What is Work study | Defination of Work study

Work-study is the systematic examination of the methods of carrying activities so as to improve the effective use of resources and to set up standard

Work-study is the systematic examination of the methods of carrying activities so as to improve the effective use of resources and to set up standards of performance for the activities being carried out. 

Work-study is mainly concerned with the examination of human work. In fact planning cannot be done unless one knows how long it will take to do a particular job. Time is very important to the manufacturer who must promise to estimate quantities & to other industrial & business arrangements. The need for this managerial tool arose in the middle of nineteenth century, when the greater use of machines & increasing size of manufacturing units necessitated a more efficient means of controlling production schedules. It is F W Tailor who argued that greater attention should be paid to the method of timing tasks-Tailor advocated the breaking down of the task into what he termed elements of work & the timing of these elements separately with an aid of a stop watch. He also emphasized the use of deferential piece rate system. In this system a strong incentive was offered to those who reached or surpassed the standard established by Tailor’s time study methods.

Why it is valuable?

1. It is a direct means of raising productivity involving little or no expenses.
2. It is systematic, simple, and consistent in based on the handling of facts.
3. It ensures that no factor affecting the efficiency of operating is over looked.
4. It is a tool, which can be applied universally.
5. It is the most penetrating tools of investigation available to management.
6. It is relatively cheap and easy to apply.