Discussion of the Report of N. P. Verkhovsky about the Book «Railway Confusion» in the Imperial Russian Technical Society in 1910

Abstract

Three previous issues of World of Transport and Transportation acquainted the readers with the main contents of the report delivered by Nikolai Petrovich Verkhovsky at the session of the VIII Department of the Imperial Russian Technical Society while presenting his book «Railway Confusion», dedicated to the comprehensive solution of a wide range of pressing issues of organising the work of railways. The report, in fact, was a detailed and accentuated presentation of the book’s content.

The discussion that followed the report is also of great interest. It allows to introduce the essence of opinions and views prevailing then in professional railway community regarding such «eternal» issues as optimal career trajectory, corporate culture, labour productivity, role of bonus awarding in motivating higher efficiency of management and staff, balanced ratio of role and volume of wages of managers and engineers, countering violations of discipline, load implied by excessive reporting and its paradoxial role in relief of injust punishment.

The specific aspect of the discussion engaging the chairman of the meeting and the speaker can also be of interest since it refers to missing feedback from readers to pubications in railway jounrals.

The editorial publication presents the main content of the stenographic report published in the Rail Business journal.

Punctuation and vocabulary of the original publication are preserved in the text as much as possible.