Quota Restriction and Goldbricking in a Machine Shop

Author(s): Donald Roy

Source: American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 57, No. 5, The Sociological Study of Work (Mar.,
1952), pp. 427-442
Published by: The University of Chicago Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2772323 .
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QUOTA RESTRICTION AND GOLDBRICKING IN A MACHINE SHOP

DONALD ROY

ABSTRACT
When the productionbehaviorof industrialworkersis examinedby participantobservation,it is seen
thatloafingon thejob maynotbe thesimplelineofinactivitythatsomestudentsofthesubjecthave thought
it. Close scrutinyof the particularsof "soldiering"in one pieceworkmachineshop revealed that groupadherenceto a "bogey" was but one of severalkindsof outputrestriction
in the repertoireof machineoperativesand that the workgroupwas restricting
productionday in and day out.

Even thosesociologistswho nursea dis- of my fellowsand joining them in their

administration,ceaselesswar withmanagement,
tasteforstudiesofindustrial
ratherineitherbecause the problemsinvolvedare differently
at first,
butlaterwholeheartedly.
''practical"or becausetheyfearmanagerial
As a memberof the workgroup,I had
bias, willrecognizethatstudyofrestriction access to insidetalkand activity.As a maof industrialoutputmay yield knowledge chineoperator,I could put variousoperafreeofbothtaints.,Systematic"soldiering" tions under the microscope.These were
is groupactivity.One may learnabout the greatadvantages,forrestrictus
vulgarisis a
"humangroup"by studyingbehavioron a wary littlething.He does not like to be
productionline as well as in an interracial studied.Wheregroupsare so sensitiveand
discussiongroup.And, if someoneshould so skilledin eludingobservation,
participafindtheknowledge
useful,evenformakinga tionobservationcan be a sensitivedetector
value will ofrelevantfactsand relations(althoughthe
littlemoney,perhapsitsscientific
observercan spoilit all byoverparticipant
notbe completely
vitiated.
thismethodorbyclaimingthatitis
of workilng
I herereportand analyzeobservations
observation).I
restriction
made duringeleven monthsof the sole meansof scientific
ofa
workas a radial-drilloperatorin the ma- willlimitthispaperto thepresentation
which break up the
chineshopofa steel-processing
plantin I944 few discriminations
intoseveralkinds
and I945. For ten monthsI kept a daily blanketterm"restriction"
recordofmyfeelings,
thoughts,
experiences, and to a roughmeasuringof theserestricand observations
and of conversations
with tionsin theshopwhereI worked.
FromNovember
9, I944, to August30,
I noteddown the data
my fellow-workers.
frommemoryat the end of each workday, I945, I workedI,850.5 hours.I,350.9 (73 per
hours.2
notes cent) were"production-piecework"
makingsurreptitious
onlyoccasionally
on the job. I recordedmy own production The remaining499.6 hourswere taken up
openlyin theshop. I did not revealmyre- with time study, rework,and set-up.In
search intereststo eithermanagementor 669.4 (49.6 per cent) of the productionworkers.
I remained"one oftheboyson the pieceworkhours,I "made out." That is, I
line,"sharingthepracticesand confidences producedenoughpiecesof workto "earn,"
at thepieceratesforthekindsofworkdone,
accepted the 85-cent-per-hour
recently
In mydoctoraldissertation
"base rate" whichwe
ofChicagoI analyzetheliterature
bytheUniversity
received
for
hour
every
spenton thejob. I
on this problemas well as othercases which1
man.Cf.also thus"earned"my85 centsin abouthalfthe
studiedin theroleofknownresearch
FactoryLife,"Commentary,
DanielBell,"Exploring
hourswhentherewas opportunity-through
The- completing
Blumer,"Sociological
I947; Herbert
January,
morepieces-to earnmorethan
I

ory: IndustrialRelations,"AmericanSociological

2 I haveomitted
somedaysofworkinSeptember,
occasionedby reorAmerican I945, becauseof irregularities
Sociology,"
Issuesin Industrial
"Current
oftheshopat thattime.
XII (December,I947), 65I-57. ganization
Review,
Sociological

Review,XII (June, I947), 27I-78; Wilbert Moore,

427

428

THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY

that. Obversely,about half the time my 43.2 per centof the 68I.5 "non-make-out"
"turn in" (workdone and turnedin) fell hoursclusteredin two adjacent intervals,
of "make-out"
belowthebase-ratestandard.
$0.35-$o.54.Concentration
hours is even more marked. For 82.8
THE BIMODAL PATTERN OF OUTPUT
per cent fall withinthree5-centintervals,
the
piece- $I. 20-$I .34, and64.I percentfallwithin
My hourlyearningson production
interval,
$I.25-$I.29.
workvariedfrom$o.og to $i.66, a rangeof one5-cent
That thisbimodalpatternofhourlyearn$I.57. Table i showsthatthe spreadof
ingsfortheten-month
perioddoesnotrepreTABLE 1
sent the joiningof the "tails" of two temporal distributions-i.e.,one foran initial
PRODUCTIONPIECEWORK HouRs WORKED
learningperiodand theothershowingcomBY TEN-CENT EARNINGINTERVALS
pletelydifferent
productionbehaviorwith
of
skill-is indicatedby a
the
acquisition
Per Cent
Hours Worked
Earningsper Hour
comparisonofearningdistributions
fortwo
(In Cents)
periodsoffourand sixmonths,respectively.
Unknown* . ..........
7.7
I03 9
In thiscomparison
(Table 2) theperiodfrom
0.2
3.0
5-I4 .............
3.8
November
one
through
Februaryrepresents
.............
5I.0
I5-24
3.7
49.8
25-34 .............
that
level
of
from
March
skill;
through
AuII. I
35-44 .............
I50. I
theproportion
gust,a higherlevel.Although
Io. 7
144 5
45-54.1
4.3
ofmake-outhoursforthesecondperiodwas
57.7
55-64 .............
4.7
65-74.............
63.8
morethan double that of the firstand al4 3
57.7
75-84.............
of make-outhoursin
thoughconcentration
50.4 modal earningintervalsincreased,the pat68i .5
Total under 85 cents
3.8
5I.2
85-94 .. .......
ternwas clearlybimodalin both periods.
I.5
95-I4 .I9.5
............
Both "levelsof skill"showthesamemodal
I.3
I05-II4
I7.9
6.i
83.0
II5-I24 ............
formake-out
earningintervalof $I.25-$I.34
36.7
I25-I34 .496.3
hours.The modalearningintervalfornon0.I
I65-174 . ...........
make-outhoursadvanced but one notch,
I.5
from$0.35 to $0.44 to $0.45 to $0.54.
49.6
669.4
Total 85 centsormore
WhileI didnotkeepa completerecordof
100.0 thehourlyearnings
Total.1,350.9
ofmy"dayman" on the
radial drill(I workeda "second" shift),I
* All "unknown"hourlyearningsfellbelowthe base-rate
frequently
jotted down his day's run.His
levelof85 centsperhour.
figureswere roughlycorrelativewith my
to thediarywillbe madeto
hourlyearningsforthevariousjobs,or "op- own.References
was bimodal;thisdis- showthatI was not out of line withother
erations"performed,
tribution
suggeststwomajortypesofoutput operatorsin theshop.
The bimodalpatternwas the ruleof the
behavior.
Aboutone-halfofmyhoursofpiecework shop. An outsidermightbelievethatit reofworkers
withtwokinds
"earnings" fellon eithersideofthe85-cent- flectsthestruggle
an-hour"day-rate"and "make-out"point, ofjobs, hardand easy.He mightthenposit
indicating85 centsas an approximateme- anynumberofreasonswhythejobs fallinto
dian. However, this distributionby no two piles ratherthan into one bell-shaped
oftime-study
menor
meansformsa bell-shapedcurve,with 85 heap: somepeculiarity
cents as a modal point. "Make-out" and somechangeofcompanypolicy.It wouldinhoursformtwo deed be difficult
so to set pieceratesthatit
"non-make-out"-piecework
with74.I per wouldbe equallyeasy to "makeout" on all
almostseparatedistributions,
in shop
centofthe669.4 "make-out"hoursconcen- kindsofwork.But onesophisticated
interval,and ways and aware of all the devicesof timetrated in the $I.25-$I.34

AND GOLDBRICKING

QUOTA RESTRICTION

IN A MACHINE SHOP

429

studymen would hardlycreditthemwith cents an hour on Job A, he rejects that

that
eitherthe abilityor the will to turn up amountand dropsto a level of effort
"tight"and "loose" pieceratesinotherthan earnsonly50 centsan hourand reliesupon
He would his 85-centbase-payrate for"take home."
a singlebell-shapeddistribution.
become the "gravy"
not attributethe bimodal distortionof Job B has therefore
hourlyearningsto anythingso improbable job, and Job A the "stinker."Into the
as bimodaldistribution
of hard and easy "stinker"bin goes A, along with go-cent
jobs. It couldbe thattheoperators,
ignoring jobs, 85-centjobs, and 6o-centjobs.
2

TABLE

HouRs WORKED,

PRODUCTION-PIECEWORK
INTERVALS,

PER

Two

PERIOD
EARNINGS PER HouR
(IN

(NOVEMBER

............

