Taylor's
prescriptions
for organizational structure were a radical departure from previous practices. Previously, the military model of organization had prevailed stressing unity of command at each level of the organizational and culminating in a single executive body at the apex of an organization pyramid. Under this arrangement, the foreman was re organizational sponsible for a wide range of functions, including hiring, trainin Foremen were often hired on ising, and firing his subordinates, contract basis and simply charged with getting the work done, with direction from management. 40 Taylor believed this arrangement to be deficient in two regards finti demanded an undue amount of technical expertise from to manage ment second, it expected too much from the foreman and, as a result, d fectively precluded direct control by management over the worken Consequently, he proposes both a decentralization of authority from gear eral management and a centralization of authority from the foreman The new locus of authority and responsibility is to be the planning de partment In the process, Taylor divides the tasks previously performed by the foreman, allocating them to a number of "functional foremen The decentralizing aspect of Taylor's functional organization isthea ublishment of a cadre of technical experts in positions of power organization. This power is not to be fixed at the top level of the organ zation but in a planning are to be not mere and authority the basis of from The experts in the P from above, organizational executives are to limit themselves to han dling problems that cannot be handled in the planning depar executives are have a general knowledge of all the steps necenrad he accomplishment of organizational tasks, and they are to sta the fitness of important men working under control for top executives is to be based