Techniques of scientific management

Clear work standards provide a benchmark for comparing quality and identifying deviations in actual performance. Therefore, quality control becomes more systematic; this shows the importance of standardisation and control. Employee dissatisfaction is not a direct significance of having clear standards. Exam tip: Link standards, comparison, deviations, and corrective action with control.

The governing concept is Taylor’s functional foremanship, in which specialised supervisors perform clearly defined duties. The time and cost clerk records the time taken for work and the costs incurred, supplying information needed to compare actual performance with planned or standard performance. Therefore, option D is correct. The inspector focuses on checking quality, the gang boss guides workers and maintains discipline at the operating level, and the repair boss deals with maintenance and machine repairs. These roles may support production, but none is specifically responsible for maintaining time-and-cost records. The clue in the job title directly identifies the relevant function.

The governing concept is Taylor’s differential piece wage system, which uses two piece rates to reward workers who meet or exceed the established standard and to penalise output below that standard. If a worker produces even slightly less than the prescribed standard, the lower piece rate applies to the units produced. Therefore, option B is correct. The high rate is reserved for a worker who reaches or surpasses the standard, so option A reverses the rule. Options C and D describe neither the wage consequence nor the operation of this technique. The essential step is to compare actual output with the predetermined standard before selecting the rate.

The governing concept is Taylor’s functional foremanship, where each specialist supervises one aspect of work. The speed boss ensures that workers maintain the prescribed or proper speed and that the work proceeds at the expected pace. When production is slow because workers are not working at the correct speed, the speed boss is therefore the relevant specialist, making option A correct. The route clerk determines the sequence or path of operations, the instruction card clerk provides written directions about how work should be done, and the disciplinarian deals mainly with worker discipline. Those functions are different, even though they may indirectly influence production.

The governing concept is Taylor’s functional foremanship, in which specialised supervisors handle separate aspects of shop-floor performance. The speed boss is responsible for ensuring that workers maintain the prescribed pace and complete the task within the scientifically determined time. Since the tools are already available, the stated problem is not tool supply or work sequencing; it is the workers’ unusually slow speed. Therefore option B, the speed boss, is the most appropriate answer. A gang boss maintains discipline and gives general instructions, a route clerk plans the route or sequence of operations, and an inspector checks quality. Those roles may support production, but none directly addresses slow working speed.

The governing concept is Taylor’s work study, which combines method study and time study to improve efficiency scientifically. The correct logical order is to examine different ways of doing a job, select the best method, and only then measure the time required by a trained worker using that method. The resulting time can become a fair and reliable standard. Therefore option B is correct. Setting a time standard before deciding the method may measure an inefficient process and produce an invalid target. Paying wages before identifying the work has no logical connection to work study, and removing rest before studying fatigue is unsafe and contrary to the purpose of fatigue study.

The governing concept is Taylor’s differential piece-rate system. The worker’s actual output must first be compared with the standard output. Here, 50 units are produced against a standard of 48 units, so the worker exceeds the standard and qualifies for the high piece rate. Wage = actual output × high rate = 50 × ₹9 = ₹450. Therefore option B is correct. Option A results from incorrectly applying the rate to the standard output, 48 × 9. Option C uses an unsupported rate of ₹9.60, and option D uses ₹10 per unit. The key decision is not merely multiplication; it is selecting the high rate because output is above the standard.

The governing concept is Taylor’s differential piece-rate wage system, in which the rate depends on whether actual output reaches the standard. The worker produces 56 units, which is below the standard of 60 units, so the low rate of ₹4 per unit applies. Wage = actual output × low rate = 56 × ₹4 = ₹224. Thus option A is correct. Option B incorrectly multiplies the standard output, 60, by ₹4. Option C is not obtained from either the stated output or rate, while option D would correspond to 56 units at an unsupported rate of ₹5. The comparison with the standard must be made before calculating the wage.

The governing production concept is the difference between gross output and useful or accepted output. First calculate the number of units made from the available time: 495 ÷ 9 = 55 units. Inspection rejects 3 of these, so useful output is 55 − 3 = 52 units. Therefore option B is correct. Option C is the gross production before inspection, not the usable quantity. Option A subtracts five units instead of three, and option D incorrectly adds the rejected units. The calculation must therefore separate production capacity from quality-approved output.

This question applies Taylor’s differential piece-rate idea. The standard output is 125 units, but the worker produces only 124 units, so the worker has not reached the standard and must receive the stated low rate of ₹7 per unit. Wage is calculated on actual output: 124 × ₹7 = ₹868. Therefore option B is correct. Option C uses the standard quantity of 125 instead of the worker’s actual production. Option A is an incorrect multiplication result, while option D uses a higher or unsupported rate and does not follow the information given. The one-unit difference is important because the rate changes according to whether the standard is achieved.

