Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
figure 4.2.Workingthe''mono'':ApairofUnitedFruitCompanyworkersremove
Bordeauxsprayresiduefrombananaspriortoloadingontoarailcar(1946).United
FruitCompanyPhotographCollection.BakerLibrary,HarvardBusinessSchool.
who monitored both disease incidence and workers' spraying techniques
in the field.
Asmightbeexpected,UnitedFruit'sscientificstafftendedtodescribe
the organization of Bordeaux spraying exclusively in terms of control and
e
ciency. For example, a research bulletin authored by Vining Dunlap
in 1950 explained that the two members who comprised a spray team
received the same pay and status because the company found having a
sprayeraided bya lower-paid assistant to be ''impractical,'' since the latter
would ''almost invariably shirk and hold up the nozzle man making him
pull his own hose part of the time.''
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Dunlap provided three reasons why
spray gang members should swap tasks at short intervals: ''(1) Each one
willingly pulls hose, for the other man will help him in turn. (2) Variety
of work rests each man and increases e
ciency. (3) It is good insurance
to have both men capable of handling the nozzle at any one time.''
70
A
subsequent section of the bulletin describes the work of the spray team in
precise, methodical terms.
