Which of the following statements is true of scientific management in the 20th century

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Question 1

Division of labour is a central principle in management thinking. Which statement best describes the idea of division of labour?

a) It is a general principle for designing the overall formal structure of the organization.

b) It describes the value of specialization for gaining efficiency.

c) It describes the importance of separating manual work from managerial work.

Question 2

Taylor formulated a number of principles in his Principles of Scientific Management. Which of the following statements is not a principle of Taylor?

a) Manual and intellectual work should be separated.

b) All practices in the organization should be examined by managers and specialist engineers.

c) By applying scientific management workers' pay could be lowered.

Question 3

Which of the following statements best describe the legacy of Taylor and his followers?

a) The focus on scientific methods and rational analysis is widely acknowledged, whereas his view on human beings is being heavily criticized.

b) Taylor's arguments for using scientific methods have been heavily ridiculed, and it is nowadays acknowledged that these are impossible.

c) Taylor's ideas about division of labour made sense in the early 20th century, but have no relevance today.

Question 4

What is true about the concept of work organization?

a) Work organization concerns how to organize manual work in manufacturing companies.

b) Work organization is a generic concept that includes a number of practices, tools and methods used in day-to-day work in organizations.

c) Work organization is another label for the so called Gantt charts introduced by one of Taylor's disciples.

Question 5

The concept of flexible specialization is important in modern management thinking. Which of the following statements about flexible specialization is true?

a) It argues that mass production is the most effective production system.

b) Flexible specialization is basically the same as large-scale production systems.

c) It describes a production system where companies specialize in producing small and customized batches.

Question 6

What is true about Total Quality Management (TQM)?

a) In TQM the ambition is to reach the level of zero mistakes.

b) TQM acknowledge that 100% perfection is impossible to reach, and that companies should rather strive for reaching a realistic quality level.

c) TQM is a management perspective that tries to train the production organization, but does not concern other parts of the organization.

Question 7

What has been the academic response to the ideas of Total Quality Management?

a) Most research shows that, although not gaining in effectiveness, TQM often lead to positive motivational effects in companies.

b) There is little evidence that TQM has positive effects for employees.

c) The basic ideas of TQM have been proven to be correct in most scientific studies.

Question 8

What is true about Business Process Rerengineering (BPR)?

a) BPR is a strategy that emphasizes the need for a process-oriented approach.

b) BPR is a strategy that emphasizes the need for clear rules and standards to achieve a high degree of control.

c) BPR is a strategy that emphasizes the formal structure and the need for a clear, hierarchic structure.

Question 9

There are different forms of control in organization. Which alternative best describes the different forms of control?

a) There is one basic form of control, direct control, and the other forms are consequences of this form of control.

b) The literature on control clearly suggests that direct control is superior to other forms of control.

c) The literature suggests that there are three conventional forms of control.

Question 10

What is true about the recent literature on routines, rules and practices?

a) Recent studies largely confirm Max Weber's view on rules as the basis for effective management.

b) The recent literature suggests that routines are more flexible than Weber imagined them.

c) The recent literature suggests that rules and routines should be avoided.

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