Techniques of scientific management

The correct answer is Simplification, a technique of Taylor’s scientific management. Simplification means reducing unnecessary variety in products, sizes, designs, grades, or processes so that production becomes more economical and easier to control. When a company offers fewer but standardised varieties, it can reduce purchasing, storage, production, and inspection costs while improving efficiency. Mental revolution concerns a change in the attitude of workers and management, not product variety. Time study measures the time needed for a task, whereas functional foremanship divides supervisory work among specialists. Therefore, reducing excessive product varieties clearly represents simplification.

The correct answer is deciding the route and sequence of work. In Taylor’s functional foremanship, the route clerk is a planning-office specialist who determines the path that materials and jobs should follow through the production process. The clerk prepares route instructions so that workers know the proper order of operations, workstations, and movements. A repair or maintenance specialist handles machines, while an inspector checks quality. A time-and-cost clerk records time and expenditure, and a disciplinarian deals with conduct. Thus, the word route itself points to the planned path and sequence of work, making option A the only suitable answer.

The correct answer is recording time and cost. In Taylor’s functional foremanship, the time-and-cost clerk maintains information about the time spent on jobs and the cost incurred in completing them. These records support planning, cost control, wage calculations, and evaluation of production efficiency. The clerk does not clean machines, deliver goods, or handle customer service; those duties belong to other operational or administrative roles. The name of the position gives a useful clue: “time” refers to labour or job time, and “cost” refers to expenditure connected with the work. Therefore, option A accurately describes the clerk’s responsibility.

Functional foremanship divides supervision into specialised functions so that one worker receives expert guidance instead of depending on one general foreman. Taylor’s scheme has eight specialist positions in total: four belong to the planning department and four belong to the production department. The four production-department specialists are gang boss, speed boss, repair boss and inspector. Their roles cover assigning work, maintaining the required pace, keeping machines in working order and checking quality or conformity with instructions. Therefore, option A, four, is correct. The numbers five, six and seven do not match Taylor’s standard division and may result from confusing the production specialists with the complete group of eight.

Under Taylor’s functional foremanship, the instruction card clerk is a specialist of the planning department. This clerk prepares written instructions describing how a job should be performed, including the sequence of operations, tools, materials and other relevant directions. Such planning is completed before production begins, so the role is not part of the shop-floor production team. Therefore, option B, planning department, is correct. The production department carries out the planned work through specialists such as the gang boss, speed boss, repair boss and inspector. Marketing and finance are not departments in Taylor’s functional foremanship structure, so options C and D are unrelated distractors.

In Taylor’s functional foremanship, the time and cost clerk belongs to the planning side and maintains records related to the time spent and cost incurred in completing work. These records help management compare actual performance with standards, calculate wages or incentives where applicable, and identify deviations in efficiency or expense. Therefore, option C, time and cost clerk, is correct. The speed boss is concerned with ensuring that the prescribed rate of work is followed; the gang boss gives instructions and arranges the work group; and the repair boss deals with machine maintenance. Their responsibilities do not primarily involve maintaining time-and-cost records.

Method study is a technique of scientific management that examines the sequence of activities, movements, tools and procedures used to complete a job. Its purpose is to find the most efficient way of doing the work, while eliminating unnecessary operations and reducing avoidable effort, time and cost. Therefore, it asks, “What is the best way to do the work?” and option B is correct. This technique is different from time study, which determines the standard time for a qualified worker to complete a task. The other choices concern stopping work, punishment or taxation and have no connection with the objective of method study.

Fatigue study is a technique of scientific management concerned with the physical and mental tiredness experienced by workers while performing a job. It examines the causes of fatigue, such as excessive working hours, insufficient rest, unsuitable working conditions or unnecessary movements, and helps determine appropriate rest intervals. By reducing avoidable tiredness, the organisation can protect worker health and sustain productivity and quality. Therefore, option A, worker fatigue, is correct. Customer income, bank interest and office rent are financial or commercial matters; they are not the problem investigated by fatigue study. The term itself refers directly to tiredness, but the concept also explains why planned rest is important.

Motion study is a technique of Taylor’s scientific management that analyses the movements involved in performing a task. Its purpose is to distinguish useful movements from unnecessary or avoidable ones and then remove the latter. When useless steps are eliminated, the worker can complete the same job with less effort and in less time, improving efficiency. Therefore, option A, motion study, is correct. Fatigue study focuses on tiredness and the need for rest, while tax study and insurance study are unrelated to production methods. Time study, although also concerned with duration, establishes a standard time; the clue about removing unnecessary movements specifically identifies motion study.

The gang boss is one of Taylor’s functional foremen under scientific management. His duty is to ensure that the workplace is ready before production begins, especially by arranging the required tools, equipment and materials. Therefore, option D is correct. A bank loan concerns finance, a sales plan concerns marketing, and a dividend declaration concerns distribution of profit; none of these directly prepares workers to start the assigned operation. The question tests the specialised supervision and planning of work at the shop-floor level, not a general business decision. Remember: the gang boss makes the physical resources available so that workers do not lose time waiting for tools or materials.

