e of a certain
standard, or minimum, amount and quality of work great in larger
enterprises. Various methods of measuring the performance of the
worker directly by some other than the time-standards have been
developed. All of these, in a general way, involve the piece work
principle.

Task work is nominally time work, with a penalty if a certain amount
of product is not turned out within a given period. The agreement may
be that if the specified task is not done within the regular time,
it must be completed in overtime without additional pay. This is also
called "doing a stint." This method has been extensively used in
the ready-made clothing business in America, and is to some extent
involved in many cases of wage payment in manufacturing.

Sec. 7. #Piece work.# Piece work of the simpler, or ordinary kind, is
that where the payment varies just according to the amount of the
product, by some physical measurement, as yards of cloth woven, number
of pieces turned on a lathe, or amount of type set by a printer.
Usually careful inspection by some agent of the employer serves to
keep the quality up to a certain standard. The rejected pieces are not
paid for, and sometimes also the workmen are required to pay for the
materials wasted by their poor work. Piece payment is convenient for
home work, such as that of rural peasants weaving cloth for commission
merchants or as that of tenement workers in cities. It is also
employed very widely in the larger factories in textile and mechanical
industries. Selling on commission is a form of piece work.

In piece work the motive to activity is ever present to the worker,
and almost always the worker turns out a larger product when paid by
the piece than when paid by time. The employer benefits by the more
efficient use of his machinery and equipment even when the price per
piece is not reduced with the larger output per worker. The worker's
earnings may increase rapidly under this plan, but as the manual
dexterity acquired is usually of a very special kind which can be used
only on one particular machine, the worker has little opportunity to
resist a cut in his wages. For this reason and because of the undue
strain upon the worker that often occurs, piece work is in many trades
not favored by the workers.[3]

Sec. 8. #Premium plans.# Various modifications of piece work have been
developed of late, all involving the features of a minimum task and
of a premium for performance beyon