The governing principle is fair and objective performance evaluation. A low output should be attributed to a worker only after the actual cause of the shortfall has been identified. If a machine breakdown interrupted production, the worker may not be responsible, so automatically applying the low rate would be unjustified. The first question should therefore be whether the failure arose from worker inefficiency or from the condition of the machine, making option A correct. Options B, C and D concern marketing, office appearance or customer characteristics. None diagnoses the production problem or provides a valid basis for deciding the worker’s wage rate.

The relevant scientific-management concept is the study and control of worker fatigue. Fatigue is not caused only by the route, speed or tool used; the surrounding work environment can also create physical and mental strain. If the obvious motion-related factors are satisfactory but fatigue remains high, the organisation should inspect lighting, ventilation, temperature, noise, seating and posture. Therefore option A is correct. Customer discount, bank balance and product name have no direct connection with the worker’s physical condition during production. A systematic investigation of working conditions is needed before concluding that the employee is inefficient or careless.

The governing idea is the distinction between total production and first-pass useful output, which is relevant to measuring work efficiency and the effect of inspection or rework. First calculate the number of units attempted: 680 minutes ÷ 17 minutes per unit = 40 units. These 40 units represent the total output processed during the available time. Since 3 units fail inspection and must be reworked, they are not first-pass good units. Therefore, first-pass useful output = 40 − 3 = 37 units. Option B is correct. Option C ignores the rejected units, option A subtracts too many units, and option D incorrectly adds the rework units. Rework may eventually produce usable goods, but it does not count as first-pass output.

The governing concept is Taylor’s differential piece-rate system. Under this incentive scheme, a standard output is fixed in advance and different piece rates are applied according to whether the worker reaches that standard. Here the standard is 65 units, whereas actual production is 58 units. Since 58 is below 65, the worker falls below the prescribed standard and receives the lower piece rate. The shortfall is 65−58=7 units, although the question asks for the rate rather than a wage calculation. Therefore option B is correct. A higher rate applies when the standard is achieved or exceeded; double rate and a special bonus are not supported by the information given.

The route clerk specifies the route for each job, while the gang boss ensures that tools and other resources are ready so work can begin on time. Therefore, the correct pair is the route clerk and gang boss.

The inspector checks finished goods and identifies defects, but the repair boss is responsible for maintaining and repairing machinery. Since the cause is a machine breakdown, the repair boss is the correct choice.

Method study examines the overall process to find a more efficient way of doing the work. Removing unnecessary transportation improves the process flow, so this is method study.

Motion study examines workers’ movements and seeks to eliminate unnecessary ones. Placing tools nearby reduces unnecessary hand movement, so motion study applies most directly.

The governing principle is that method study should precede time study. Method study identifies the best, most efficient, and least wasteful way to perform a task. Only after that method is fixed should time study determine the standard time for a qualified worker working at a normal pace. If time is measured for an unsuitable or inefficient method, the resulting standard reflects the defective method rather than a fair work requirement. Therefore option B is correct: the time standard may be unreliable or unfair. Option A is the opposite of the likely result, while simplification and automatic quality improvement are unrelated claims. The correct sequence is method study first, followed by time study.

To find standard output, divide the total available time by the time required for one unit: \(480 \div 12 = 40\). Therefore, the standard output in 480 minutes is 40 units. An output of 36 units would imply 48 minutes per unit, which does not match the given 12 minutes. Exam tip: in time-study questions, use total available time ÷ time per unit.

The worker exceeds the 50-unit standard, so the higher rate applies to all 54 units. Wage = 54 units × ₹9 per unit = ₹486.

The governing concept is Taylor’s differential piece-rate system. Under the facts given, the worker produces 42 units, which is below the standard of 45 units. Therefore the low piece rate of ₹8 applies to every unit produced, not merely to the units below the standard. The wage is calculated as output × applicable rate = 42 × ₹8 = ₹336. Hence option C is correct. Option A incorrectly uses the standard output, ₹348 results from multiplying 42 by an unrelated rate, and ₹320 does not follow from either stated quantity and rate. The comparison with the standard determines which rate applies; once the low rate is selected, the actual output is multiplied by that rate.

Reducing the number of models is simplification because it reduces unnecessary variety. Since quality still varies, a uniform quality standard has not been established, so standardisation is incomplete.

Standardising tools alone does not make the work process uniform. If workers use different methods, their results are harder to compare, so uniformity of method remains weak.

Fatigue study examines the causes of workers’ fatigue and the rest intervals needed to reduce it. The link between continuous work, fatigue and fewer mistakes after breaks points to fatigue study.