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Precepts for Managers--Interviews with Chester I. Barnard
Wolf, William B.
6/1  (Fall 1963): 89-94

The article presents an interview with sociologist Chester I. Barnard. One of the problems of motivating people is to find effective incentives. With respect to this, Barnard pointed out that financial incentives tend to be overemphasized and that few systems hold up over time. The development of a sense of commitment for operations to be performed in the organization is a difficult task. As pointed earlier, financial incentives are important but not controlling and many systems tend to break down over time. Barnard visualized commitment as being related to morale. In literature on management, relations between line departments and staff departments have been a subject of interest and concern. In theory, if riot in practice, staff departments are supposed to educate, advise, inspect and render service. They are not supposed to have authority over the line. However, in the world of reality staff tends to usurp line authority, with the result that there is a division of responsibility and authority.

 

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