Harvard Business School - Yearbook (Boston, MA)

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Administrative Policy integrates the broad areas of study of the first and second years. We roamed in the realm of the mighty - from the president's chair or the panelled board room we examined the complex problems of top management. Here at least was the big picture we had sought so long. It will be years before any of us will consider such sweeping policy ques- tions as Wl1at type of company should we be? or What type of directors do we need ? Nevertheless, the realization of the difiiculties of top-level coordination of company activities cleansed us of the departmental view. And we went into the business world better prepared to contribute more effectively to a company as a whole. The Administrative Policy teaching staff is the largest of any second-year course. Professor George A. Smith and Mr. Carl Christensen form the nucleus of the group and devote full time to it. fLcft to Rightj Seated: George Alberl Smilb, A.B., D.C.S.,' Prnferrm' of Bll.ffh'E.l'.l' Ad1IlilIi.l'f?'dff0ll. Melvin Tbomizx Copelfmd, PlJ,D,, S,D.fH07I.j,' Profeuor of Markeling, Frank 1:0l'.ff6'l' Gilmore, S.M,, Ai1i'fn'iate Profeixior of Bzlrifzerr Admirzirtmlion. Standing: Mylar La Grange Mare, SB., LL.B., D.C.S.,' Aiiroriale Profetior of B11.fi11e,rJ Admin- irtraliou. 101711 Merzfin Kizmrd, A.B., M.B.A.,' lf1.rlr11rlm' in Bu.riner.i' Admizziilmlirnz. Ricbflrd Sfocklwz llfierinw, A.B., Pb.D.,' Proferrm' of Bz1.fiz1e.i'.it Emzzomiaii. .J . . .

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The odd IIIOIIIEIILT of lbe firfl year were .rpefil flicking-iff: and l1IlXi0ll.l'fy .lflllllljllg rlfrrf .rcbed11le.r, having zz pm!-z'ln.r.r, f0J'f-IIIONIHII wilb flue profe.r.rm'.r lo reconcile your .mlmiozz wifb lhe 'lrrbool J'0lllfi0I1U, or dropping-in fo clml wilb lbe demzr. EA GE ERAL Inaugurated in September, 1948, as a separate course, EA General seeks to develop skill in the analysis of business problems which cut across all the areas of study of the first year Elements of Administration program into a related and meaningful totality. Through EA General we came to sense that the capable administrator is not a technical specialist but rather a coordinator of men's varied eHorts. Thus, he must be conversant with all phases of a business operation and know how to link one with the other. Moreover, the wise administrator, we discovered, understands how to realize the best contributions of many minds. Case discussion promoted stimulating and ofter heated debate from which arose a synthesis of ideas superior to the individual parts. And there lies one of the most valuable lessons learned through the year: the importance - the necessity - of group discussion. All in all, the course was tough, was a consumer of endless time, was even frustrating at times, but for the sufficiently durable and persistent it proved to be one of the more significant experiences of the first year. 23

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PRODUCTIQN Combining labor relations, factory man- agement, manufacturing, procurement, and personnel administration, the production area proved to be the main interest of more second-year men than any other field. This was a tribute both to the professors teaching production and to the field's vital importance to the business process. It is said that Manufacturing is the philosophy of a man. The man, Professor Qeorges Doriot, has definite and practical ideas. He is alive, dynamic, perpetually inquisitive. Products and the men who make them interest him. Looking at a chair he would say, Think how crude this is. You must ask yourself, 'I-Iow can I make it better? How can I make it Cheaper-yet more beautiful?' These are the questions of the manufacturer. There were no lukewarm reactions to the General . Many thought him terrific, a -few thought clipping the New York Times worse than nonsense. All agreed, however, that this forceful, firm, creative man embodies the qualities of a success- ful manufacturer. So rapid has been the growth of union P0Wer in the last decade that few men have been able to study union-manage- ment disputes objectively. Insight, natural Pfltlence, and long experience as an ar- bitrator have made Professor Benjamin Selekman such a man. He searched behind the foreground issues of each dispute for the essential relationship established by the Company and the union. And he sug- gested a solution: the structuring of a S0L1nd company - union relationship day by day. To an extent equaled in no other course, ffHQh.Case in Problems of Collective Bar- Salning became an experience. We felt the words and motives of each principle. SO compelling, in fact, were Professor Selekman's analyses that men often left RO0m 100 deeply moved by his sincerity. Gearger Frederic Dariol, B.S., M.E., L.H.D.,' Profarror of Indllrlrial Management, ' b Q ' BPl7j:1II7fll Morrif Selekmazz, SB., Pb, DU' Kirrieiu Profeyror of Labor Relaliom,