. In freeing himself from a state of drudgery, the department head should be careful lest he place his subordinates in the same dreaded rut. An office clerk should be given an opportunity to learn all of the routine of the division in which he is employed. He will become a more valuable employe; while adding variety, the performance of more than one task is training him for a more advanced position.

To properly systematize the routine, the department head should first study his department to find out what the routine tasks really are--what work must be done each day or each week. He should then list these tasks and assign them to certain clerks to be performed at certain stated times.

This can be best presented by means of a chart as shown in Fig. 6. This chart covers the work of a typical general accounting department. At the top, the general or routine tasks are listed, grouped under proper divisions. From each task listed a line is extended to the time when it is to be performed: daily, the day of the week, day of the month, or the month. The letters at the end of the lines indicate by whom the tasks are to be performed, _C_ representing clerks, _B_, bookkeepers, and _A_, cashier.

Taking the collection division as an illustration, we will suppose that it is Monday, the 2nd of the month. The chart shows that on Monday notices of notes and accounts due are to be mailed. On the second day of the month, past due accounts must be taken up and disposed of. In addition are the daily tasks as indicated by the lines extending to the daily line.

When a task is to be performed two or three times in a month, the line is broken and the letter inserted at each break. Even the time of drawing off a balance sheet, once every three months, is indicated. A similar chart should be made to show the routine duties of each department.

Such charts, supplying, as they do, complete working schedules for the routine of each department, soon reduce the time taken by routine tasks, which is of no little importance in the conduct of a well regulated department. They fill a place in office routine analogous to that of the working plan in the shop. The same idea can be carried out, and will prove equally valuable, even in an office where the bookkeeper does all of the work.

CHARTING SALARY AND WAGE DISTRIBUTION

=22.= We have seen how authorities, responsibilities and even routine duties are most graphically represented by means of charts--the working plans of the recording divisions of the business. For purposes of record, the distribution of the expenditures for salaries and wages of those who make up our organization is of equal importance to the definition of the authorities and duties.

If the accounts are to be of value they must be correct, and they cannot be correct unless every item is charged to the proper account. The value of correct accounts is recognized. They do more than show what we have received or the expenditures for a specific purpose during a stated period; they show when and why an expense is increased or decreased. With such information to point the way to economies in the future, instead of records that show us merely the amount of an expense already incurred, accounting takes its rightful place as one of the most important functions of a business enterprise.

Probably more businesses have failed owing to the lack of proper accounting methods than from any one other cause. Many a business has been rejuvenated--turned from failure to success--by the introduction of a system of accounts that truthfully portrays its activities. Few business failures are the result of a failure to buy goods at right prices, or to establish selling prices that show a profit. The more usual cause is found in leaks in the expense account. Any method that locates the leaks places us in position to stop them.

The chief value of accounting records lies in the opportunity afforded for comparison. The fact that a certain expense amounted to $900.00 last month furnishes no information of special value; but when compared with the amount expended for the same purpose two, three and four months ago (if these expenses are analyzed and compared with production or sales or whatever factor would affect the amount) the figures assume an important significance. But if expenditures are erroneously applied, if an amount has crept into an expense account that does not belong there, the comparison had better not have been made. Thus is seen the necessity of an absolutely accurate distribution.

Here the chart--the working plan--is again applied to excellent advantage. The chart, Fig. 7, applied to salary and wage distribution, shows to which of the two principal divisions each item should be charged. This is the important question--to properly apply expenses to the commercial and manufacturing branches. Subdivisions of such a chart segregating expenses of each division are easily made.

The application of the items from which lines lead only to the commercial or manufacturing branch is readily understood. Between the two are several items from which lines lead to both branches, indicating that the expense is to be divided. This division should be given close study. Care must be used that too large a part of any item is not applied to either branch. The salary of the general manager, and usually the comptroller, will be equally divided. The duties of the chief accountant, chief stenographer and stenographers being chiefly in connection with the commercial branch, only a small portion of their salaries is charged to manufacturing. Shipping clerk and packers' salaries are charged to either one or the other branch, depending upon the nature of the enterprise. In a manufacturing enterprise where all goods are delivered to stock rooms ready for shipment, packing and shipping is a sales expense and is charged to the commercial branch; in a plant building heavy machinery that must be shipped from the assembling floor, this expense is usually charged to manufacturing.

