industrial management: Studies of Worker Performance

The first sustained effort in the direction of improved efficiency was made by Frederick Winslow Taylor, an assistant foreman in the Midvale Steel Company, who in the 1880s undertook a series of studies to determine whether workers used unnecessary motions and hence too much time in performing operations at a machine. Each operation required to turn out an article or part was analyzed and studied minutely, and superfluous motions were eliminated. Records were kept of the performance of workers and standards were adopted for each operation. The early studies resulted in a faster pace of work and the introduction of rest periods.

Sections in this article:

• Introduction
• Modern Trends
• Other Aspects of Management
• Management of the Machine
• Studies of Worker Performance
• The Rise of Factories
• Bibliography

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