. .............
25-34
..............
35-44 ............
45-54 .
............
55-64
...
65-74
..............
.............
75-84 .
I5-24

.............

............

II5-I24

I25-I34

I65-I74

............. ............
85 cents or over

Total......
*

PERIOD

Per Cent

66.4
3 .0

(MARCH

THROUGH AUGUST)

0. 5
2.3
6.5
i6.o
I2.8
7.4
6.3
8.5
4I6.6

57-I
70.5
I4.6
8.7

I2.I

3.8

0.7

I4.I

i.8

8.4
52.3

65.o
403. I

0.2

I.5
28.3

......

i.6
I .3

9.8

.............

I00.0

34-4

264.9

7I.7

580.4

I.9
3.5
I. I

27.0

3. I
i6. i

4.9
4.9
I.6
7-4
9. I

I2.0

6.7
I.7

I63.8

......

.............
37- 5

39-I
9-7
I8.o
93.2

Per Cent

Hours Worked
37.5

II.4

I3*5
37.8
93-0
74.0
43- I
36.8
49.0

Total under 85 cents

85-94 ..............
95-I04 .............

Total

PERIODS

CENTS)

Unknown* .............

I05-II4

EARNING

BY TEN-CENT

THROUGH FEBRUARY)

Hours Worked
5-I4

DIARY

5o5.6

65.6

770.5

100.0

All "unknown"hourlyearningsfell below the base-ratelevel of 85 centsper hour.

sortjobs into
injob timing,
finerdistinctions
twobins,onefor"gravy"jobs,theotherfor
"stinkers."
Let us assumethattheaverageofworker
willbe constantfromjob to job. JobA
effort
mightbe ratedas 5 centsan hour"harder"
thanJobB. But JobA turnsout to yield75
centsan hourlessthanJobB insteadofthe
expected5 centsan hourless. One suspects
has notbeen constant.Whenan
thateffort
operatordiscoversthathe can earn$.oo an
houron JobB, he willthenput forthextra
to makeit $I.25. When,
and ingenuity
effort
however,he findsthathe can earn only95

The pronounceddichotomyin the productionbehaviorof the machineoperator

mightbe classified
suggeststhatrestriction
into two major types,"quota restriction"
The heavy concentraand "goldbricking."

tionofhoursat the$I.25-$I.34

levelwith

to the next level makes

no spilling-over
of
appearas a limitation
"quota restriction"
effort
on "gravy"jobs in ordernotto exceed
that
It couldalso be inferred
setmaximums.
"goldbricking"
appearsas a "holding-back,"
whena close apor failureto releaseeffort,
proachto thequota seemsunattainable.

430

THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY

to mainexpendedor increasedeffort
effort
level.
take-home
tain
the
whichhas reIt is "quota restriction"
When I was hired,a personneldepartceived the most attention.The Mayo researchersobserved that the bank-wiring mentclerkassuredme that the radial-drill
$1.25 an houron
wereaveraging
groupat WesternElectriclimitedoutputto operators
liberaldefinition
a
was
using
He
piecework.
that
a "quota" or "bogey."3Mayo inferred
I had had no
Since
"averaging."
term
of
the
to
due
was
production
of
chopping-off
this
and since
experience
oftheeconomiclogics previousmachine-shop
lackofunderstanding
chainof a machinewouldnotbe available fora few
usingthefollowing
ofmanagement,
reasoning:Insistenceby managementon days, I was advised to spend some time
manof
purely economic logics, plus frequent watchingJackStarkey,a radial-drill
and skill.
changesin suchlogicsin adaptationto tech- highrankin seniority
One of Starkey's firstquestions was,
nologicalchange,resultin lack of understandingon the part of the workers.Since "What have you been doing?"WhenI said
the lattercannotunderstandthesituation, I had workedin a PacificCoast shipyardat
theyare unableto developa nonlogicalso- a rateofpay over$i.oo an hour,Starkeyexcial code ofa typethatbroughtsocialcohe- claimed,"Then what are you doingin this
sion to workgroupspriorto the Industrial place?" WhenI repliedthataveraging$I.25
Revolution.This inabilityto develop a an hourwasn'tbad, he exploded:
Grade-Asocial code bringsfeelingsof frusyousay!Averaging?"
"Averaging,
resultsin
tration.And, finally,frustration
"Yeah,on theaverage.I'm an averageguy;
the developmentof a "lowersocial code" soI oughttomakemybuckanda quarter.
That
in oppositionto theeco- is,afterI getontoit."
amongtheworkers
Andoneofthe
nomiclogicsofmanagement.
"Don't you know,"criedStarkeyangrily,
symptomsof this"lowersocial code" is re- "that $I.25 an hour is the mostwe can make,
even whenwe can makemore!And mostof the
ofoutput.4
striction
Mayo thusjoins thosewho considerthe timewe can't even make that! Have you ever
economicman a fallaciousconception.Now workedon pieceworkbefore?"
"No.")
the operatorsin my shop made noiseslike
"I can see that!Well,whatdo yousuppose
economicmen. Their talk indicatedthat would happen if I turnedin $I.25 an hour on
theywere canny calculatorsand that the thesepump bodies?"
at themastheadof evdollarsignfluttered
"Turned in? You mean if you actuallydid
erymachine.Theiractionswerenotalways the work?"
withtheirwords;and suchinconconsistent
"I mean if I actually did the work and
sistencycalls for furtherprobing.But it turnedit in!"
"They'd have to pay you, wouldn't they?
becausetheywerealertto
couldbe precisely
theireconomicinterests-at least to their Isn't that the agreement?"
"Yes! They'd pay me-once! Don't you
immediateeconomicinterests-thattheopknow
that ifI turnedin $I.5o an houron these
It
their
exceed
quotas. might
eratorsdidnot
bodies tonight,the whole God-damned
pump
fromtheirtalkthattheydid not MethodsDepartmentwould be down here tobe inferred
turn in excess earningsbecause they felt morrow?And they'dretimethisjob so quickit
price would make yourhead swim!And when they
thatto do so wouldresultinpiecework
wouldbe either retimedit, they'dcut thepricein half!And I'd
cuts;hencetheconsequences
reducedearningsfromthe same amountof be workingfor 85 cents an hour instead of
QUOTA RESTRICTION

and J. Dickson, Manage3 Fritz Roethlisberger

mentand theWorker(Cambridge:Harvard UniversityPress, I939).

4 Elton Mayo, Human Problemsof an Industrial
Civilization(New York: Macmillan Co., I938), pp.
IIO-2I.

$I.25!"