EXPENSE DISTRIBUTION CHART

=23.= To present a graphic record of expense distribution, the chart, Fig. 8, is used. This chart separates commercial and manufacturing expense, showing amounts, while Fig. 7 shows to which branch each item belongs.

This chart subdivides commercial expense into _executive_, _accounting_, _office_, _sales_, and _credits and collections_, showing totals for each and for the entire commercial branch. Manufacturing expense is subdivided into _executive_, _accounting_, _purchasing_, _engineering_, and _shops and equipment_.

A comparison of these statements from month to month will show just what every item is and indicate the slightest increase in any class of expense. Similar charts can be readily prepared for any business, segregating expenditures of each branch, division, or department.

The distribution will naturally vary in different businesses and, before this chart can be prepared, the exact distribution must be determined. In this chart, packing and shipping is included as a commercial expense, while, as stated previously, in some businesses it would be a manufacturing expense. All such questions must be decided before the chart is prepared.

EFFECT OF PHYSICAL ARRANGEMENT

=24.= However efficient the personal organization, satisfactory results can be obtained only under proper environment. It is not merely a question of pleasant surroundings for employes, but a financial proposition; not a reform or a fad, but a money-making plan that governs the engineer in laying out a plant.

This is not to be a discussion of welfare work, about which much has been published. Our purpose is to point out the business economy of a proper physical arrangement of office, store or factory as against the wasteful methods of a systemless grouping of men and machinery.

The question of physical environment is a practical one that has been solved by many enterprising concerns, and the subject is deserving of careful study by the student of business organization. While some hard-headed business men may regard the question of minor importance, it is significant that the largest and most successful enterprises, financially, are those in which employes have been supplied with the most comforts, surrounded with approved safeguards, and aided in their work by the latest appliances of proved worth.

There is an old axiom to the effect that even a good workman cannot be expected to do good work with poor tools. It is equally true that he cannot be expected to do good work in either unsanitary or inconveniently arranged shops and offices.

=25. Factory Plans.= The planning of a manufacturing plant is a question for the engineer, rather than the accountant or business organizer, but a few general remarks on the subject will not be out of place in this paper.

It may be stated as a fundamental principle that the factory should be planned to facilitate the movement of raw material from one department to another. In the ideal factory, storage for raw material will be provided where it can be economically received and easily procured when needed in the factory. It should, if possible, be close to the department in which the material is subjected to the first operation.

The shops themselves should be arranged to facilitate the movement of partly completed parts from one department or shop to another. To illustrate, a foundry should be so located that castings can be taken direct to the machine shop, or smith shop, not through another shop or in a round-about way.

Likewise, the machine shop, if the process be continuous, should be located next to the assembling department. Or, if a "parts" storeroom is maintained, it should be located between the machine shop and assembling department. Storage for completed goods should be adjacent to the assembling department, and convenient to the shipping room or platform.

The chart, Fig. 9, shows a typical layout of a manufacturing plant operating both a foundry and wood shop. Naturally the foundry and wood shop are as widely separated as possible. Storage of foundry materials is provided for just outside of the foundry, while lumber is convenient to the wood shop.

The arrows indicate the movement of raw materials through the shops to the finished goods storeroom, and from thence to the shipping platform. If these lines are traced it will be seen that at no point is the material twice moved over the same ground. Each move takes it to the next operation and one step nearer completion. Where materials and parts enter a shop at two or more points, the lines are merged, showing that these materials leave that shop as one piece, part, or finished article. A feature underlying the whole plan is economy in the movement of work in process. All work moves _through_ a shop, not back and forth in the shop.

The ideal conditions do not always exist, neither can they be brought about in every case. Many plants, built in the past, have been planned without due regard for these matters; their importance was not appreciated and the buildings are so located that it is impossible to secure entirely satisfactory results. However, if present conditions are studied carefully, many improvements can be brought about at slight expense. While, as we have intimated, this is a problem for engineers, a number of cases might be cited where the accountant, called in to systematize the accounting methods of a manufacturing business, has suggested physical changes in the shops that have resulted in marked reductions in costs.

=26. Planning the Office.= The average office is arranged in a very haphazard way. Departments are located with little regard for their departmental relations; desks are placed where they fit best rather than according to any preconceived plan.

Logical arrangement of the office has as great an influence on the economical conduct of the work as does the physical arrangement of the shop. The most important requisite in the layout of an office is good light. While ideal conditions are impossible to attain in some buildings used for offices, much can be accomplished by placing the desks to take full advantage of the light that is available.

