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Railway Progress in New Zealand.
General manager's message.
Responsibility.

With the approach of the busy season it may not be inappropriate for me to make a few comments on the subject of responsibility, further consideration of which, as the range and volume of our business increases, should be helpful to the public and staff alike.

Every member of the service has the obvious responsibility of serving to the best of his ability both the Department and those whom the Department is called upon to cater for, and while some members carry a greater share of responsibility than others there are certain responsibilities that all share equally. For instance, every member shares on common ground the responsibility to give the best he can to the job upon which he is engaged, and every member is equally responsible to ensure that courtesy and consideration is extended towards others.

The ability to see the other's point of view is, as we know, always helpful to both parties and productive of tolerance.

If a customer of the Department makes a request or lodges a complaint, the natural and immediate reaction should be, “How would I feel or act if I were in the same position as the customer?” If that thought occurs to you, as I hope it always does, then you must be assisted to deal in the pleasantest and most efficient way possible with the customer's representations.

If I, as General Manager, make some decision directly affecting another member of the Service, it will help that member to understand and appreciate the decision if he endeavours to decide for himself what he would have done had he been permanent head of the Department carrying full personal responsibility for the decision. On the other hand, it is also my great responsibility to think of how any such decision will affect the member or members concerned, and to consider the justness of it and how I would accept it if I were that member.

The more any member understands responsibility in this sense the greater will be his tolerance towards others and the happier will be his mutual relations with those inside and outside the Service. It is the ready and natural acceptance and recognition of responsibility in this way which helps the member himself to qualify for positions of greater responsibility.

I am well aware that environment has something to do with the attitude taken up by employees of the Department towards others, and much has been done in recent years to improve the general environment of members, by providing better buildings, facilities and equipment for the performance of their work. And this progressive programme of improvement has undoubtedly helped in the drive towards better service. But every member has some share in the making of his own environment, and if he regards his work as an opportunity to make others more contented and happier, which can often best be done by paying due regard to the other fellow's point of view, he will find his own lot increasingly pleasant.

General Manager.