From thisinitialexpositionof Starkey's

to mylast day at theplantI was subjectto
price
warningsand predictionsconcerning
cuts. Pressurewas the heaviestfromJoe

QUOTA RESTRICTION

AND GOLDBRICKING

IN A MACHINE SHOP

43I

"Takethese$I.25 jobs.Oneguywillturnin
Mucha, day man on my machine,who
sharedmy job repertoire
and kept a close $I.30 an hourone day. Then anotherfellowwill
eyeon myproduction.
On NovemberI4, the turnin,say,$I.3I or$I.32. Then thefirstfellow
willgo up to $I.35. Firstthingyouknowthey'll
day aftermy firstattainedquota, Mucha be up to
$I.50, and bang! They'll tear a machine
advised:
to pieces to changesomethingto cut a price!"
In the washroom,before I started work,
Williecommentedon mygravyjob, thepedestals.
"The MethodsDepartmentis goingto lower
theprice,"he said. "Therewas sometalktoday
aboutit."
"I hope theydon't cut it too much,"I said.
"I suppose they'llmake some change in the
jigs?"
"They'll change the toolingin some way.
whentheymakeup theirmindsto
Don't worry,
lower
a
price,
they'llfinda way to do it!"5
JackStarkeydefinedthe quota carefully

"Don't let it go over $I.25 an hour,or the

time-studyman will be rightdown here! And
theydon't waste time,either!They watchthe
recordslike a hawk! I got ahead, so I took it
easy fora coupleof hours."
Joe told me that I had made $io.oi yesterday and warnedmenotto go over$I.25 an hour.
He toldme to figuretheset-upsand thetimeon
each operationvery carefullyso that I would
not total over$IO.25 in any one day.

butforcefully
whenI turnedin $IO.50 for The associationof quota behaviorwith
oneday,or$I.3I an hour.
such expressionsabout price-cutting
does
Jack Starkey spoke to me after Joe left.
"What's thematter?Areyoutryingto upsetthe
apple cart?"
Jack explained in a friendlymannerthat
$I0.50 was too muchto turnin, even on an old
job.
men can turnin $I.35,")
"The turret-lathe
said Jack,"but theirrate is go cents,and ours
85 cents."
Jack warnedme that the MethodsDepartmentcouldlowertheirpriceson any job, old or
new,by changingthefixture
slightly,or changingthesize ofdrill.Accordingto Jack,a couple
of operators(firstand secondshifton the same
drill) got to competingwitheach otherto see
how muchtheycould turnin. They got up to
$I.65 an hour,and the price was cut in half.
And fromthen on they had to run that job
as noneoftheotheroperatorswould
themselves,
accept the job.
Accordingto Jack,it wouldbe all rightforus
to turnin$I .28 or$I .29 an hour,whenitfigured
out thatway,but it was not all rightto turnin
$I.30
an hour.
Well, now I knowwherethe maximumis$I.29
an hour.

Starkey'sbeliefsconcerning
techniquesof
werethoseof the shop.Leonprice-cutting
in the shop,and
ard Bricker,an old-timer
bothaffirmed
that
Willie,the stock-chaser,
oncebenton slashinga piecemanagement,
workprice,wouldstop at nothing.

notprovea causal connection.Such a connectioncould be determined

onlyby institutingchangesin the worksituationthat
would effecta substantialreductionof
"price-cutfear" and by observingthe resultsofsuchchanges.
Even if it shouldbe thusindicatedthat
thereis a causal relationship,
testingof alternativehypotheseswould still be necessary.It may be, but it is not yet known,
that"economicdeterminism"
may account
in the shop investifor quota restriction
gated.It may also be, but it is not known,
thatfactorssuchas Mayo's "failureto un-

5 JohnMills, onetimeresearchengineerin telephony and forfiveyearsengagedin personnelworkfor

the Bell TelephoneCompany,has recentlyindicated
the possibilitythat therewere factorsin the bankwiringroomsituationthat the Mayo groupfailedto
detect: "Reward is supposedto be in directproportionto production.Well,I rememberthe firsttimeI
evergot behindthat fiction.I was visitingtheWestern Electric Company,whichhad a reputationof
never cuttinga piece rate. It never did; if some
manufacturing
processwas foundto pay morethan
seemedrightforthe class of labor employedon ithad misjudgedif,in otherwords,the rate-setters
to the engineersfor
that particularpartwas referred
redesign,and then a new rate was set on the new
part. Workers,in otherwords,werepaid as a class,
supposedto make about so much a week with their
best effortsand, of course,less forless competent
efforts"(The Engineerin Society[New York: D. Van
Nostrand& Co., I946], p. 93).

432

THE AMERICAN JOURNALOF SOCIOLOGY

derstandthe economiclogics of manage- I had a lot of troubleonce whenI was being

timed,and they gave me $35.00 a hundred.
ment"are influential.
"WASTE TIME") ON QUOTA RESTRICTION

Later theycutit to $I9.50

made $9.5o a day."

a hundred,and I still

reWhateverits causes,such restriction

If Old Pete could have made $20.00 a day,
sultedin appreciablelosses of timein the he was "wasting" fourhours a day.
shop.Thave evidenceofit fromobservation My own first"spare time" came on Noof the workbehaviorand talk of fellow- vember i8.
operatorsand frommyownworkbehavior.
Today I made out with such ease on the
Since abilityto "make out" earlywas re- pedestalsthatI had an hourto spare.To cover
lated to skilland experience,it was some thehourI had to poke alongon thelast operatimebeforeI foundenoughtimewastedon tion,takingtwiceas muchtimeto do 43 pieces
to record.But I discovered as I ordinarilywould.
quota restriction
earlythatotheroperatorshad timeto burn.
But it wasn't until March, when I exOne eveningEd Sokolsky,onetimesecperienced a sudden increase in skill, that I
operatoron Jack Starkey'sdrill,
ond-shift
was capable of making out early on any job
on a job thatJackwas running:
commented
but the pedestals. With this increase in skill
"That's gravy!I workedon those,and I I found the pedestals quickly fading as the
at supreme distributorsof "gravy." One and
couldturnoutninean hour.I timedmyself
sixminutes."
one-halfhours of loafingrecordedon March
I wassurprised.
22
"At 35 cents apiece, that's over $3.oo an

was a portent of thingsto come.

hour!"
I stalledalong tonight,turningout only 89
"AndI gottenhours,"said Ed. "I usedto pieces, adding in my kittyof 40 pieces fora
makeoutinfourhoursandfoolaroundtherest turn-inof I29. Joehad a kittyof I3, and I figofthenight."
uredthatthe ii6 piecesleftwouldjust do him
tomorrow.I finishedmy last piece about 9:30

If Sokolskyreportedaccurately,he was and startedcleaningup the machineabout ten

"wasting"six hoursper day.
o'clock. I noticedthat Tony was also through
Ed claimedthathe couldmakeover$3.oo an

early,standingaroundhis machine.

"This is the earliestyou've made out, isn't

but
he wasrunning,
houron thetwomachines
he couldturnin only$I.40 an houror,occa- it?" he asked.
Dick Smith remarkedto me, "That's the
sionally,
$I.45 or $I.50 forthetwomachines
Ed saidthathe alwaysmakesoutfor kindofa job I like.ThenI can go at it and enjoy
together.
tenhoursbyeleveno'clock,thathehasnothing it."
to do from II:00

to 3:oo, and has even left

early,gettingsomeonetopunchhistimecardfor
him.
"That's the advantage of workingnights,"
said Ed. "You can make out in a hurryand sit
around, and nobody says anything.But you
can't get away withit on day shiftwithall the
big shots around.Jack has to take it easy on
thesehousingsto make themlast eighthours,
and thatmustbe tough.

On April 7 I was able to enjoy fourhours of

"free time."

I turnedout 43 piecesin thefourhoursfrom

threeto seven,averagingnearlyii an hour(or
$2.o85 per hour). At seven o'clock therewere
only 23 piecesleftin the lot, and I knewthere
would be no point in buildingup a kittyfor
Monday ifJoepunchedoffthe job beforeI got
to work.I could not go ahead with the next
order(also a load of connectingrods) because
"Old Pete," another "old-timer"con- the new rulingmade presentationof a work
fidedin me:
orderto the stock-chaser
necessarybeforema"Anothertimewhentheytimedme on some terialcould be broughtup. So I was stymied
connectingrods, I could have made $20.00 a and could do nothingtherestof theday. I had
day, easy. 1 had to runthemat thelowestspeed 43 piecesplus ii fromyesterday'skittyto turn
on themachineto keep frommakingtoo much. in fora total 54.