The writer once visited an office in which sixty or more people were employed in one big room. Most of the light came from the rear and practically all of the desks faced the light, which is recognized as most injurious to eyesight. The manager of the office was asked why the desks were not placed in proper position, and he replied that they were placed so that the employes would sit with their backs to the entrance, and not have their attention detracted from the work by visitors. He considered this an important move, but overlooked the more vital fact that his employes were not only ruining their eyesight but were actually doing less work than would have been done under more favorable conditions.

A change was consented to. As many of the desks as possible were so placed that the worker would receive the light from the left; some received it from the right and a few from the back. Three months later this manager readily admitted that his employes were turning out at least one-third more work, and their general health was greatly improved.

The location of the departments and the private offices should be carefully considered. Departments in which the work is of a nature requiring frequent inter-communication should be located as closely together as possible. For instance, the sales department should not be placed between the order and accounting departments, but the order department should be close to the accounting department, with which it is in constant communication.

The workers in a department should be placed to facilitate the movement of their work from one desk to another. Heads of departments or chief clerks should be within easy reach of all employes in the department, and accessible to the executive.

Offices of executives should be located with reference to their duties. The sales manager and purchasing agent should be accessible to the public. The general manager should be within easy reach of other officers but not necessarily accessible to the public.

The importance of conveniently arranged offices is receiving much serious thought, and many of the larger industrial enterprises are erecting ideal administration buildings. In all specially planned buildings, the tendency is toward large rooms, rather than smaller rooms separating the departments. A large room insures better light and air, and space can be utilized to much better advantage.

Fig. 10 is a sketch of the first floor plan of the administration building of one of the large industrial enterprises. This is, in many respects, an ideal arrangement.

A noticeable feature is the location of the filing department in the center of the main room. Here it is easily reached by all departments.

At either side of the filing department are the sales and accounting departments. In the sales department several sales managers' desks will be noted, with desks for their assistants across a narrow aisle. It happens that, in this particular business, sales are divided into departments corresponding with the classes of goods manufactured, with a sales manager for each department.

The accounting, order, and credit departments are conveniently arranged, and the auditor is located where he can overlook the entire office. Executive offices, across the front of the building, are accessible to the public and those in the general offices.

=27. Store Plans.= The subject of store plans is one of utmost importance to the merchant. His success is influenced to a great extent by the first impression received by the prospective customer. If that impression is favorable, if he is greeted by an orderly, well arranged store, if his comfort and convenience have been considered, the customer will return and give to the store at least a part of his patronage.

The old-fashioned general store, in which all sorts of merchandise was sold, offered little to commend in respect to orderly arrangement. As a rule, the goods were jumbled together in a confused mass with no thought of segregating them in departments. Yet this country store, found in every hamlet, was the forerunner of the department store of today.

The advent of the department store was a case of adapting the merchandising methods of the country village to the needs of the city. A miscellaneous stock of merchandise, greater in size but similar in character to the country store stock, was gathered in one big store and subdivided into departments. To compete with one-line stores, stocks must be equal in volume, which meant that the department store must carry as large a stock of clothing or of shoes as the exclusive clothing and shoe stores. The stocks must be as complete and as well displayed; each department must be a fully stocked store, prepared to meet the usual demands of a store of that character.

The department store of today is a model of systematic arrangement. Not only are the goods grouped in departments, but the departments are logically grouped and located to suit the convenience of the customers. If one wishes to buy house furnishings, hardware, or dishes, he will probably find them in adjoining departments.

But the departmental idea is by no means confined to the recognized department store; it is a feature of every well regulated store dealing in exclusive lines. Stocks of shoes, hardware, clothing, and furnishings are all divided and the classes segregated by departments.

The departments themselves are subdivided. Goods are classified, and each class placed in special compartments. Goods most frequently called for are near at hand on shelves where they can be easily reached. Top shelves, space under counters, and other inaccessible corners are reserved for goods called for less frequently.

THE COMMITTEE SYSTEM

=28.= We have already referred to the necessity of coöperation in every successful organization. We do not wish to be understood as advancing this idea of coöperation for the benefit only of executive officers and heads of departments. It must extend farther than this--it must penetrate to every nook and corner of the shop.

