The Edison salesman had trained
to arrange the offices their customers and identify the
dynamics office politics. Marketing the business phonograph this manner
involved careful assessment the organization the user's
office before centralizing the flow correspondence into one
transcribing department. The dirty work was
done those lower the pay scale. This technological division had advantages sales
because the businessman who made the decision buy was
relieved much the tedium operation.
The Edison promotional material stressed the uniqueness
of the Edison system and proudly claimed that was "not sold
in stores. many cases was unwise to
suggest that stenographer should replaced typist. If
the former carried out clerical work addition to
correspondence, then the executive would resist replacing a
valuable employee." The customer was visited Edison
representative study the work place and "adapt the Edison
business system, which the phonograph part," the
. Each office situation had treated
differently. The essence the
system was central transcribing department which would handle
all the correspondence dictated the machines managers and
stenographers.XI-14
functions.
The new dictating system was based the creation of
three levels the office hierarchy: executives the top,
typists who transcribed, and office boys who shaved the
cylinders and helped maintain the machinery
