In the factory system, the foreman represents the managerial figure with whom the workers are in face-to-face contact on a daily basis. The foreman is the lowest ranking manager and the highest ranking worker. He is the pivot around whom revolves the entire production planning, implementation and control. Thus, Taylor concentrated on improving the performance of this role in the factory set-up. In fact, he 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. Taylor advocated separation of planning and execution functions. This concept was extended to the lowest level of the shop floor. It was known as functional foremanship. Under the factory manager there was a planning incharge and a production incharge. Under planning incharge four personnel namely instruction card clerk, route clerk, time and cost clerk and a disciplinarian worked. Under Production incharge, personnel who would work were speed boss, gang boss, repair boss, and inspector. 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. Foremen should have intelligence, education, tact, grit, judgment, special knowledge, manual dexterity, and energy, honesty and good health. Since all these qualities could not be found in a single person so Taylor proposed eight specialists. Each specialist is to be assigned work according to her/his qualities.

What is the primary reason Taylor proposed functional foremanship?

To improve the performance of the foreman role

In the factory system, the foreman represents the managerial figure with whom the workers are in face-to-face contact on a daily basis. The foreman is the lowest ranking manager and the highest ranking worker. He is the pivot around whom revolves the entire production planning, implementation and control. Thus, Taylor concentrated on improving the performance of this role in the factory set-up. That's why he introduced the technique of functional foremanship.