Question

Frederick W. Taylor is speaking to a friend about scientific management. Which of the following statements might Frederick say?

Answer 1

Answer:

(A) The best way to increase your workers' productivity is to study their movements carefully. Figure out the fastest way to get the job done correctly, and then train all of the employees to do it the same way.

(B) Are you promoting people just because you like them? Try having managers make promotion decisions solely on the basis of a person's technical ability to do the work.

Explanation:

Scientific Management theory laid out by Frederick W. Taylor focuses on effective (best) and efficient (less costly) way of getting the work done.

(1) Statement A focuses on motion and time studies respectively.

In motion studies, we are concerned with elimination of unnecessary movements and activities required to perform a job. For eg, in order to manufacture 100 packets of biscuits, 5 processes are required but the processes currently used are 10, so 5 processes must be eliminated in order to save time and costs.

Time studies implies setting up time for performing a particular work activity. The time must be same for all the workers and could be based on the past factory time data of the activity. For eg, an average time per worker can be calculated for the activity taking into consideration the total time spent by total no. of workers on a particular work activity.

(2) Statement B focuses on promoting the persons based on their technical ability to do the work.

Differential piece wage system of F.W. Taylor applies perfectly to this statement. It prescribes paying workers as per the work done by them. For eg, a worker producing 15 units of a good per day would be paid $ 12 a unit, let's suppose and the worker producing less than that would be paid $ 10 a unit. So, the workers producing 15 and more units of a good, have higher technical ability with respect to the production of that good and hence, higher pay. The workers producing less than 15 units have lower technical ability and hence lower pay.

(3) Statement 3 relates to the administrative principle of "Unity of Command" laid out by Henry Fayol and hence, is not the solution statement.