QUOTA RESTRICTION AND GOLDBRICKING IN A MACHINE SHOP

433

andnone $2.00 an hour.Maximumson another4 jobs

I sataroundtherestoftheevening,
ofthebossesseemedto mind.
came to $I.96 or better.All but 3 of the i6
jobs yieldedpossibleearn"excess-quota"
By AugustI was moresophisticatedin
an hour.
$I.75
over
ings
of
the art of loafing,and complaintsof being
jobs, I found
i6
excess-quota
the
Besides
"stymied"werenotrecorded.
4 "nonquota-make-out"jobs (maximum
andhadmy earningslessthan$I.25) thatshowedpotenI hadgoodluckwiththereamers
needed26 piecesbysixo'clock.I did io more tialitiesin excessofquota limits.That I did
fora kittyforMondayandwoundup theeve- not actuallyachievequota on these4 jobs
ning'sworkat seveno'clock.Thelastfourhours
I sat aroundand talkedto variousoperators. was due to slowstarts;sincethe4 werenot
assignedto me again,I couldnotcashin on
on my discoveries.If these4 are included,the
I reachedmypeak in quota restriction
June27,withbut threeand a halfhoursof numberofjobs withexcess-quota
potentials
productiveworkout of theeight.
total 20.
Givena quota of$I.25 an hour,or $I0.00
AN ESTIMATE OF THE DEGREE OF QUOTA
day,and a job thatwillyield
an eight-hour
RESTRICTION PRACTICED
overthat
$I.25 an hourbut notappreciably
prac- rate,theoperatorwillhave to expenda full
The amountof quota restriction
to achievethe quota.
ticedby operatorson the drilllinemaybe eighthoursof effort
estimatedfrom my own productionbe- But, ifthejob willyieldearningsat therate
of $2.50 an hour,it will take the operator
havior.
diaryperiodI re- onlyfourhourstoearnhis$io.oo. A $2.50Duringthe ten-month
job, and the
piecework an-hourjob is thusa four-hour
75 different
ceivedapproximately
fourhoursoftheworkdaymaybe
jobs, someofwhichwereassignedfromtwo remaining
wastedtime.If theoperatorwere
to sixtimes,but themajorityofwhichwere considered
forthefulleighthourson a
assignedonlyonce. On only3I of the jobs to extendhimself
job and were permittedto
did I evermakeout.
$2.5o-an-hour
his earnings
Ofthe3I make-outjobs,only20 afforded turnin theresultsofhis effort,
quota earningsof$I.25 an houror more;5 would be $20.00 instead of his quota of
maximum
earningsoffrom$I.20 to $io.oo. Thus thereis incurreda financial
afforded
an hour; i, maximumearningsof loss to theoperatoras wellas a loss ofpro$I.24
$I.09 an hour;and 5 ofthe3I yieldedmaxi- ductiontimeto thecompanywhenthequomumsof less than $i.oo an hour (85-99 ta is observed.
Table 3 lists the twentyjobs which
cents). Total quota hours were 497.8, or
slightlyovera thirdof the totalpiecework showed potentialitiesof yieldinghourly
inexcessof$I.30. Wastetimeand
earnings
hours.
effort
past quota limitsto lossin earningsis computedforeachjob acBy extending
findthe earningpossibilitiesof the jobs, I cordingto maximumearningsindicatedin
discoveredthaton i6 ofthe 20 quota jobs I eachcasebyactualtestand accordingto the
could have earned more than $x.30 an hour; numberof hoursdevotedto each job. For
instance,operation"pawls,"whichleadsthe
on 4 ofthe 20 I was unableto exceed$I.30
listwithI57.9 totalhoursworked,showed,
perhour.
ofearningsof$I.96 per
Forexample,on the"NT bases,"I turned by test,possibilities
of $I.96 per hour,
outpiecesat therateof$2.55 fora testhour, hour. At potentialities
over36 percentofeachhouris wastedwhen
and I turnedthemout at the rate of $2.04
shift.On the "G sock- the operatorholds his turn-into $I.25 an
fora fulleight-hour
ets," I was able to earn $2.53 an hour; this hour.Total waste timein the I57.9 hours
operatorsto expendedon thepawls could thenbe comjob was toutedby experienced
puted at 57.2 hours,or overa thirdof the
yield $3.oo an hour.
I ran 4 otherjobs at a rate in excessof timeactuallyput in. Earningsmighthave

THE AMERICAN JOURNALOF SOCIOLOGY

434

been,at $I.96 perhour,$309.48;whereas,at

the quota level of $I.25, theywouldhave
beenbut $I97.38-a loss of$I I 2. IO.
Total wastetimeforthe20 jobs is seento
be 286 hours,or 36.4 per cent of a total
786.5 hoursactuallyput in on them.This
a wastageof 2.9 hourson each 8represents
hourdayput in,ora totalloss of35.75days
out of98.3 actuallyworked.Withpotential
earningsof $I,584.43 forthe 98 days and

wastage of considerablemagnitude-an
over-allhourlyincomelossforI,850.5 hours
of 324 centsan hour!
In orderto generalizeforthe drillline
fromobservationof my own behavior,I
would have to establish(i) that I was an
and (2) that my job
"average" performer
repertoirewas representative
of those of
otheroperators.
Of the men on the same shiftdoingmy

TABLE 3
TIME AND EARNINGS LOSSES ON OPERATIONS WITH POTENTIALITIES
HOURLY EARNINGS IN EXCESS OF $I.30 PER HOUR

Operation
n
?iTeste
Tested

Paws.
Pedestals.
NT bases ..
.
Conrods
Sockets .
B. housings...
Pinholes .....
.
Casings .28.
Gear parts
Replacers . . 1..

Spyglasses

R. sockets .
Move. jaw
Ped. $8.9o
Spot

JI728

G. sockets

Ped. $5.

CB hubs ......
SD cups ......
Bolts .........
Total .

Total
Hours

~Worked
I57.9
120.5
11I.0
94.4

75.8

Maximum Waste
(Per

Hour)
$i.96

1. 7I

2. 55
2.33

I .76

Time (Per

Hour)

0 3625
0. 2625
0.5125

0.4625
0. 2875

Time

Potential
Earnings
Erig

57.2

$309.48

(In Hours)
31.6
56.9
43- 7
21.8
I6. 7

206. o8
283 . 05
219.95
133.41
90. I6

46. o
37.7
5

I.96
I. 87

0. 3250

I2.3

70.

2.03

24.0

0.3000

IO. 7
7. 2

57.86

I.83

0 3750

I9.3

2. 20

0.4375
O. I875

i8. O

I4.9
9.6
7 .0

6. 7
4- 5
4-3
4. I
I.5
o.8
786.5
(98-3 days)

I.57

I .48

0. 3625

Total Waste

0. I375

I.99
2. I2

0. 3625

I. 9I

0.3375

2.53

0. 5000
0-3250

I.85
I. 65
I.89
I.96

0.4000

50

43.92

OF YIELDING

Earnings Loss in
at $I.25
Earnin-s
t$.5Erig

$I97.38

$II2.

I 50. 63
138.75

ii8.oo
04.75
57.

50

47.I3

23 . 37
22.

I8.33
5 .76

42.46

24.

28. 26

22.50

2.0

22.05
I9. IO

I8.63

2.3
2. 3

I4.84
I2.80
II.39

0. 2375

I.0

0.3250

0.5

7.96
6. 77
2.84

0.3625

0.3

I.57

I.4

286.0
$I
(35- 75 days)

584.43

38.66

32.66

35.63
30 00

8.4
3 .4
3.5
2.8

10

55.43
I44 . 30
IOI.95

I2.

I3

00

8.75
8 -38
5.63
5.38

23

I3.92

3.42
7.IO

6. 09
4.42

5 . 76
2.58

I.88

I. 64
0.96

I.00

0.57

5. I3

$983 . I8

$60I.

