Which principle of management is in contradiction with scientific technique of functional foremanship?

Unity of command

The principle of management that contradicts the scientific technique of functional foremanship is: Option 1: Unity of command

Here's why:

• Unity of Command: This principle states that an employee should receive orders and be accountable to only one superior.
• Functional Foremanship: This technique assigns multiple specialists (from different departments) to supervise a single worker on specific tasks.

These two concepts directly clash. With functional foremanship, a worker receives instructions from multiple supervisors, violating the unity of command principle.

According to this functional foremanship technique, the task of supervision is divided into several specialized functions and each function is entrusted to a specialized foreman. Taylor identified a list of qualities of a good foreman/supervisor and found that no single person could fit them all. This prompted him to suggest functional foremanship through eight persons. Functional foremanship is an extension of the principle of division of work and specialisation to the shop floor. Each worker will have to take orders from these eight foremen in the related process or function of production. Thus, functional foremanship violates the principle of Unity of Command.