Question

Explain the technique of functional foremanship

Answer 1

 



De Paul in Business Studies 

Explain the technique of 'Functional Foremanship' and the concept of 'Mental Revolution' as enunciated by Taylor.

Functional Foremanship

A foreman refers to a person who is in charge of the operational level workers. Taylor suggested that to increase the efficiency, performance of the foreman should be improved. That is, Taylor focussed on the importance of the foreman in an organisation. Taylor observed and identified few qualities, such as intelligence, tact, judgement, etc., that a foreman should have. He found that no single person can have all the required qualities. Thus, he suggested that instead of a single person, there should be eight persons through which the functions of a foreman should be accomplished. This technique was given the name Functional Foremanship. According to this, the planning and the production functions should be separated. That is, under the manager, there would be one planning incharge and one production incharge. Each incharge would have four personnel under him/her.