25

with quota earningsat $983.I8, the wage kind of work, four (McCann, Starkey,
loss to the workerwould be $60I.25, or Koszyk, and Sokolsky) could turn out
$6.I2 per day,or 76- centsperhour.
greatervolumethanI and weremybetters
By this logic,if the workercould "cut in all-aroundskills.Sevenwerebelowme in
loose" on the 20 jobs listed,he wouldaver- theserespects,of themonly three(Smith,
age $2.0I an hourinsteadof$I.25. Andsince Rinky,and Dooley) workedlongenoughto
the 786.5 hoursactuallyput in on the 20 be inthecoreofthegroup.I was aboutaverage in skilland in theworkassignedme.
jobs represented
58.2 percentofthe I,350.9
total pieceworkhoursforthe period,and
The maximumson whichthe losses are
42.5 percentofa grandtotalofI,850.5 hours figured
represent
onlypotentialities
discovthat includedall nonpiecework
activityas ered in tests of relativelyshortduration.
well,it is evidentthatlossesresulting
from Yet it is likelythat had I remainedin the
quota restrictionalone could represent shop long enoughto allow the 20 jobs an-

QUOTA RESTRICTION

IN A MACHINE SHOP

AND GOLDBRICKING

435

lost $2.08 perday, or 26

othertimearound,I could have routinized $1I2.08.I therefore
many of the maximumsand could have centsper hour on quota piecework.Since
represented
4I.8 percentof
raisedsomeofthem.It is also likelythatif quotapiecework
organizationalchangeswere institutedto totalhoursworked,theover-alllossperday
alone would be
induceoperatorsto abolishquota limitsand due to quota restriction
ii centsan hour.
"open up" production,the writer'sdiscov- $o.87,approximately
period,July
Duringthe last two-month
eredmaximumswouldbe quicklyraisedto
higherlevels by the effortsof the group. and August,I was "wasting"on theaverage
thebetteropera- over 2 hoursa day whileon "quota pieceUnderadequatemotivation
torswouldemploytheirsuperiorskillsand work."If myproduction
duringAugustmay
theresultsoftheirapplicationwouldbe dis- be consideredindicativeof my developed
ofthingsto comehad I
seminatedto others.In myopinion,thepro- skill,and portentous
ductionpotentialities
are underestimates
of stayed,then estimatesof futurewastages
in thesitua- becomegreater.With2.o6 hoursper quotatheoutputpossibilities
inherent
TABLE 4

QUOTAHOURS

LOAFED,

BY PERCENTAGES

OF ToTAL

QUOTAHOURS

AND AVERAGE HOURS PER QUoTA DAY OF LOAFING

(By Months,March throughAugust,I945)

Month
March ........
April.........

May .........
June.........
July.........
August......

Total ......

Total
Quota Hours

Quota Hours
Loafed

69 3

7.6

HoursLoafed
Per Cent
HoursLoafed per Quota Day
II.0

76.3

IO.35

I3.6

83.5
84.8
85.9

I 8.2
25.2

I. 09

I 5.2
2I.4
22.2

7.4

0.59

25.8

2.o6

8I. 9

I7.4

I.39

69.8

469.6

o. 88

5.I5

tion. This hypothesiscan be tested, of

course,onlythroughobservationof experimentalchanges.
appraisals,an
As a checkon theforegoing
estimateoftheactualamountoftimewasted
may
quota restriction
by thewriterthrough
to Table 4.
be madeby reference
60.9
The 469.6 quota hoursrepresented
per centof 770.5 totalpieceworkhoursfor
theperiod,and 4I.8 percentof I,I23.2 total
hoursworked.
Withan averageof I.39 hours"wasted"
per day of "quota piecework,"the average
hoursworkedwere6.6i; so, at quota limits
of$I.25 an hour,or$io.oo perday,earnings
while I was actually workingon "quota

wouldbe $I.5I perhourforthe

piecework"
six-month
period.If I had turnedin 8 hours'

perdayat $I.5I, mydailyearnproduction

ingson "quota piecework"wouldhave been

I .46
2.02

pieceworkday loafed,thelengthofthe"actual" averagequota workdaybecomes5.94

hoursand theaverageearningsfor"actual"
worktimeput in becomes$i.68 per hour.
At $i.68 per hourfora full8-hourday,the

writerwouldearn $I3.44;

the dailyloss

wouldthenbe $3.44 and thehourlyloss 43

cents.And since quota pieceworkforAu7I.5 percentoftotalpiecegustrepresented
workforthe month,the loss per day on
pieceworkwas $2.46. And, since quota
46 per cent of total
pieceworkrepresented
hoursworked,theover-allloss per day was
$I.58 and theover-allhourlyloss nearly20
cents.
This daily loss for August would be
slightlyreducedif theactual quota turn-in
is consideredin place of the assumed$I.25
actuallyaveraged$I.27
perhour.The writer
raisingtheasperhouron quota piecework,

THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY

436

Thereseemedto be no relationbetweena
sumedaverageby 2 centsper hour,or I6
centsperday. The computedaveragedaily man's abilityto earnand his behavioron a
would "stinker."That the men who most freand hourlylosseson quotapiecework
thenbe $3.28 and $0.4I, and theover-all quentlyearnedthe quota goldbrickedlike
therestonpoorjobs appearsinthefollowing
losseswouldbe $I.5i and$o.i9.
extracts:
PIECEWORK

GOLDBRICKING

Al McCann (the man who made quota most

On "gravyjobs" the operatorsearneda often)said thathe givesa job a trial,and ifit is

quota,thenknockedoff.On "stinkers"they no goodhe takeshistime.He didn'ttryto make
put forthonly minimaleffort;eitherthey out on the chuckstonight.
Joe Mucha, my day man, said of a certain
equal to the
did nottryto achievea turn-in
slowed job: "I did just one morethanyou did. If they
base wage rate or theydeliberately
don't like it theycan do themthemselves.To
down. Jobs were definedas "good" and hellwiththem.I'm notgoingto bustmyass on
"bad" jobs, not in termsof the effortor stufflike this."
to makingoutat a barebaseskillnecessary
Old Peter,themultipledrillman,said "I ran
of a somepieces for25 minutesto see how manyI
ratelevel,but of the feltattainability
substantialpremium,i.e., I5 centsan hour couldturnout.I turnedout 20 at I2 centsapiece
or more.Earningsof $i.oo an hourin rela- (72 centsan hour).So I smokeand take it easy.
it."
tion to a $I.25 quota and an 85-centbase I can't make out; so
I noticethat whenEd Sokolsky,one of the
while
worththeeffort,
ratewereconsidered
betteroperatorson the line, is workingon an
earningsof95 centsan hourwerenot.
operationhe cannotmakeout on,he doesnotgo
The attitudebasic to the goldbricking at his taskwithvigor.He eitherpokesaroundor
was,expressedsuccinctly leaves hismachineforlongperiodsoftime;and
typeofrestriction
thus:"They'renotgoingto getmuchwork Paul (set-upman) seemsalways to be looking
out ofme forthispay!"
for him. Steve (supt.) is always bellowing,
Complaintsabout low pieceworkprices "Wherein hell is Ed?" or "Come on, Ed, let's
have someproductionaroundhere!"TonightI
werechronicand universalin theshop.

Ed again,"Now I want
heardhimadmonishing
you to workat that machine'til threeo'clock,
do you understand?"
Mike Koszyk,regardedas a crackoperator:
The pricewas a poorone (a fewcentsa hundred)
and thejob tough.Mike had turnedout only9
His 50-5oestimatewas almostequal to piecesin 3 hours.WhenMike takeshis time,he
of49.6-50.4.Pessimistic reallytakes his time!
myownexperience
Accordingto Al, Jack Starkeyturnedin 40
thoughitwas,itwas lessso thanusualstate- cents
an hour today on his chuck parts. Al
mentson thesubject:
laughed,saying,"I guess Jack didn't like this
ifhewasmaking
out,andhe job."
I askedJackson
Gus Schmidt,regardedas the best speed"No!"
gavemetheusualanswer,
out,andI al- drill operatoron the second shift,was timed
"TheyaskmehowI'm making
I'm earlyin the eveningon a job, and givena price
wayssay,'O.K.' As faras I'm concerned,
makingout O.K. If theystartaskingme fur- of$i.oo per ioo forreamingone hole,chamferingbothsidesofthreeholes,and filingburrson
ther,I'll tellthemthatthisplacestinks.
"The day manisn'tmakingouteither.We one end of one hole. All that forone cent!
geta lotoflittlejobs,smalllots.It's impossible "To hellwiththem,"said Gus.
smalljobs all
He did not tryto make out.
to makeoutwhenyou'regetting

th"e
of
matter
lathemendiscussed
Theturret
thatonlyhalfthe
out,onemanstating
making
timecoulda manmake84 centsdayrateon a
machine.It was agreed:"What'sthe use of
whenit'shardeventomakedayrate?"
pushing

thetime."
The possibilityof covering"day rate"
ona newjob,timestudyon
Joewasworking
nospurto themachineoperaI askedhim,"Some- was ordinarily
somesmallpiecestonight.
tor
himself
to
on a job. A remarkof
bestir
is good
"Nothing
thinggood?"andhe replied,
"I could have
Mucha's was characteristic:
anymore!"

