Finally, I'd like to ask just three more broad questions about your company's overall feeling regarding the use of the metric system in this country. They may appear to be repetitive, but we need your candid opinion. 26. Which of the following choices most closely indicates the current attitude of your company toward increased metric usage in your operations? (Table 115) *27. Do you believe that increased metric usage is in the best (Table 116) *28. If it is found that metric usage is in the best interests of the United States, which of the following courses of action, in your opinion, is preferable? Thank you very much. We appreciate the time you have given in helping us with this study. (Table 117) SECTION IV. Detailed Discussion of The section immediately following, contains a detailed analysis of the tables for each question in the questionnaire. Some notes about the reading of this material may be helpful. Percentages quoted have been rounded to the nearest whole number except a few of less than 2 percent. Decimal places with percentage figures tend to lead the reader to regard the findings as being more exact than they probably are. All percentages should be read with a Standard Error in mind of ± about 2 to 3 percent. The rounding of data statistics hopefully will keep the reader reminded of a possible margin of error. Text tables present only the highlights or most impressive information from the full tables contained in appendix C. The purpose of the discussion is to present the data as the analyst interprets their meaning and to lead the reader to consult the original tabular results so he may compare his own interpretation with that made by the investigators. Data are presented briefly in the text tables to emphasize particular points or to show up special contrasts. Complete information is given only when the question was of particular significance. Several special interest groups are occasionally singled out for detailed analysis. For definition of: present metric users, exporters, companies with foreign licensees and subsidiaries and others, see last pages of section II. Data for all questions are presented in at least two tables in the appendix. The A tables present the data tabulated by company size class and, in cases where the number of respondents answering a question was dependent on how they had replied to a previous query, the sample may have been the total population of 2563 or may have been some fragment of that number. Where subgroups with special interests are singled out for analysis, the A table will use as a base for calculation of percentages, only the number of respondents with those particular interests, e.g., only exporters, only those expecting to have to retrain employees in case of national metrication, etc. B tables are nearly always based on the total population and present the data by industry group. Percentages shown indicate the proportions of representatives within each industry who stated certain views. Tables C and D, where they have been formulated, show the same data by the time originally suggested by respondents as "reasonable" for a national changeover to SI and by size of company according to volume of annual gross dollar sales. In answering questions 13 through 16a in section IV of the questionnaire, respondents seemed unable to discriminate between the import of these items and the information requested in items IV, 9-11. Tables and data for questions 13-16a are therefore not presented. Reference tables are listed at the top of the first page for each question analysis. Probably the best way to locate a particular bit of information quickly is to consult the questionnaires, find the section and question number for the item which elicited the information desired and then locate the detailed analysis by means of those key numbers. Appendix C table numbers are also listed on the questionnaires for each question. The initials "DK" occasionally used in text tables stand for "Don't Know." TABLES 2A & B Organization Respondent's Title Initial contact with a respondent firm was most often accomplished by first having the interviewer call the office of the president or other top executive of the company. After explaining the purpose of the survey, he (often she) asked to be referred to a person in the organization who would be most likely to give knowledgeable answers about the use of measurement in company operations. In about 82 percent of the contacts, the interviewer was referred to a high-level managerial employee. Almost the same proportion of managers answered the questionnaire for companies in all three size categories. Persons in technical or managerial-technical positions were designated as corporate spokesmen, each in about 5 percent of the interviews. Technically-oriented personnel most often represented their organizations in the Forestry/Fisheries, Mining and Communications industries (10-12% each). TABLES 3A & B Geographical Locations of Respondents Respondent companies were chosen at random from the Social Security Administration listings of all organizations within the same SIC number. In 441-628 O-71-5 dustry representation, not geographical location, was the chief consideration in drawing the sample. As a result of this approach, the largest representations were drawn from the most populous states. The only state in which no interviews were carried out was Hawaii. In most states the proportion of interviews was quite equally divided amongst the three size categories of organizations. Only in New York state was there a considerably larger representation in the "250 or more" employees category than in the two smaller classes. A partial table of the distribution of interviews by size of firm in the seven most heavily represented states will give a good idea of the geographical distribution of the survey coverage: Not all states had respondents in all industry categories, but it is believed that representation was equitably distributed. Quotas by industry were based on data taken from County Business Patterns. This method of deriving sample sizes led to one quota worthy of mention here the number of interviews taken in the agricultural production industry in California. The unexpectedly large total percentage for this state was due primarily to the type of farms located in that area. Since the number of employees was used as the basis for size definition, the respondent firms selected were largely determined by the kinds of crops grown and the number of laborers hired to tend them. Crops grown in California (i.e., fruits, vegetables) require a much larger proportion of human labor than does the grain grown in the Midwest, for example. TABLES 4A & B Q. I-1 Maybe you have heard talk going around lately system of measurement. Have you heard anything Seventy-six percent of the population surveyed had heard something about the possibility that the U.S. might adopt the metric system of measurement. More large companies (87%) had heard of it than small ones (68%). The least knowledgeable industry was Agriculture (59% of their own group said they had heard something) while the most well informed were those in the Utilities industry (87%). A small text table will compare the proportions of knowledgeability claimed by representatives in the various industries: These figures are quoted at this length because they will be of some help in interpreting the positions taken by these industries in their answers to later questions. Conclusion: The idea of conversion to the metric system was not newquestions about it came as no surprise to 76 per cent of the population of interest. TABLES 5A & B Q. I-2 (If you have heard of possible conversion to Of those who said they had had some earlier knowledge of possible conversion to the metric system, the largest group (45%) had little recollection for the source of what they had "heard." Those who said they had "read" something (33%) were most likely to have seen it in a business or trade magazine (17%) or in the newspaper (24%). Television and radio were hardly mentioned as media for obtaining information of this kind. Spokesmen for small companies were more likely to have "heard" something (52%) than large company respondents (41%). Company spokesmen for middlesized firms were least likely to have "read" anything (30% compared to 36% for large company men). Only in the Forestry and Fisheries industry did more respondents claim to have "read" than to have "heard" something about conversion to the metric system. TABLES 6A & B Q. I-3 If one of your friends asked you what the metric This question was intended to help the surveyors assess the level of the respondent's personal knowledge of the metric system. Explanations were |