atness, and ease in
writing; also, the correct writing and placing of figures.

The chief demand of business in arithmetic is for fundamental
operations--adding and multiplying--also for ability to make
calculations and to verify results mentally.

Undergraduate experience in school or business offices may be a
valuable method of acquainting students with office practice and
routine and with business organization and business standards.

CHAPTER XIII

SUMMARY OF REPORT ON DEPARTMENT STORE OCCUPATIONS

The field covered in this volume is limited to the business of retail
selling as carried on in the department stores and some other stores
of Cleveland. The retail stores considered can all be assigned to one
of the three following classes: (1) The department store of the first
rank which draws trade not only from the whole city and the suburbs
but also from the towns and smaller cities of a large surrounding
district; (2) the neighborhood store which does a smaller business
within narrower limits, drawing its trade, as the name indicates, from
the immediate neighborhood; (3) the five and ten cent store, well
known by syndicate names, where no merchandise which must be sold
above 10 cents is carried.

DEPARTMENT STORES

The five largest department stores in Cleveland employ about 5,800
people distributed among several mercantile departments, and in a
variety of occupations that find a place in the industry. Of these
5,800 people approximately seven-tenths are women and three-tenths
are men; 90 per cent are over 18 years of age and 10 per cent are
under 18.

The entire force of a store is sometimes arbitrarily divided by the
management into "productive," and "non-productive" help. From 40 to 60
per cent of the employees were reported as actually taking in money,
while the remainder, the "non-producers," were engaged in keeping the
business going and making it possible for the "producers" to sell
goods.

The greatest number of opportunities either for employment or
promotion are in the selling force. This is often spoken as being "on
the floor." Both boys and girls may find employment here, though a
large majority of the sales force is made up of them. Speaking in
general terms, men are only employed to sell men's furnishings,
sporting goods, bulky merchandise, such as rugs, furniture, blankets,
etc., and yard goods which are difficult to handle, such as household
linens and dress goods. Positions as b