Deck 7: The Advent of Scientific Management

Question 1

The "lump of labor"
theory said there was a limited amount of work in the world and that to do more today meant less to be done tomorrow.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Taylor thought that he could overcome soldiering by a careful investigation of work that would then be used in setting standards.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Frederick Taylor was unaware of the informal actions of workers.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Natural soldiering, according to Taylor, proceeded from the "instinct and tendency of men to take it easy."

Question 5

Systematic soldiering, according to Taylor, came from workers' "more intricate second thought and reasoning caused by their relations with other men."

Question 6

Taylor's "natural soldiering"
came from a "lump of labor"
theory that said if workers worked too fast they would run out of work both for themselves and for other workers.

Question 7

Taylor saw industrial inefficiency as the fault of workers rather than management.

Question 8

Scientific management involved the use of scientific fact-finding methods to determine empirically instead of traditionally the right ways to perform tasks.

Question 9

According to Taylor, a daily or hourly wage system encouraged soldiering because pay was based on attendance and position, not effort.

Question 10

Taylor thought that "high wages and low costs"
were impossible.

Question 11

Taylor developed a unique form of supervision called "functional foremen."

Question 12

The functional foremanship idea was successful because it made coordination easier.

Question 13

The only person who did not come under "first-class,"
as Taylor defined it, was the person who was physically and mentally able to work but would not work.

Question 14

Time study was used by Taylor to establish standards of performance.

Question 15

The notion of a "first-class man"
indicated that Taylor was aware of the need to match people's abilities to a job's requirements.

Question 16

After the Eastern Rate case, the Federal Government recognized immediately the benefits of Scientific Management and encouraged its use.

Question 17

Taylor believed that the principal objective of management should be to secure the maximum prosperity for employers, coupled with the maximum prosperity for employees.

Question 18

The "mental revolution"
was Taylor's philosophy that management must exploit labor to be profitable.

Question 19

The "mental revolution"
between labor and management was to be the recognition of mutual self-interest.

Question 20

Taylor's major fault was his failure to include the human element as part of a management situation.

Question 21

According to Taylor, why do workers "soldier"?

A)it is human nature to take the easy way
B)to work any faster would raise unemployment
C)adherence to rule-of-thumb work methods
D)because of poor management practices
E)all of the above

Question 22

Systematic soldiering:

A) is the normal instinct and tendency of workers to take easy.
B) arises out of a lump of labor theory.
C) can be overcome by a manager able to inspire or force workers to come up to the mark.
D) occurs very seldom in any work environment.
E) all of the above

Question 23

Taylor's idea of a mental revolution can best be described as

A) the acceptance by union of scientific management
B) management's efficient use of "men and materials"
C) using uniform work methods
D) a mutuality of interests between labor and management
E) none of the above

Question 24

Taylor saw unions as:

A) receptive to new ideas
B) warts on the face of humankind
C) interfering with stimulating each person to do his/her best
D) essential to free enterprise
E) none of the above

Question 25

Taylor's proposition for general managers to leave the small details to specialists and thus avoid the details of shop management was called the .

A) functional principle
B) principle of analysis and synthesis
C) exception principle
D) principle of mutual interests
E) none of the above

Question 26

The idea of "economic man," that is, people would produce more if they were rewarded for doing so, was the belief of:

A) Adam Smith
B) Robert Owen
C) Frederick Taylor
D) only A and B
E) only A and C above

Question 27

When asked to teach his system at Harvard University, Taylor was reluctant because:

A) he felt he did not have the teaching abilities that were needed to teach his system
B) he was antibusiness when it involved education
C) he felt one could learn his system only through experience
D) he wanted to continue his own research
E) all of the above

Question 28

Which of the following was not a part of Taylor's Scientific Management philosophy?

A) functional foremen
B) piece-rate incentives
C) first-class man
D) time study
E) the management process

Question 29

Taylor felt profit sharing was not an adequate motivator because:

A) of the remoteness of rewards
B) management always cut the share down when workers earned too much
C) it took a portion of the profits which a business would need for capital investment
D) workers would earn so much they no longer would need to work
E) none of the above

Question 30

Time study, the careful study of the time in which work ought to be done, was first developed by:

A) Charles Babbage
B) American Society of Mechanical Engineers
C) Henry L. Gantt
D) Harrington Emerson
E) F. W. Taylor

Question 31

In describing functional foremen, Taylor described one of the duties of the "_______as selecting and discharging employees.

A) shop disciplinarian
B) gang boss
C) welfare secretary
D) social secretary
E) none of the above

Question 32

The notion of a_______indicated that Taylor was aware of the need to match people's abilities to the requirements of the job.

A) "individual betterment plan"
B) "first-class man"
C) union management cooperation plan
D) differential wage plan
E) none of the above

Question 33

Taylor most probably said,

A) "management skills are inherited"
B) "you must learn management by experience"
C) "management can be taught on the university level"
D) "management should be taught in vocational schools"
E) none of the above

Question 34

Taylor's scientific management emphasized:

A) profit-sharing as a means to increase wages
B) unions as a protective device for laborers
C) a mental revolution between labor and management
D) capital investment as a means of increasing production
E) forming cohesive groups of workers

Question 35

Explain the importance of performance standards. In what areas of performance should standards be set (e.g. quality of work)?

Question 36

Identify the significant elements of the task management system (later to be called scientific management)?

Question 37

What was Taylor's idea of a "mental revolution"? Do you feel that any U.S.A. firms have achieved this? Any non-U.S.A. firms? How does this idea compare with the "mutual gains strategy"?

Question 38

Review Taylor's ideas on "soldiering."
Does this practice exist today? What would you, as a supervisor, do to eliminate soldiering?

Question 39

Taylor seemed to have difficulty in getting others to understand his concept of "the first-class man."
Can you describe the idea better?