J. S. Mill on Associations

Considered in the Light of Management and Organization Theory

Abstract

This article examines Mill's concept of an association in the light of management and organization theory, particularly in terms of commitment, identification, and cooperation. Generally, laborers who work for an association do so voluntarily and are committed to the organization's success. Profits are divided among the laborers in the association, incentivizing them to increase their commitment. Moreover, their commitment grows as a result of overlapping interests between capitalists and laborers, or among laborers themselves. Mill also believed that members of an association are willing to contribute to the organization because they have a desire to stand in solidarity with their fellow humans. Mill adopted three benefits of division of labor from Smith—increased dexterity, time saved in changing jobs, and the invention of machinery, and he advocated the Babbage principle. The Babbage principle refers to the efficient use of laborers with diverse abilities. Mill believed that people with different personalities and abilities should be appropriately placed and compensated with different wages even in an association. According to Mill, working together in an association improves laborers' moral qualities, which leads to an increase in their capacity for cooperation. The capacity for cooperation refers to the ability to faithfully carry out tasks assigned to a person. When laborers improve their capacity for cooperation, they contribute to the organization voluntarily and without the need for close supervision from managers. Mill provides less detail than Barnard about the managerial functions that sustain cooperation. This may be because Mill believed that as laborers' moral qualities improved, the need for supervision would diminish.