The speed boss is a specialised functional foreman in Taylor’s technique of functional foremanship. He supervises the pace or speed at which work is performed and helps workers complete tasks within the prescribed time. Thus, option A is correct. The role is connected with production efficiency and time control, not with customers, pricing or visual identity. Customer income is an external market matter, market price belongs to marketing and commercial decisions, and a company logo is a branding element. The key clue is the word “speed”: when a question asks what the speed boss monitors, select the rate or pace of work rather than another business function.

In Taylor’s functional foremanship, the inspector is responsible for checking whether the completed work meets the prescribed standards of quality. Therefore, option C is correct. Inspection involves examining the output, identifying defects and ensuring that the required specifications have been followed. Office rent is an administrative expense, an employee’s address is a personnel record, and a bank passbook is a financial document; none represents the inspector’s production duty. The governing concept is specialised supervision: each functional foreman handles a particular aspect of work instead of one general supervisor performing every task. The word “inspector” should therefore be linked with quality checking and conformity to standards.

Motion study is a technique of scientific management associated with Frank and Lillian Gilbreth and used within the broader scientific-management approach. It carefully observes the movements made while performing a job, separates useful motions from useless or avoidable ones, and seeks to remove unnecessary physical effort. Hence, option A is correct. Customer needs and market demand belong to marketing analysis, while tax liability belongs to finance and taxation. The purpose of motion study is not to study the market but to improve the method of doing work, reduce fatigue and increase efficiency by simplifying the worker’s movements.

Fatigue study is a scientific-management technique that examines when and why workers become physically or mentally tired during a job. Its practical result is the determination of suitable rest pauses, their timing and, where necessary, their duration, so that fatigue is reduced without unnecessarily lowering productivity. Therefore, option A is correct. Changing a product name is branding, painting an office is maintenance, and opening a bank account is a financial activity. None addresses the worker’s recovery during production. The governing clue is the relationship between fatigue and rest: scientifically planned intervals help maintain efficiency, safety and consistent work performance.

These techniques aim to make work more efficient. Exam tip: connect techniques with productivity improvement.

There are four specialists in the planning department. Exam tip: remember route instruction time-cost disciplinarian.

The direct answer is option A, four. Functional foremanship divides supervision among specialists instead of placing every duty on one supervisor. In the production department, four specialists guide the actual work: the gang boss, speed boss, repair boss, and inspector. The gang boss arranges the workplace and tools, the speed boss helps ensure the correct working pace, the repair boss looks after machines and repairs, and the inspector checks quality. Option A, four, is correct because these are the four production-floor specialists in Taylor’s functional foremanship. Option B, five, is wrong because five is not the number of production specialists in the standard classification. Option C, six, is wrong for the same reason; it adds specialists who do not belong to the production group. Option D, eight, is wrong because eight is the total number of specialist foremen in the complete arrangement, not the number in the production department alone. The remaining four belong to the planning office: route clerk, instruction card clerk, time and cost clerk, and disciplinarian. Memory cue: production has gang, speed, repair, inspector—four; planning has four more—total eight.

A route clerk determines the path and sequence through which a job should move during production. This is a planning-related function in scientific management and helps maintain an orderly flow of work. Quality inspection is the inspector's function, not the route clerk's main role. Exam tip: remember that ‘route’ means the path of work.

In Taylor’s functional foremanship, the time and cost clerk is a planning-department specialist. The clerk maintains records connected with the time taken for work and the cost involved in production. These records help management compare actual performance with planned standards, estimate expenses and control the use of labour and resources. Therefore option A, “Time and cost,” is correct. The name of the role itself provides the essential clue, but the answer is also supported by its planning and record-keeping function. Customers and market belong to marketing, colour and packing relate to product presentation, and loans and interest belong to finance rather than scientific-management records.

Disciplinarian maintains discipline at the workplace. Exam tip: identify the answer from the word discipline.

In Taylor's functional foremanship, the gang boss ensures that machines, tools, materials and the workplace are ready before production starts. Therefore, option A is correct. Inspection of finished goods is the inspector's duty, while time records are maintained by the time clerk. Exam tip: remember the gang boss as the foreman responsible for work-start preparation and arrangements.

Standardisation means fixing definite standards. Exam tip: remember standardisation as fixed standards.

Simplification reduces unnecessary varieties. Exam tip: connect simplification with variety reduction.

The direct answer is A: the best method of work. Method study is a scientific-management technique used to examine how a task is performed and to find the simplest, safest and most efficient way of doing it. The focus is on the sequence of actions, tools, movement and unnecessary steps. Therefore option A is correct. Option B, the costliest advertisement, concerns advertising expenditure and has no connection with studying work procedure. Option C, the biggest bank, concerns size or banking and is irrelevant. Option D, the longest leave, concerns employee absence and does not identify a work method. Do not confuse method study with time study: method study asks, “What is the best way to do the job?”, while time study asks, “How long should the job take?” The useful exam cue is method study equals best way or best method of work.

Time study fixes the standard time for a job. Exam tip: remember time study equals standard time.