A STUDY OF PERSONNEL RELATIONS IN NEGRO BUSINESSES

315 Pages·11.886 MB·English

by  HENDERSON, VIVIAN WILSON

A STUDY OF PERSONNEL RELATIONS IN NEGRO BUSINESSES
• by
Vivian Wilson Henderson
Chairman
Professor Walter L. Daykin
A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment for the
requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy
in the Department of Labor and Industrial
Management in the Graduate College of
The State University of Iowa
August 1952
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The writer wishes to acknowledge with
deep appreciation the kind help, advice and support
given to him by Professors Walter L. Daykin and
Karl E. Lieb during the preparation of this dis­
sertation. Also the writer deeply appreciates the
help of Mr. Emmer Martin Lancaster of the U. S.
Department of Commerce who furnished certain materials
which have been vital to the study.
ii
TO
My wife, Anna
and
My Mother and Father
ill
TABLE OP CONTENTS
page
Part I Introductory Material .................. 1
Chapter I Introduction....... 2
The Problem 9
Need for Research....... 10
The Objectives.....11
Assumptions ....... 12
Delimitations •........... .. 13
Method of Presentation •••.•••. l£
Definition of Terms...... . 18
Chapter II Background ..... 21
Function and Nature of Business
in American Life 2£
Negro Business Before the
Civil War .................. 32
The Negro Community and Business
Setting.....••••••••.. 38
Part II Personnel Management Concepts and Background
of Negro Business Personnel...... I4.8
Chapter III A Concept of Personnel Management ... 2+9
Chapter IV A General View of Negro Business
Personnel..... ................... 66
The Operator...... •••••••.... 67
Employees................... 69
Part III Functions of Personnel Management in
Terms of Procedures and Practices in
Negro Businesses .••••••••••»••••.... 80
General Statement ......... 8l
Chapter V Responsibility for Personnel Super­
vision and the Hiring Process ••«... 88
The Personnel Division or
Supervisory Component .... 89
The Hiring Process ............ 96
iv
page
Job Analysis and description .... 96
Recruitment and Sources of
Labor Supply ••••••• 102
Sources of Labor Supply......... lOlj.
Tapping Sources and Lack of
Trained Personnel 110
Chapter VI Other Devices Used in the Hiring
Process ...••.... I2I4.
The Application Blank ......... 12i|
The Interview •••.•••••••••••••.. 127
Testing ..... 129
Job Induction and Follow-up • • •. • lip.
Follow-up • • • • ••...••••... II4.3
Record Keeping ..... lli-7
Chapter VII Employee Services ..... 153
Vacations ....................156
Employee Group Insurance Plans... 157
Health Services 160
Sick Leave Plans ..... l6Lj.
Chapter VIII Promotion, Transfer and Morale...... 170
Morale •••••••»• •••••• 1714-
Chapter IX A Resume.................... 1914-
Summary on Findings ....... 19U-
General Statement onF indings.... 207
Chapter X Operating Efficiency and Personnel,. 211
Chapter XI A Scientific Approach to Personnel
Management in Small Business........ 221
Small Business Problems and
Big BusinessP roblems .......... 222
The Growth Factor .... 227
Problems in Integration of
Scientific Management in Small
Business. ...... 230
The Needs of Small Business;
how they Differ from big
business..... ... 23I
v
page
Opportunities to Use Scientific
Personnel Management .......... 23ij.
Use of Consultants .......... 237
Role of Management....... 239
Summary statement on Scientific
Personnel Techniques........... 21+1
Part IV Recommendations, Suggestions and Summary .. 21+9
Chapter XII A Further Exploration of.Alternative
Scientific Approaches to Personnel
Management in Small Business ..... 2J+6
From Within the Organization 21+7
Initial Action ...... 21+7
Making Improvements...•••••»»....• 255
Taking the Cream off the Top...... 255
Further Improvements..,.. 257
From Outside the Organization....... 278
Chapter XIII Summary .... 286
Bibliography ..... ••........ 29l+
vi
TABLE OP TABLES
page
TABLES
I Distribution of Courses and Subjects in
Business Desired by a Sample of 206
Operators, by Percentage and Rank, Nine
Cities ........ 1^3
II Distribution of Types of Business
Enterprises Included in a Sample of Eighty-
Pour Firms with Total and Average number
of Employees ..... 8£
III Percentage of Firms with Provisions
for Personnel Supervision ...... 91
IV Percentage Distribution of Devices
Used in Hiring Process ....... 98
V Percentage Distribution of Sources of
Labor Supply 107
VI Recruiting by Negro Business Pirns in
a Sample of Thirteen Colleges and
Universities 118
VII Use of the Interview in the Hiring
Process • 131
VIII Percentage Distribution of Tests and
Testing Procedures in a Sample of
Eighty-four Firms • »<,•••»•>»••..... 133
IX Use of Job-Induction and Follow-up in
the Employment Process • •••••»■•«•••••••• llj.5>
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page
TABLES
X Percentage Distribution of Records
Kept on Personnel in a Sample of
Eighty-four Firms llj.8
XI Percentage Distribution of Employee
Services Offered in a Sample of
Eighty-four Firms••••*•»**•*-•••-••«•• •• 15>5>
XII Promotions and Promotion Policies In
a Sample of Eighty-four Firms ••••••» 172
XIII Promotion and Promotion Policies*•••• 17U-
XIV Percentage Distribution of Morale
Gauges in a Sample of Eighty-four
Firms ..... 180
XV Status of Pre-employment Training
of Personnel and Training Programs*.• 190
XVI General Information on Personnel
Relations Problems and Policies in a
Sample of Eighty-four Firms 191
viii
As far as I know, there is not one
Negro business which has a first class re­
search department. ••••• It is no credit
either to the (Negro) colleges or to the
business men that there is not one single
Negro business department which has
specialized in gathering data on Negro
business and making it available to all
those who need it.
Vishnu V. Oak
U. S. Department of Commerce, Official Pro­
ceedings of "The Second Conference on the
Negro in Business."
ix
PART I
INTRODUCTORY MATERIAL