8 



time-study are based the elaborate systems of payment by results 

 which are associated with Scientific Management. All the leading 

 advocates of the theory have their own systems of wage payment, 

 and all these are systems of payment by results. 



Payment by results, advocated in the name of industrial efficiency, 

 is indeed placed foremost in the programme of Scientific Management 

 theorists. Of their system it is only a part ; but since it is easily 

 detached from the rest and possesses obvious superficial attractions 

 for the employer, it is very often adopted without any attempt to 

 apply ' science ' to the other parts of the business. Time-study in 

 such cases becomes almost purely a means to the fixing of wages. 



There are, however, obvious reasons why time-study may be useful 

 to the employer quite apart from payment by results. It is, indeed, 

 perfectly compatible with a time-work system. Before estimating 

 on a contract, the employer wants to know what the labour-cost of the 

 job will be, and accurate study of the time taken on similar jobs in the 

 past will clearly help him to be ' scientific ' in forecasting the cost of 

 production. There is a clear case for more science in this direction, 

 for an important inducement to rate-cutting and speeding-up is lack 

 of accuracy in forecasting the labour-cost of a job. Even if it is not 

 used as a method of increasing output, or of devising ' scientific ' 

 methods of payment, time-study may be very useful to the employer. 



Here, Jiowever, we are concerned with the effect produced on Labour, 

 and we must therefore pass on to a description of the various ' efficiency ' 

 systems of payment put forward by apostles of Scientific Management. 

 The actual systems in use are legion, both in America and in Great 

 Britain ; we shall have to content ourselves with the chief types. 



The two simplest methods of paying Labour are time-work and 

 piece-work. The employer may pay his workers in accordance with the 

 time spent in his service, or in accordance with the output secured at 

 so much per hour, per day, per week, or per month, or at so much per 

 piece, per ton, per mile, etc. It has often been pointed out that these 

 two methods of payment have, to a great extent, a common basis : 

 the hourly rate has reference to a more or less defined output which the 

 employer expects from the worker, and failing which he is likely to 

 dismiss the worker ; while the piece-rate invariably has reference to 

 a more or less defined standard of living to be attained by the worker. 

 To say this is only to say that, on whatever basis wages are paid, they 

 are mainly governed by the supply of, and demand for, labour. 



The common basis appears more clearly in the two most simple 

 variants of the two methods. Task-work, retaining the time basis, 

 imposes on the worker a definite task to be performed in the time, 

 and. if this is not done, a corresponding deduction is made from the 

 wages. This happens only where the workers are weak and unorganised . 

 On the other hand, wherever Trade Unionism is strong, piece-work 

 is usually worked only on condition that a standard time rate of pay- 

 ment is guaranteed irrespective of output. 