We must have the coöperation of every workman, no matter how obscure his position, and to secure this coöperation it is necessary to instill in him an interest in the welfare of the business as a whole. Treat him as a mere cog in the wheel and he will very likely be content to do as little work as possible and still draw his pay, with no thought of bettering conditions in his department. But show him that you recognize his ability--that you know that he knows how his work should be done--and he will readily lend his coöperation. The problem of securing this coöperation has been given much study, and those who have met with the greatest success have done so by showing the workman that his advice and suggestions are appreciated.

No matter how willing you may be to receive them, the workman naturally hesitates to make suggestions personally. But give him an opportunity to discuss a point with others of his kind and it is surprising how many practical ideas will be brought out. Experience has shown that this spirit of working for the good of the business can best be maintained through the formation of standing committees. Such committees bring out the best ideas of the men composing them, and invariably work for the good of the business.

=29. General Factory Committee.= In the manufacturing branch of a business, the first committee to be formed is the general factory committee. This committee is usually composed of the superintendent, who acts as chairman, the chief engineer or designer, the tool room foreman, or the special designer of tools, the head of the cost department, and two or three foremen of the most important departments.

The work of this and all other committees must necessarily be adapted to the requirements of the business, but, as a general proposition, the matters to come before the committee may be stated as follows:

1. Reports and discussions of the standardization of the product.

2. Reports of progress on new designs or the redesigning of old
product which has been authorized at previous meetings.

3. Discussion of economies in general operating methods, economies in
cost of production, and all questions of a similar nature.

4. A report on routine work in the factory--whether stock or special
contracts--condition of orders, and condition of stock to fill future
orders.

5. The question of promotions. If all promotions in the shop are
brought before this committee for approval, it will do away with the
charge of favoritism of foremen in advancing relatives or personal
friends without regard to their qualifications. A foreman who is
obliged to recommend promotions to this committee, will be very
careful that the promotion is deserved.

=30. Departmental Factory Committees.= Many factories manufacture more than one line of goods. In such factories it is advisable to have committees to discuss progress in each specific line. Members of the factory committee should act as chairmen of these departmental committees. The committees will be composed of the foremen interested, the tool room foreman, and the head of the cost department.

The work of the committee, so far as relates to a particular department, will be very similar to that of the general factory committee. The discussion will cover:

1. Standardization of product and suggestions for new designs.

2. Progress on improvements already started.

3. Economies in operating expense and cost of production.

4. Reports on routine work.

=31. Job Bosses.= Carrying the committee plan a step farther, it is well to hold occasional meetings of the job bosses. The foreman of each shop will act as chairman and discuss matters pertaining to work in his own shop with the job bosses under him.

In most factories it is also advisable to hold, at least once a month, a general foremen's meeting. This should be a meeting of all foremen, with the superintendent, for the discussion of problems of a general nature and problems relating to specific shops.

=32. Sales Committee.= In the commercial branch, perhaps the most important committee is the sales committee. This committee should consist of the general manager, who acts as chairman, the sales manager, advertising manager, chief engineer, and superintendent. At times it may be advisable to call in the head of the cost department and the tool room foreman.

At the meetings of this committee the following subjects will come up for discussion:

1. General sales report, showing progress of the business as a whole.

2. Territorial sales reports, showing sales in each territory. Both
of these reports should exhibit comparisons between the current and
preceding periods.

3. Reports of sales classified according to the nature of the product,
or specific lines of goods. This is in some respects the most
important of the reports, since it shows which are the fast and which
the slow moving lines.

4. Suggestions for and a discussion of proposed improvements in the
present products.

5. Discussion of proposed new product.

6. Standardization.

In the discussion of the three last named subjects the engineer and superintendent are especially interested, and it is here that the presence of the cost clerk or the tool-room foreman will be required. A salesman naturally assumes the attitude of considering his customers' desires of the greatest importance. Naturally he wants the factory to manufacture the goods that he can sell. But a discussion of difficulties to be surmounted, increased costs, and like questions will go far toward bringing him into line and convincing him that the interests of the house lie in his pushing standard goods.

=33. Advertising Committee.= A committee which is to a certain extent a subdivision of the sales committee is the advertising committee. The general manager should act as chairman, and will have with him on the committee the comptroller, advertising manager, and sales manager.

The work of this committee will be confined to a discussion of:

1. Results of past advertising, including periodical, street car,
bill-board, and all other forms.

2. Appropriations for current advertising.

These advertising reports are very important, for, after sufficient time to establish an equitable cost basis has elapsed, all future advertising should be based on the cost of actual sales, giving due consideration of course to the season of the year, general tendency of the times, and other factors which might temporarily have a disturbing influence.

