Motion Study

Examples of Motion Study in the following topics:

• Scientific Management: Taylor and the Gilbreths

  • A significant part of Taylorism was time studies.
  • While Taylor was conducting his time studies, Frank and Lillian Gilbreth were completing their own work in motion studies to further scientific management.
  • The Gilbreths made use of scientific insights to develop a study method based on the analysis of work motions, consisting in part of filming the details of a worker's activities while recording the time it took to complete those activities.
  • Time and motion studies are used together to achieve rational and reasonable results and find the best practice for implementing new work methods.
  • Differentiate between Taylorism and the Gilbreths' perspective on the one hand and motion studies on scientific management on the other

• Leadership Model: University of Michigan

  • The Michigan behavioral studies are an important link in the ongoing development of behavioral theory in a leadership framework.
  • Some of these studies and observations have been informal, while others have included empirical research and data.
  • Studies dating back to the 1950s identified two broad leadership styles: an employee orientation and a production orientation.
  • The Michigan leadership studies, along with the Ohio State University studies that took place in the 1940s, are two of the best-known behavioral leadership studies and continue to be cited to this day.
  • Discuss the Michigan Leadership Studies generated in the 1950s and 1960s in the broader context of behavioral approaches to leadership

• Leadership and Gender

  • Studies on the role of gender in leadership success show mixed results.
  • The studies also showed men as more goal- and task-oriented and less relationship- and process-focused than women.
  • Nonetheless, studies demonstrating distinct leadership styles between men and woman do not represent the final word.
  • Other studies show similar results, challenging the notion that leaders' sex shapes their performance as a leader.
  • In Kanter's study, men and women, given the same degree of power and opportunity, behaved in similar ways.

• What is Organizational Behavior?

  • Organizational behavior is the field of study that investigates how organizational structures affect behavior within organizations.
  • Organizational behavior studies the impact individuals, groups, and structures have on human behavior within organizations.
  • Organizational studies encompass the study of organizations from multiple perspectives, methods, and levels of analysis.
  • Modern organizational studies attempt to understand and model these factors.
  • Organizational studies seek to control, predict, and explain.

• The Human Side: Hawthorne

  • The Hawthorne studies found that workers were more responsive to group involvement and managerial attention than to financial incentives.
  • The Hawthorne studies were part of a refocus on managerial strategy incorporating the socio-psychological aspects of human behavior in organizations.
  • It started two weeks before moving the women to an experiment room and continued throughout the study.
  • This is where the studies where conducted—a factory outside of Chicago.
  • Evaluate Mayo and Roethlisberger's Hawthorne study relative to the behavioral perspective in organizational theories

• Leadership Model: The Ohio State University

  • The Ohio State Leadership Studies found that consideration and initiating structure are two essential behaviors for leaders.
  • Prior to 1945, most studies of leadership sought to identify the individual traits of effective leaders.
  • Trait theories of leadership were the first to approach leadership study systematically.
  • Trait studies, however, yielded inconsistent results and opened the door to broader perspectives on understanding the behavior of leaders.
  • Discuss the results of the Ohio State University Leadership Model research study of 1945

• The Perceptual Process

  • Motion - A moving perception is more likely to be selected.

• Operations-Management Tools

  • Examples of this waste would be excess motion, inventory, and overproduction.

• The Behavioral-Science Approach

  • For example, the Hawthorne studies used the scientific method and are considered to be a part of the behavioral-science approach.
  • The behavioral-science approach and the myriad of fields it encompasses is the most common study of management science today.
  • Organizational development is considered both a field of applied behavioral science that focuses on understanding and managing organizational change as well as a field of scientific study and inquiry.
  • It uses components of behavioral sciences and studies in the fields of sociology, psychology, and theories of motivation, learning, and personality to implement effective organizational change and aid in the development of employees.
  • The study of human behavior in the context of organizational change is an integral part of empowering organizations to grow, adapt, and learn to capture competitive advantage.

• Why Study Organizational Theory?

  • Organizational theory studies organizations to identify how they solve problems and how they maximize efficiency and productivity.
  • Organizational theory studies organizations to identify the patterns and structures they use to solve problems, maximize efficiency and productivity, and meet the expectations of stakeholders.