QUOTA RESTRICTION AND GOLDBRICKING IN A MACHINE SHOP

437

regardedas poorlypriced.This fightwent

on forat least ninemonthsat themachine
operatedby JackStarkey.DuringthisperiodthreemenworkedsecondshiftonJack's
machine in the followingsequence: Ed
JoeMuchadrilled36 ofthebases(at $8.8o Sokolsky,Dooley,and Al McCann.
perioo) today."ThemostI'll everdountilthey
DecemberI9.-Ed Sokolskyand Jack Starretime
thisjob is 40,"he said."Do youknow, key have not been doingwell. Ed cussesinterbust mittentlyand leaves his machineforlong petheyexpectus todo ioo?Why,I wouldn't
myass to do 50, for$8.oo,whenday rateis riods of time. The foremenfindthe machine
almostthat!"
idle, and Steve bellows about it. Ed calls the
somepiecesat piece he is workingon a "stinker."I knowit is,
McCannwasput to drilling
$6.50perioo. I noticedhimworking
furiouslybecause Ed is freewith his advertisingof the
andwalkedoverto seewhathe wasdoing.He "gravy"he finds.
askedmeto figure
outhowmanypiecesat 6
Ed seemsto have constanttroublewithhis
centshehadtoturnoutperhourtomake$I.20.
jig, a revolvingpiece attachedto theside ofthe
WhenI toldhimi8 or i9 hesaid,"I giveup," table.Two disksseemto sticktogether,and Ed
andimmediately
sloweddown.
is constantly(everyday or so) usingthe crane
A fewminutes
laterI methimin thewash- to dismantlethe jig (a very heavy one). He
room,andhe said,"I wouldn't
workthathard sands the disks and oils them,takingseveral
foreightortenhoursevenifI couldmakeout. hoursforthe cleaningoperation.Steve saw the
I thought
I'd tryit foran houror so and see dismantled jig again tonight and bellowed,
whatI coulddo."
"Again?" Steve does not like it.
He figures
thathe was making95 centsan
Paul, the set-up man, gets concerned,too,
hour.At lunchtimehe said thathe had aver- whenhe findsthe jig torndown and Ed away
aged $i.oo an hourforthe two hoursand somewhere.He says,"Wherethehell's Ed?" in
thought
maybehewouldtryto makeout.
a provokedmanner.
made out," he said, "but whykillyourself
forday rate?"
Averagehourlyearningsoflessor evena
littlemorethan$i.oo an hourwereusually
thrownintothe "day-rate"category.

February.-I noticed that Ed was poking

along and asked him if he had a good job. He
Resentment
againstpiecework
pricesthat shookhis head, sayingthathe was makingbut
wereconsidered
too lowto offer
possibilities 46 centsan hour,turningout 2 pieces an hour
of quota earningsoftenresultedin deliber- thatpaid 23 centseach.
THE SLOWDOWN

ate attemptsto produceat lowerratesthan

February26.-Jack Starkeytold me tonight
mere"doggingit along" wouldbring.This that althoughhis job on the hinge bases was
kindofgoldbricking
wasparticularly
notice- retimed,therewas no raisein price.The priceis
able on jobs thatcamerelativelyoftenand still 23 cents.
I said, "All you've got to turnout is 5 an
in largelots. Towarda shortorderof poor
pricethatwas assignedto his machinebut hourto make$I.I5."
"I'd just like to see anybodyturnout 5 of
onceor twicea year,theoperator'sattitude thesean hour,"said Jack,"witha tolerance
of
was likelyto be one of "I don't give a 0.0005!"
damn,"and theresultwouldbe production Later, Ed Sokolskysaid that he and Jack
below"standard."But towarda low-priced wereturningout about 24 pieces in a ten-hour
orderassignedeverymonthor two and in period(2.4 an hour),that the job had been reamountsthatwouldtake severalshiftsto a timedseveraltimes,but no raise in price had
weekto process,i.e.,jobs thatplayeda ma- beengiven.
Ed and Jackaskedfora priceof38 cents.Ed
jor partin theoperator'srepertoire,
theattitude was likelyto be, "Justforthat,you'll said that theycould turnout 3 an hour,but,
theygot a decentprice,theywereturning
get as littleas I can turnout and stillbe until
out 2 an hour.
this
machine!"
operating
TowardtheendoftheeveningI noticedthat
The hinge-base
fightis an exampleofde- Ed's machinewas idle,and Ed was sittingon a
on a majorjob thatwas box,doingnothing.
liberaterestriction

438

THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY

"What's thematter,did theystopthejob on

you?" I asked.
"I stopped it," said Ed. "I don't feel like
runningit."

August i6.-Al toldme thattheyhad won a

priceraiseon thehingebases,from23 to 28
raiseto 3I cents.
cents,andanother
As it is now
"But it'sstillnothighenough.
hour.We're
an
cents
94
exactly
make
we
can
March.-Dooley workedon the hingebases
toget35 cents.We canturnout i inexagaintonight.He admittedthathe couldbarely trying
That'snot4 an hour.We've
makeout on thejob, but "Whybustmyass for actlyi6 minutes.
them3 an hour."
day rate?We'redoing3 an hourorless untilwe beengiving

get a betterprice!"
This 3-an-hour-or-less
business has been
goingon severalmonths.The priceis 23 cents;
so Dooley and Jackturnin 69 centsan hour(or
less).

May.-McCann said thatStarkeywas arguingall day overthepriceofthehingebases. The

methodsmenmaintainthattheycan't raisethe
price "because the jacks that the parts go on
sell for$14.00 apiece." They plan to retoolthe
job and lowertheprice.Accordingto McCann,
Jack told themthat if he didn't get a decent
pricehe was goingto make out on the job but
scrap everyone of thepieces.
"Jackfights
it outwiththem,"said McCann.
"He'll stayrightwiththemachineand argue.I
get disgustedand walk away.
"Jack turnedout 28 today," McCann went
on. "That's too many,nearly3 an hour.He'll
have to watchhimselfifhe expectsto geta raise
in price."
Starkeywas runningthe hingebases again
tonight.I remarked,"I see you'rein the gravy
again."
His replywas, "Yeah! 69 centsan hour!"
McCann did not seem to enjoy the hinge
bases either.He looked bored, tired,and disgusted all evening. His ten hours is a long
stretchat day work.He cannotmake out early
and rest afterii o'clock (forfourhours),but
has to keep on the machineuntilthree.
August14.-Al McCann was workingon the
hingebases tonight,one ofthejobs thathe and
Jack are protestingas to price. Gil (the foreman) sat and stood behindAl forat least an
hour,and I couldsee thatAl did notlikeit. He
workedsteadily,but withdeliberateslowness,
and did not look at Gil or speak to him.Al and
Jackhave agreedto restrictproductionon the
hingebases untiltheygeta betterprice,and Gil
was probablythereto see whatAl could really
do. I thinkthatAl and Jackcouldmake out on
the job, but not at $1.25 an hour,and theycut
productionto less than 8o centsan hour.

AN ATTEMPT TO ESTIMATE
OF PIECEWORK

THE DEGREE

GOLDBRICKING

I failedto earnthebase rateof 85 cents

forslightlyover halfmy pieceworkhours,
but I cannotclaimthatI failedin spiteofa
Therewereonlya fewocmaximumeffort.
casions when I triedto "make out," but
could not,and did not let failurediminish
Normally,I behavedin themanmyefforts.
I "triedout" a
nerof myfellow-operators;
job fora shortsamplingperiodof an hour,
moreor less, and slowedmy pace to a restrictiveone ifthejob did not show"possibilities." There were numerousoccasions
wheneven"trialruns"werenotattempted,
that the job was a
whenI was forewarned
"stinker."Sincepossibleoutputwas notdecannot
the amountof restriction
termined,
be computed.
Thereweretimeswhenthewordsofvariousoperatorsindicatedthattheycouldhave
"covered"day rateiftheyhad tried;theexpression,"Whybust myass forday rate?"
was consideredadequate explanationfor
failureto presson to themaximumattainable. If claims of ability to achieve the
scorned"day rate" couldbe acceptedas inina
inherent
dicativeofthetruepossibilities
job, it is clearthatthe man who turnedin
42.5 centsan hourfora day'saveragehourly
earnings,and who says thathe couldhave
made 85 cents an hour,has accomplished
but4 hours'workin 8. A manwhoturnedin
2I.25 centsan hour,insteadofa possible85
cents,has done 2 hours'workin 8, and has
"wasted" 6 hours. That an operatorhas
turnedin 42.5 centsan hour,or 2I cents,or
easilyenough;
IO centsmaybe determined
lies in inabilityto test his
the difficulty
claimsofwhathe couldhave done.
do allowsomeobRecordedobservations