=34. Organization Committee.= Another committee of importance, which, for convenience, we will call the organization committee, is one which discusses all questions pertaining to accounting and record systems. This committee will be headed by the comptroller and will include the sales manager, advertising manager, credit man, purchasing agent, and superintendent. Sometimes it will be advisable to call into the meetings the chief accountant, cost clerk, stores clerk, and even shop foremen.

As indicated above, the chief work of this committee will be a discussion of systems. While the comptroller prescribes all systems of record, reports, statistics, and accounts, he should make no radical changes without discussing the proposed change with those whose work will be directly affected.

Many systems, good in theory and which with coöperation would work out in actual practice, have failed because they were forced on the business. A systematizer may install a good system and get it into operation, but unless he has secured the coöperation of those upon whom its operation will devolve, he will very likely find that after he leaves there is a gradual disintegration until conditions are worse than before the change was attempted.

It is seldom that a foreman or a clerk will resent a change if he is made to feel that he is, in part at least, responsible for the change. When new systems are introduced in the shop, the foremen are quite likely to look upon them as a means of checking up their departments--a sort of police supervision. The writer has had considerable experience in the introduction of systems into factories, and has invariably found that the coöperation of the shop foreman could be secured by asking for his advice. Before prescribing a form or a system of records for a department, he has made it a point to discuss the difficulties with the foreman, always leading the foreman to put forward what seemed to him the greatest difficulties, and then when these have been apparently solved, to ask the foreman if he does not think such and such a plan would work. When dealing with particularly obstinate foremen he has even gone so far as to suggest a plan which is plainly impracticable, for the very purpose of leading the foreman to suggest a practical solution. Needless to say, in such cases the foreman gives the plan his hearty support, because he has been made to feel that the importance of his suggestions has been recognized.

_Committee Meetings._ The frequency of meeting of the committees herein suggested must be decided by each manufacturer. No hard-and-fast rules can be laid down, but generally these suggestions will apply:

General factory committee, weekly.
Departmental factory committees, once in two weeks.
Job bosses and general foremen's meetings, monthly.
Sales committee, weekly.
Advertising committee, monthly.
Organization committee, monthly.

_Committee Secretaries._ At each committee meeting, a stenographer should be present to act as secretary. When no record is kept, discussions are quite likely to be rambling rather than confined to a specific subject. Then, too, matters which were discussed at the last meeting have grown hazy, and if a man who is responsible for putting into operation a given suggestion has failed in his duty, there is always the chance that no one will think of it at the next meeting unless he brings it up. If, however, an exact record is kept of these discussions and full reports are delivered to every member of the committee before the next meeting, a foreman, or other member, will be very careful about making statements or promises unless he knows that they can be fulfilled.

Where possible, it is best to have the same stenographer act as secretary to all committees, as he will become familiar with their work and can handle it much more expeditiously.

THE SUGGESTION PLAN

=35.= In many factories, and even in mercantile establishments, a modification of the committee idea has been successfully introduced in the form of what is known as the suggestion plan. This plan consists in asking for suggestions from all workmen, these suggestions to pertain to manner of handling their own work, improvements for the benefit of the business as a whole, safety appliances, sanitary conditions, and anything that may be of benefit to the business.

While between foremen and heads of departments the committee plan undoubtedly works to the best advantage, we advocate the suggestion plan for the rank and file of workmen. Even when called into a committee meeting, the workman sometimes hesitates to express his opinions, when if he were permitted to give them in some other manner he would make many valuable suggestions. The plan is to place at convenient points boxes with slots cut in the top in which the suggestions can be placed. Workmen are invited to write out their suggestions and place them in these boxes. They may either sign them or give their clock numbers. The latter plan is sometimes advisable, as it does not reveal the identity of the men making suggestions. All suggestions are taken up in committee meeting by the committee directly interested, and a small prize is given for those suggestions that are put into use. Even so large a department store as Marshall Field & Co. has found it extremely profitable to offer $1.00 for each suggestion offered by an employe that is finally adopted.

Another method is to use autographic registers like the one illustrated in Fig., 11 on which three copies are made. The original is sent to the office, the duplicate is retained by the workman, while the triplicate remains on a roll in the machine. This is removed at the time of the committee meeting, and any suggestions adopted are posted on a bulletin board. The workman need not even sign his number, but can present the duplicate as proof that the suggestion was made by him.

