not only loses the large extra premium which is paid for complete
success, but in addition he suffers the direct loss of the piece price
for each piece by which he falls short. Failure under the task with a
bonus system involves a corresponding loss of the extra premium or
bonus, but the workman, since he is paid a given price per hour,
receives his ordinary day's pay in case of failure and suffers no
additional loss beyond that of the extra premium whether he may have
fallen short of the task to the extent of one piece or a dozen.

In principle, these two systems appear to be almost identical, yet this
small difference, the slightly milder nature of task work with a bonus,
is sufficient to render it much more flexible and therefore applicable
to a large number of cases in which the differential rate system cannot
be used. Task work with a bonus was invented by Mr. H. L. Gantt, while
he was assisting the writer in organizing the Bethlehem Steel Company.
The possibilities of his system were immediately recognized by all of
the leading men engaged on the work, and long before it would have been
practicable to use the differential rate, work was started under this
plan. It was successful from the start, and steadily grew in volume and
in favor, and today is more extensively used than ever before.

Mr. Gantt's system is especially useful during the difficult and
delicate period of transition from the slow pace of ordinary day work to
the high speed which is the leading characteristic of good management.
During this period of transition in the past, a time was always reached
when a sudden long leap was taken from improved day work to some form of
piece work; and in making this jump many good men inevitably fell and
were lost from the procession. Mr. Gantt's system bridges over this
difficult stretch and enables the workman to go smoothly and with
gradually accelerated speed from the slower pace of improved day work to