QUOTA RESTRICTION AND GOLDBRICKING IN A MACHINE SHOP

439

jectiveestimateof losses incurredby gold- "makingout," it was likelythathis "makin isolatedcases. For instance,the ing out" at the 6 hoursinvolvedregular
bricking
of
fouroperatorsassignedto Jack Starkey's quotaearnings
of$I.25 an hour.A turn-in
pro- 32 pieceswouldnet$9.92 per day,or $I.24
machinemade it a practiceto restrict
in 6 hours,suchoutductionon the hingebases to from2 to 3 an hour;accomplished
wereat- put wouldmeanthatMcCannearned$I.65
piecesan hour.To thisrestriction
and was now"wasttributedtwopriceincreases,from25 cents an hourwhileworking
to 28 centsto 3I centsperpiece.Thus,at the ing" 2 hoursa shifton quota restriction.
in August,and at the And the $i.65-per-hourearningsmeant,
3i-centpricein effect
outputrate of 3 pieces per hour,the men whencomparedto previousearningsof 93
thatMcwereturningin 93 centsper hour,or $7.44 centsan hourwhilegoldbricking,
per8-hourday. Sincetheirspecialbase rate, Cann had been "wasting"3.5 hoursa day
operatorson a machinehan- each timethe hingebases wereassignedto
as experienced
was $i.io per hour, his machine;his formerearningsloss,had
dling heavy fixtures,
theywereearningI 7 centsan hourlessthan been 72 centsan hour,or $5.76 per day.
they were paid. One of the operatorsin- (Actuallyless thanthisif"earnings"be devolved,Al McCann, claimedthat by test linedas "take-home"and notas "turn-in,"
theycould turnout i piece in exactlyi6 forMcCann's "day rate"had beenraisedto
minutes.At thisratetheycouldhave turned $I.io an hour.His personalloss wouldthus
in 3.75 piecesperhourforearningsof$i.i6 have been I7 centsless per hour-55 cents
per hour,or $9.28 per day. "Waste" time an hour,or $4.40 per day.)
esticouldbe computedat i.6 production-hours, McCann, engagedin goldbricking,
and the loss in "earnings"at 23 centsper matedthathe couldturnout a piece every
hour.
i6 minutes;thismeansthathe saw producto be 3.75 piecesper hour
McCann's estimateof thejob's possibili- tionpossibilities
ties provedto be low,however;for,a few and earningpossibilitiesto be $i.i6 per
weeks later,upon abandoninghope for a hour.But underpieceworkincentivehe acfurtherincrease in pieceworkprice, he tuallyturnedout 5.33 piecesper hourand
If the
"made out easilyin 6 hours."
earned$i.65 perhourwhileworking.
and
his
his
estimated
between
difference
on
out
Al said tonightthat he was making
can be takenas indicathe hingebases, that he got disgustedFriday, achievedproduction
in general,thenthe
speededup thetools,and turnedin 31 piecesfor tiveof suchdifferences
manwhoclaimsthathe couldhave covered
earningsof $9.60 (38 pieces per hour,or $1.20
per hourearnings).
his day rateof85 centsan hourbut did not
"It was easy,just as easy as theframes.Now tryto do so couldhave boostedhisearnings
I'm kickingmyselfall overfornot doingit be- to $I.2I an hour.In otherwords,ifan operafore.All I did was to changethe speed from95 torcan see day-rateearnings
ina job, he can
to I30. I was sickofstallingaroundall evening,
would
make
experience
My
earnings.
quota
and I got mad and decidedto makeout and let
I
that
I
If
found
could
out.
to
bear
this
seem
for
thetoolsburnup. But theymade it all right,
8 hours.What'stheuse ofturningin 93 centsan makeouton a job at dayrate,sucha discovmeto "wringtheneck"ofthe
hourwhenyou can turnin $1.25 just as easy? erymotivated
operationforquota earnings.The
They'd neverraise a price you could make 93 particular
cents on anyhow. Now maybe they'll cut it bimodalpatternproductionwouldsuggest
back."
hourswere
this;my total quota-piecework
Tonight Al made out easily in 6 hours, 75 percentofmytotalmake-out-piecework
thoughhe stretchedthelagtfewpiecesto carry hours,and thelatterincludedshortrunsof
him until I0:30.
once-assigned
jobs thatdid notreceiveadequate "test." Thoughthe wordsof fellowSince McCann reporteda turn-inof 3I
of$9.60,or$I.20 an hour operatorsindicatedthe "pour-it-on"point
piecesforearnings
on the previousworkday,his firstday of to be $i.oo an hour,it is possiblethatener-

440

THE AMERICAN JOURNALOF SOCIOLOGY

jobs
on 85-cent-an-hour
geticperformance
wouldyieldthedesiredquota.
wholimits
logica worker
By theforegoing
his outputto 68 cents an hour,when he
thinkshe can make85 centsan hour,is "potentially"limitingoutputby 44 per cent
insteadofby theassumed20 per cent.
DAYWORK GOLDBRICKING

study,a mere "punkingalong" exceeded

workerstandards.
McCannstartedmeoutat 95 speedon the
andtaps.
and70onchamfer
drillandspot-facer,
"Isn'tthattooslowforthedrill?"I asked.
"It's fastenough
onthistoughstuff
fortime
study.Runit thatway'tiltheyspeedyouup.
If yougo toofasttoday,youwon'tgeta good
pricewhenit'stimed."

or "dayOperatorson "nonpiecework,"
Even this slow pace looked too fastfor
a Gus Schmidt,who watchedfromthe next
work" jobs, followedalmost uniformly
of the goldbrickingmachine.
patternof restriction
type.Theykeptin mindroughestimatesof
Laterin the eveningSchmidtsaid to me,
outputthattheyfeltwouldfallappreciably "Aren'tyou goingtoo fast withthat time
below"day-rate"standardsifand whenthe study?"
jobs weretimedandpriced.
"nonpiecework"
I didnotthink
I wasgoingveryfastandtold
jobs in the shop wereof himso.
Nonpiecework
"Well,maybeitjustlooksfastbecauseyou're
two kinds: "time study" and "rework."
"Time-study"operationswere those that goingso steadyat it.You'vegotto slowdown
eitherwereso newlyestablishedthat they on timestudyor you won'tget a goodprice.
werenotyet timedand pricedor werejobs Theylookat therecordofwhatyoudo today
andcompare
it withthetiming
speedwhenit's
whosepricehad been "removed."In either timed.Thosetime-study
menaresharp!"
case, timingproceduresand a piecework Towardtheendoftheevening
I raisedthe
future. speedsof thetaps and chamfer
pricewereexpectedin theimmediate
to g5. It was
of defec- goingtooslowformeandactuallytiredmeout
"Rework"was thereprocessing
salvageable. standingaroundwaitingforthe taps to go
tivepiecesthatwereconsidered
My legsweretiredat theendofthe
pay and no ex- through.
Reworkcarriedno premium
hard.
pectationsofit,butroughstandardsofout- day;yetI hadnotworked
wereapplied.
put limitation
on timestudymaybe indisGoldbricking
I worked3oo hoursat timestudyand 53 tinguishable,
evento a fellow-operator,
from
hoursat rework,i6 percentand 3 per cent
I no"quota
restriction."
On
one
occasion
of total hoursput in. Thus, roughly,oneofmytimewas employedat nonpiece- ticed that Tony, the speed-drillman, was
fifth
the "foolingaround,"and asked himif he had
and forthisone-fifth
workproduction,
information
operatorcould be countedupon, without madeoutalready.Onlythrough
A concisebit ofad- suppliedby Tony did I becomeaware that
fail,to be goldbricking.
on a timeby McCann, thenset-upman my neighborwas goldbricking
vice,offered
after
and wise in the ways of productionlines, studyjob and not relaxinghis efforts
achievingquota. In orderto classifyoperastatedthecommonattitude:
and tor behaviorwhen an operatoris "doing
drilling
operation,
It was a time-study
onemusthaveaccessto additional
nothing,"
holeinsomesprockets.
tappinga set-screw
factsnot providedby casual observation.
"Takeit easy,"advisedMcCann.
There are timeswhenan operatormay be
This advice I, already of five months'
in classification
ofhis ownrestricmistaken
shop experience,consideredunnecessary.
think
of
he is loafingon
tion
He
output.
may
couldmy
By no stretchof theimagination
in
he
is
time
when
study
reality
loafingon
accustomedpace on timestudybe regarded
piecework.
McCann's
under
than
other
as
"easy." But,
whenI cametowork,thatyesI discovered,
experttutelage,I discoveredthattherewere
and that fortime terday'sjob on thepedestalshad beentimed.
degreesof goldbricking,

