PRINCE’S CALL

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLVII, Issue 131, 3 May 1927, Page 2

PRINCE’S CALL

TO BRITISH INDUSTRY. SELL MORE GOODS ABROAD. “ADOPT, ADAPT AND IMPROVE.” “Adopt, Adapt and Improve” was a new slogan for British industry given by the Prince of Wales when he attended tho Government dinner at the Mansion House, London, in connection with the British Industries Fair which was opened at tho White City, Shepherd’s Bush, W., and Castle Bromwich, Birmingham. The Prince said:— Last year, as now, there seemed to bo a real prospect of better trade in this country, and therefore of better times. Last year, however, there was one element of uncertainty. There was one cloud on the horizon to mar that pleasant prospect, and then tho cloud burst and we all know what happened. But we also know that the outlook now is brighter. Manufacturers and traders to-day are looking forward to this year with a different spirit, and in most cases a more cheerful spirit, which, after all is half the battle. GREAT EFFORTS WANTED. Some of you who are authorities may think it impertinent of me to stand up and discuss industry. I am not connected with the management or running of any industry, nor have I had the opportunity of working in any manufacturing plant, but 1 do claim to liavo seen and to have studied tho manufacture of most articles of everyday use and to have studied industrial problems with authorities in every rank of industry, not only in this country but also overseas. So anything I may happen to say to-night I hope you will not take as advico or as criticism, but merely as the impressions of a layman in industry, but a very intensely interested one. I have used tho words “enterprise” and “enthusiasm.” I think that these are just the qualities that we need at the present time, and I might possibly add “imagination” as another. The present situation calls for determined efforts to make good ground which has been lost, and no channel should be left unexplored to find a way out. I see no reason to suppose, as some pessimists like to tell, that our manufacturers pay less attention than those of other countries to research, organisation, or methods of recruiting and training of their staffs. If in the past wo were somewhat conservative and old-fashioned in our industrial ideas and methods, 1 personally see a change in the right direction. I notice, for instance, a greater tendency among those engaged in industry to go abroad to see the methods and conditions which exist in big concerns and plants in other countries. I know, as a matter of fact, of several missions, both official and unofficial, and also of individuals who have been over and studied these vital industrial questions in the United States of America so that they may grasp the reasons that underlie the wave of industrial prosperity that that great country is now enjoying. There is much to be learned in the greater countries of Europe. Our original industrial development, which dates back a whole century, naturally produced a multiplicity of individual plants, and to-day the survival of these necessitates sometimes domestic and even international associations. To deal with these new conditions it would seem that industries must federate more, and by collective action explore and defend their collective interests. Here, I think, lies a great opportunity for younger men in industry to spread a new industrial gospel. Young men should surely have greater opportunities, and, if anyone says that they lack experience, surely this could be counterbalanced by saying that they lack bias or prejudice. Then take another suggestion or impression—standardisation. To retain for our own manufacturers a supply of homo requirements we might study the possibilities of standardisation, where it could be appropriately introduced, even should it involve the sinking of that personal pride sometimes bound up with adherence to traditional methods, possibly a little out of date, or to the sinking of individual caprice. LARGE EARNINGS. But we must not lose sight of the importance of maintaining a high standard of living for our people. Large earnings can only come from large production. We must, if possible, be ready to modify our traditional conservatism and cherished procedure, where necessary, whether it be the privileges of the employers or the practice of the workers when the common goods demands it. We Britishers think we are very efficient, and we are at the head of the world in lots of things, but to keep in the van wo must be conscious of that very valuable thing—the knowledge that we learn something new every day. To put it in three words, we must learn to adopt, to adapt, and to improve. The study of salesmanship is a very important thing in industry, and I think you will agree that it is just as j important as the technicalities of the manufacture of the article and should be treated as a science, involving the study of the psychology and the temperament of the buyer. Perhaps this fact will one day be recognised by j British industry as justifying such ! things as schools for salesmanship, where this very important business asset might be taught. I had a letter from Argentina only the other day from a man whom I happened to meet. He went into an up-country store and heard a man ask for a tin of paint. He was shown a tin of English paint, but, unfortunately, the directions for use on the wrapper were only written in English, cand neither the storeman nor the purchaser could understand or translate and find out how to use it. He was then shown a German tin, and this German tin had directions for USe written in Spanish as well as in German. I only mention this simple case because it is illustrative of how easily trade can be lost in this tremendously competitive world that we live in if things are not made as easy as possible for the buyer. I am told that the British Industries Fair catalogue sets a very good example. It is translated into eight different languages. BUY AND THINK BRITISH. There is no doubt that tho habit of mind of thinking of British Empire products when making purchases is taking a firm hold of our people, and in this way we are voluntarily securing our home markets. Trade is not a one-sided affair. The more we buy from British producers, not forgetting tho old farmer in this country—with whom I am happy to couple my name—tho more we buy from British producers, the more they will be able to take of our huge output of manufactured goods. Let me conclude by saying again that I think the outlook for tho future affords grounds for reasoned opti-

mism. It may be that it is brighter when we look back and compare it with the troubled times from which we have emerged. First and foremost there is the new spirit of co-opera-tion and good will between employer and employed, in which the human element is the keynote. The human element plays an enormous part in industrial relations. It is as necessary to study that human element as regards the workers as it is to study new methods, new idea, and new organisation.