第33章 CHAPTER II(2)
The university is to make good both as a corporation of learning and as a business concern dealing in standardized erudition， and the executive head necessarily assumes the responsibility of making it count wholly and unreservedly in each of these divergent， if not incompatible lines.(2*) Humanly speaking， it follows by necessary consequence that he will first and always take care of those duties that are most jealously insisted on by the powers to whom he is accountable， and the due performance of which will at the same time yield some sufficiently tangible evidence of his efficiency. That other， more recondite side of the university's work that has substantially to do with the higher learning is not readily set out in the form of statistical exhibits， at the best， and can ordinarily come to appraisal and popular appreciation only in the long run. The need of a businesslike showing is instant and imperative， particularly in a business era of large turnover and quick returns， and to meet this need the uneventful scholastic life that counts toward the higher learning in the long run is of little use； so it can wait， and it readily becomes a habit with the busy executive to let it wait.
It should be kept in mind also that the incumbent of executive office is presumably a man of businesslike qualifications， rather than of scholarly insight， -- the method of selecting the executive heads under the present r間ime makes that nearly a matter of course. As such he will in his own right more readily appreciate those results of his own management that show up with something of the glare of publicity， as contrasted with the slow-moving and often obscure working of inquiry that lies (commonly) somewhat beyond his intellectual horizon. So that with slight misgivings， if any， he takes to the methods of organization and control that have commended themselves in that current business enterprise to which it is his ambition to assimilate the corporation of learning.
These precedents of business practice that are to afford guidance to the captain of erudition are， of course， the precedents of competitive business. It is one of the unwritten， and commonly unspoken， commonplaces lying at the root of modern academic policy that the various universities are competitors for the traffic in merchantable instruction， in much the same fashion as rival establishments in the retail trade compete for custom.
Indeed， the modern department store offers a felicitous analogy， that has already been found serviceable in illustration of the American university's position in this respect， by those who speak for the present r間ime as well as by its critics. The fact that the universities are assumed to be irreconcilable competitors， both in the popular apprehension and as evidenced by the manoeuvres of their several directors， is too notorious to be denied by any but the interested parties. Now and again it is formally denied by one and another among the competing captains of erudition， but the reason for such denial is the need of it.(3*)Now， the duties of the executive head of a competitive business concern are of a strategic nature， the object of his management being to get the better of rival concerns and to engross the trade. To this end it is indispensable that he should be a "strong man" and should have a free hand， -- though perhaps under the general and tolerant surveillance of his board of directors. Any wise board of directors， and in the degree in which they are endowed with the requisite wisdom， will be careful to give their general manager full discretion， and not to hamper him with too close an accounting of the details of his administration， so long as he shows gratifying results. He must be a strong man； that is to say， a capable man of affairs， tenacious and resourceful in turning the means at hand to account for this purpose， and easily content to let the end justify the means. He must be a man of scrupulous integrity， so far as may conduce to his success， but with a shrewd eye to the limits within which honesty is the best policy， for the purpose in hand.
He must have full command of the means entrusted to him and full control of the force of employees and subordinates who are to work under his direction， and he must be able to rely on the instant and unwavering loyalty of his staff in any line of policy on which he may decide to enter. He must therefore have free power to appoint and dismiss， and to reward and punish， limited only by the formal ratification of his decisions by the board of directors who will be careful not to interfere or inquire unduly in these matters， -- so long as their strong man shows results.
The details and objective of his strategy need not be known to the members of the staff； indeed， all that does not concern them except in the most general way. They are his creatures， and are responsible only to him and only for the due performance of the tasks assigned them； and they need know only so much as will enable them to give ready and intelligent support to the moves made by their chief from day to day. The members of the staff are his employees， and their first duty is a loyal obedience； and for the competitive good of the concern they must utter no expression of criticism or unfavourable comment on the policy， actions or personal characteristics of their chief， so long as they are in his employ. They have eaten his bread， and it is for them to do his bidding.