Formulating a Theory of Work Measurement

Most everyone would agree that optimal management decisions can only be made on the basis of sharp information. However, this question has not received much specific attention in the literature, largely because of a preoccupation with formal theories and models. This is quite understandable for, until comparatively recently, there was little theory in the field of management science. This is no longer the case, and the theories have far outrun data-gathering procedures. Indeed, the theories themselves suggest that better data-gathering procedures are needed than have heretofore been available. Improved theories and models simply demand improved sources and types of data. This need is particularly pressing in the field of work measurement. Stable and precise estimates of production rates would be highly useful, for example, in working out an optimal production policy, particularly with respect to planning and scheduling. In addition to this, stable and precise estimates of production rates are highly useful for implementing production policy at local levels. The success of a production policy depends on the quality of local implementation. It is also local implementation that gives flexibility and, hence, realism to the results obtained from broad formal models. Formal results would otherwise degenerate to elegant cookbook recipes which might easily turn out to be worse than intuitive solutions arrived at from "off-the-shelf" models.