tradition, into a set of calculated and written techniques. Taylor and his colleagues placed emphasis on the content of a fair day's work, and sought to maximize productivity irrespective of the physiological cost to the worker. For example, Taylor thought unproductive time usage (soldiering) to be the deliberate attempt of workers to promote their best interests and to keep employers ignorant of how fast work could be carried out. This instrumental view of human behavior by Taylor prepared the path for human relations to supersede scientific management in terms of literary success and managerial application. Direct time study procedure Following is the procedure developed by Mikell Groover for a direct time study: Define and document the standard method. Divide the task into work elements. These first two steps are conducted prior to the actual timing. They familiarize the analyst with the task and allow the analyst to attempt to improve the work procedure before defining the standard time. Time the work elements to obtain the observed time for the task. Evaluate the worker's pace relative to standard performance (performance rating), to determine the normal time. Note that steps 3 and 4 are accomplished simultaneously. During these steps, several different work cycles are timed, and each cycle performance is rated independently. Finally, the values collected at these steps are averaged to get the normalized time. Apply an allowance to the normal time to compute the standard time. The allowance factors that are needed in the work are then added to compute the standard time for the task. Conducting time studies According to good practice guidelines for production studies a comprehensive time study consists of: Study goal setting; Experimental design; Time data collection; Data analysis; Reporting. Easy analysis of working areas The collection of time data can be done in several ways, depending on study goal and environmental conditions. Time and motion data can be captured with a common stopwatch, a handheld computer or a video recorder. There are a number of dedicated software packages used to turn a palmtop or a handheld PC into a time study device. As an alternative, time and motion data can be collected automatically from the memory of computer-control machines (i.e. automated time studies). Criticisms In response to Taylor's time studies and view of human nature, many strong criticisms and reactions were recorded. Unions, for example, regarded time study as a disguised tool of management designed