Which management approach used time and motion studies to improve efficiency and productivity?

• A. Fordism
• B. War Industries Board
• C. Collective bargaining
• D. Scientific management

Answer: (D)

The key idea being tested is using systematic study of work tasks to boost efficiency. This approach, associated with Frederick Winslow Taylor, involves breaking every job into its smallest steps, timing how long each step should take, and determining the most efficient method to perform the task. By standardizing tools, motions, and procedures and by carefully selecting and training workers to follow these methods, productivity is raised and wasted motions are reduced. Incentive pay is often linked to performance under this system to further motivate efficiency. While later production systems like Fordism adopted many of these efficiency ideas, the explicit use of time-and-motion studies—the hallmark of scientific management—is what distinguishes this approach. Other options touch on related areas (government wartime planning, collective bargaining, or mass production), but they do not center on the precise study and optimization of work motions to improve productivity.