Evety business organization is a unit. The va rious departments should be conducted in harmon) with a single plan, as if one mind were in absolute control. If a junior officer thinks that a certain policy is bad and that a change ought to be made, he has the right to argue for his opinion, but if he cannot con vince his chief or a majority of the junior officers, he must drop the matter arid turn his energies to some thing else. This sonie men seem unable to do. A man of that sort clings tenaciously to his opinions and cannot conceal his dissatisfaction when his co workers do not agree with him, and decide to follow a course contrary to his opinion. Such a man is un consciously capable of serions negligence in a crisis. He never has the entire confidence of his fellows and should not hold a position of great responsibility re quiring cooperation with others.
In an ideal business organization the junior offi cers pull together so smoothly and evenly that the master's will and purpose are realized in every de partment, a single mind controlling all.
4. Loyalty.—A junior officer, possessing the con fidence of his employer and intrusted with important responsibilities, must be genuinely loyal. He is the personal representative of the chief and must not be disloyal in word, deed, or thought. He must believe in the business, in the organization, in the chief; and his own job must be so dear to him that he will under stand well what Petrarch meant when he wrote: "I get tired whilst I am resting, and rest whilst I am at work. When I take up my work, I fear nothing so much as having to tear myself away from it." A military commander-in-chief wants no officers under him who are not patriots, who do not believe in the cause for which they are fighting. A man never fights well unless he is in dead earnest. A sub-execu tive in business, if he is to do his best, must believe in the importance and value of the work he is doing. If Ile is connected with a business he does not like, or is under a man whom he does not respect, he should look for another connection.
A junior officer lacking in loyalty may make trou ble in many different ways. He may talk indis creetly about the conditions or prospects of the busi ness and give encouragement to competitors. He may even reveal valuable secrets of the business—an act of damnable treachery. His careless words of criticism may arouse discontent among the employes, and chill the enthusiasm of his brother junior officers. A man who is by nature discontented, ultra-critical and self-centered, has not in him the stuff out of which good junior officers are made. It is almost im
possible for such men to be really and constantly loyal to anybody.
5. Obedience.—Just as the junior officer expects obedience from the men under him, so he must render obedience to his superiors. The man who cannot con trol himself and render prompt and willing obedience to others makes a poor captain and will have weak control of his men. The chief executive of a business knows what he wants done and how it ought to be done ; he gives the necessary instructions to his sub ordinates, and then turns to other matters, expect ing that his orders will be obeyed to the letter. If the subordinate, giving mere lip obedience, pursues a policy not directed by the chief, thinking that be understands the matter better than his superior be cause he alone is familiar with all the details, or be cause the chief was "too busy to get a real grasp of the situation," sooner or later something decidedly un pleasant will happen. The subordinate will either get a note of dismissal from the chief, or be summoned before the board of directors to defend himself.
No man responsible for the conduct of a business will long tolerate under him men who wilfully dis obey his orders. Obedience is a primal virtue in busi ness as well as in war.
6. Adaptability.—Little need be said about the im portance of adaptability in the make-up of a subor dinate or junior officer. He is not an independent man working alone. He is part of an organization, taking instructions, giving instructions, working with others ; he must adapt himself to his position so that there shall be the least possible friction.
The junior officer cannot be a dull man, slow of comprehension. It must not be necessary to explain things to him twice. He must understand his chief's mental habits and modes of expression, and listen so alertly to instructions that no words need be wasted. This means that he must put himself into the proper adjustment in his relations with his superior. He should be equally adaptable, flexible and tactful in his relations with his equals and with the men whom he commands.
According to the biologists, adjustment to environ ment has been an important condition of survival in the animal world. The same principle applies equally in business. A man lacking in adaptability or power of adjustment should cultivate it if he is connected with a business organization.