QUOTA RESTRICTION

AND GOLDBRICKING

IN A MACHINE SHOP

44I

Joe said, "I see you didn't make out yester"Don't worry,I probablywon'tget I00," I
day."
assuredhim.
I had turnedin 6o pieces,priced$4.90,fora
Yesterday's64 had givenme thefeelingthat
day's earningsof less than $3.00. I was glad I I wouldhave to push veryhardto turnout ioo
didn'tknowthejob was timed,witha pricelike ($i.oo per hour).
that.

I had underestimated
thejob. My effort
reacheda peak of $I.83 per hour,or 23
I receivedadviceon "rework"thatled to piecesperhour,and I completedI50 pieces
the same productiveresultson time-study in 7.5 hoursforaverageearningsof$I.59 an
hourforthetimeworked.
operation.
REWORK RESTRICTION

Joe finishedthe gears, and I spent a slow

eveningon timestudyand rework.The firstjob
was I5 gear brackets,a time-studyjob. The
of i jack shell.
nextwas the reworking
Said Al, whenI told him I was on rework,
"Well,you'vegotall nightto turnit out.When
theygiveyoua reworkjob, that'sa signthey've
got nothingforyou to do."
"You meantheyexpectme to take all night
at it?"
McCann was hesitant."No, I don't mean
that.But you can take yourtime."
About ten o'clock Paul (set-up man) suggestedthat we "take it easy."
"We're doing too much as it is, on this rework,"he said.
WhenEd Sokolskyheardthatwe had done4,
he was surprised."I wouldn'thave done that
many,"he said.

AfterlunchI decidedto tryto see howmany

I couldturnout.I did manageto completeI 2 in
halfan hourbutnevergothigherthan23 forthe
wholehour.The speedswereset at 225 fordrilling and 95 forthe othertools,just as I finished
yesterday.At 10: 30 I had completedI50 pieces.

At a priceof$7.95 per ioo, the64 pieces

turnedout on timestudywouldhave representedaverageearningsofabout64 centsan
hour.SinceI expectedto turnout no more
onpiecework,
thanioo pieceswithfulleffort
on timestudywas
my assumedrestriction
36 per cent,witha "loss" of 36 centsan
hour, or $2.86 a day, and with a time
"waste" of 2.9 hours.
But withan actual subsequentoutputof
20 per hourfor7.5 hours,a rateof i6o per
day,restriction
thefirst
dayturnedouttobe
6o percent,witha loss of95 centsan hour,
AN ATTEMPT TO ESTIMATE THE DEGREE
or $7.63perday,and a time"waste" of4.8
OF NONPIECEWORK RESTRICTION
hoursa day. Andwitha "potential"output
Anindicationoftheamountofrestriction of23 perhour,a rateof I84 per
day,restricoperationscan tion the firstday turnedout to be
practicedon nonpiecework
65 per
be obtainedin a comparisonof thewriter's cent,witha "loss" of
$9.55 a day, or $I.I9
outputon a job beforeit was timedand an hour,and a time"waste" of 5.2 hoursa
priced,and hisoutputon thesamejob after day.
a pieceworkpricewas set.
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION
One day somegearpartswereassignedas
can
Theseappraisalsofoutputlimitation
timestudy.I acceptedtheadviceto takeit
oftheamount
by theset-upman,McCann, be acceptedonlyas suggestive
easyproffered
and by a fellow-operator,
Schmidt,and of timewastedby operativesin piecework
turnedin a totalof 64 piecesforthe day's machineshops. Certainly,the "waste" is
work.The nextday I came to workto dis- great.
I have indicatedthatthe time"wasted"
coverthatthejob had beentimedat $7.95a
fora six-month
hundred.JoeMuchareported
thejob a good on myownquota restriction
periodwas I,39 hoursout ofevery8. I was
one,but I was dubious.
forthe 469.6 quota
"It's a good job," he said. "They timedme 83 per cent "efficient"
put in, by myown standfor$I.20 an hour,and it workedout just that. piecework-hours
and thus could have
You can do i6 an hour. But watch yourself, ards of performance,
increasedproductionby 2I per cent by
now,and don't turnin too many!"

442

THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY

in productiona "cinch" and

If my wast- improvement
abandoningquota limitations.
an immediate
age of 2 hoursa day on quota restriction i86 per cent improvement
duringthelast twomonthsof employment possibility.But like the case of piecework
ofthebehavior goldbricking
just cited,the switchwas to
is acceptedas characteristic
would quota restriction;
werenever
so possibilities
efficiency
ofmoreseasonedoperators,
be 75 per cent,withimmediatepossibilities realized.
on
Since these appraisalswere confinedto
fora 33.3percentincreasein production
thebehaviorofmachineoperators,theloss
quota jobs.
withtwentyjobs of time accountableto the sometimesreAlso,by experimenting
whichrepresented
58 per centof the total markablerestraintexercisedby the "servtoolpieceworkhoursput in duringa ten-month ice" employees,suchas stock-chasers,
earningpossibili- crib attendants,and inspectors,was not
period,and whichoffered
werethe
Likewiseunmentioned
tiesbeyondquota limits,I derivedan esti- considered.
of 2.9 various defectionsof shop supervisors.A
mateof"potentialquota restriction"
an morecompleterecordmightalso includethe
represented
hoursa day. This restriction
for "work" of membersof managementat
of64percent,withpossibilities
efficiency
higherlevels,whoseseriesofnewrules,regua 57 per centincreasein production.
defromobservationsof the lations, orders,and pronunciamentos
Furthermore,
I was signedforpurposesofexpediting
production
work behaviorof fellow-operators,
able to speculatewithsome objectiveevi- processesactuallyoperatedto reducethe
of theworkforce.
denceon thedegreeofslowdowngoldbrick- effectiveness
piecework.
to thebehaviorofmaing practicedon non-make-out
Confining
scrutiny
theobserverseesoutputreIt was pointedout thatfourdrilloperators chineoperators,
productionat a rateof strictionof suchmagnitudethat the "phehad beenrestricting
3.5 "waste" hoursout of 8, as indicatedby nomenal"resultsof the organizationalintheoutputachievedby one ofthyfourmen novationstriedin the steelindustryunder
had the guidinggeniusof Joe Scanlon6do not
Efficiency
whenhe ceasedgoldbricking.
The conceptof "culbeen 56 per cent,withimmediatepossibili- seemat all surprising.
ties fora 78 per centproductionincrease. turaldrag"mightbe moredescriptive
than
didnot,inthis "culturallag" in depictingthe trailingof
ofgoldbricking
Renunciation
ofpossibili- someofourindustrial
particularcase,meanfulfilment
practicesbehindtechties, however;for the conversionwas to nological advance. Our organizationof
at 75per people forworkis in generalso primitive
withstabilization
quota restriction
centefficiency.
need not attemptto
that anthropologists
In addition,I essayed an estimateon
in the"modern"indusjustifytheirinterest
firstcousinto piecedayworkgoldbricking,
trialscene.
and easilymistakenfor
workgoldbricking
the latter.This estimatewas obtainedby Duke University
outputon a job beforeand after
comparing
"EveryMan a Capitalist,"
6JohnChamberlain,
was Life
it was timed.The "before"efficiency
Magazine,December23, I946; Russell W.
to be at least as low as 4o per Davenport,"Enterprise
determined
forEveryman,"Fortune,
cent,possibly35 percent,withI50 percent June,I950.