ADMINISTRATION

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 149, 28 June 1929, Page 8

ADMINISTRATION

(To v the Editor.)

Sir,—The following extract from the Economic Review," May, 1929, is very much to- the point and well worthy of consideration by those who control large undertakings :-"It would be interesting to pause to discuss whether we adopt thl right policy in employing technicallytrained men as chief administrators of many of our departments. For instance is an engineer the best man to administer a railway system? Is a medical man a suitable administrator of a Health Depart m i v il a . who has been through the mill' the most qualified for a post as Director of Education? It may be that a technical man may be an excellent administrator, but too often technical training is regarded as the main qualification, administration as a subsidiary art to be picked Tip by. the technician or to be carried out by his'assistants. My own view is that it would be better to make capacity as an administrator the main qualification, and to engage technically* trained men to work under the direction ot the administrator. How many acts of ■ a Director of Public Health depend upon his technical knowledge as a doctor? How much is the administration of the railways affected by the engineering experience o£ the Commissioner?—l am, LOQUTOUR.