The introduction of any or all of these committee and suggestion plans requires careful study, but when once put into operation they will prove both successful and of inestimable value to the business.

ORAL ORDERS CAUSE CONFUSION

=36.= Probably no more prolific source of confusion and misunderstanding of instructions is to be found than in the habit of giving oral orders. "I understood you to say" or "I thought you meant" are familiar excuses offered for a failure to follow what the one giving them considered clear and explicit instructions.

The absolute necessity of clearly defined authorities that every man connected with an organization may know from whom he is to receive orders, is well recognized. When we get above the one-man business, employes are not left in doubt as to the _source_ of their orders. Why then should there be left the slightest chance of misunderstanding as to the _nature_ of their orders?

When we issue orders that are to be executed by someone outside of our own organization, we are careful that they are in writing. If an order for goods is placed by telephone or telegraph it is confirmed in writing, not alone for the legal protection afforded by a valid contract, but that there may be no confusion or misunderstanding. When we receive an order we prefer to have it in writing for the same reasons.

The success of any undertaking is largely dependent on the proper execution of orders. Surely, orders to be executed within the organization are of equal importance to those that will be executed by an outsider, and at least the same care should be exercised in issuing them. The logical conclusion then is that they should be given in writing. True, oral instructions are sometimes necessary, but all orders and instructions of importance should be in writing.

There are many classes of internal orders, depending on the nature of the business. Among them is a class of inter-departmental communications more in the nature of correspondence than direct orders. In the harmonious operation of an organization, many requests are made between departments; general orders affecting all departments are given by the manager; bulletins are issued by a department manager to all employes under him--all of these should be in writing.

As an illustration, take a special order from a customer. A salesman reports that an order can be secured for certain goods provided some slight change is made in the design. The sales manager will communicate with the superintendent about the cost of making the changes. The question then goes to the general manager for a final decision. Imagine the chances for argument if these negotiations are carried on orally, but if in writing, what each man said is on record and entirely clear.

No elaborate form is needed for these communications, but it is best to use a form differing from that used in the regular correspondence. A simple form is shown in Fig. 12. The form should always show from what department it comes, and, to avoid confusion, it is an excellent plan to use a distinctive color for each department.

Each department should keep a file of these house communications, including carbon copies of those issued by them. It is frequently necessary to follow up their requests to secure reasonably prompt action.

To insure the follow-up, each department should be provided with a follow-up file or tickler, a file having thirty-one numbered compartments to represent the days of the month. This same file can be used for all sorts of memoranda of matters requiring attention on a future date.

ADVANTAGES OF UNIFORM BLANKS

=37.= One of the little points in the routine workings of a business office that is not always given proper consideration is the establishment of a uniform system of blanks. The blanks used for a given purpose in one department will be of a certain size and color, while those used for the same purpose in another department will be radically different in both size and color. Or blanks of entirely different classes will be identical in size and color. The result is a miscellaneous collection of blanks in all sorts of shapes and sizes.

Uniformity in blanks at once establishes a means of identification, avoids confusion, saves filing space and limits mistakes.

Though we may have given the subject little thought, we have long been accustomed to uniformity in certain blanks and business papers. If we have been receiving freight over several railroads the freight bills of each have been readily distinguished by size, color and style of printing. Correspondence from our customers is recognized by the style of the stationery, and orders are distinguished from other communications of the same concern.

Aside from the question of convenience, there is a certain advertising value in stationery and blanks with distinctive features. At a glance we recognize in the morning mail the communications from certain of our correspondents. We feel sure this envelope contains a remittance, that one a welcome order, another an invoice of goods for which we have been waiting; each is recognized by a certain style of the envelope. At no additional expense we can make our own stationery distinctive. Letter heads, order blanks, statements, invoices, remittance blanks will be recognized not by one but by all of our regular correspondents. They will soon learn to associate our name with certain styles of stationery.

Distinctive stationery does not necessarily mean expensive stationery. Our advice is, buy the best quality that you feel you can afford; above all, make it distinctive, make it represent you. Adopt a color, or style of type, or shade of ink that will make your stationery stand out from the mass coming to the desk of every business man.

The problem of filing space is a serious one in most offices, already overcrowded. Filing devices are made in certain sizes that have become standard. The more closely blanks to be filed conform to these sizes, the less space will be required. While we cannot regulate the sizes of the stationery of our correspondents, we can regulate the size of our blanks that will eventually find their way into our own files.

ADVERTISING AND SALES ORGANIZATION