Functional Organisation Structure

F.W.Taylor, founder of scientific management, conceived the functional Organisation structure. According to him, it is unscientific to overload a foramen with the entire responsibility of running a department. He introduced a system of functional foremanship in his Organisation. In his functional foremanship, there will be eight specialists' foremen who will be required to guide, direct and control the work. Workers at the plant level will have to follow the instructions of all these eight specialists called bosses.

In the functional Organisation suggested by F.W.Taylor, the job of management is divided according to specialization. As a result, functional departments are created. For example, the personnel department will look after the recruitment, selection, training, wage payment, etc. of all persons of the Organisation. Similar will be the position of other departments like production, sales, etc. The scope of work of the department is limited but the area of authority is unlimited.

In the functional Organisation structure, there will be separation of planning of work and execution of the plan prepared. The basis of division is the function and naturally the Organisation structure created will be called "Functional Organisation".

In the functional foremanship, there will be eight specialists/functional heads called bosses. Out of eight bosses, four bosses will be at the planning level and the remaining four will be at the slop floor level.

Foremen At Planning Level (Planning Dept.)

1. Time and Cost Clerk: He is concerned with preparing standard time for the completion of certain piece of work and compiling the cost of that work.
2. Instruction Card Clerk: He lays down the exact method of doing the work. He specifies the tools to be used for conducting the production and also gives other instructions on the instruction cards prepared by him.
3. Route Clerk: The route clerk lays down the exact route through which each and every piece of work should move through various stages till completion. He decides the production schedule and the sequence of steps by which the production process is to move.
4. Shop Disciplinarian: He is concerned with the discipline, insubordination, violation of rules of discipline and absenteeism. All cases relating to these matters will be managed by the shop disciplinarian.

 Foremen At Shop Floor Level (Shop Floor)

1. Gang Boss:  He assembles and sets up various machines; and tools for a particular piece of work. He is in-charge of assembling line of production.
2. Speed Boss: He is concerned with the speeding of machines used for production. He keeps proper speed of the machines and see that workers complete the production work as per the schedule time.
3. Repair Boss: The repair boss looks after the proper maintenance of machines, tools and equipments required during the production process.
4. Inspector: The inspector controls quality of the products by keeping adequate check/control when the production work is in progress.
   
   
   
   

     Merits of Functional Organisation Structure

1. Facilitates specialization: Functional Organisation structure facilitates division of work and specialization. Each boss has specialized knowledge of his functional area. He is in a better position to guide and help the workers.
2. Benefits of large-scale operations: Functional Organisation offers the benefit of economy of large-scale operation. In this Organisation, one administrative unit manufactures all products. The available machinery, equipment and facilities are used fully for large-scale production.
3. Facilitates effective coordination: Functional Organisation facilitates effective coordination within the function. This is possible as one boss is in-charge of a particular function and he looks after all activities, which come within that function.
4. Operational flexibility: Functional Organisation possesses operational flexibility. Necessary changes can be introduced easily to suit the needs of the situation without any adverse effect on the efficiency.
5. Ensures effective supervision: Functional Organisation facilitates effective supervision by the functional heads and foremen. Due to specialization, they concentrate on the specific functional area and also keep effective supervision on their subordinates.   

Demerits of Functional Organisation Structure

1. Absence of unity of command: Unity of command is absent in the functional Organisation as each worker gets orders and instructions from several bosses. 
2. Fixing responsibility is difficult: In functional Organisation, responsibility is difficult to fix on a specific person. This is because the responsibility itself is divided among many.
3. Unsuitable to non-manufacturing activities: Functional Organisation can be introduced in the case of manufacturing activities. However, its application to non-manufacturing activities such as marketing, etc. has not been successful.
4. Costly: Functional Organisation is costly, as more specialists are required to be appointed.
5. Creates confusion among workers: Functional Organisation is based on specialization as function is taken as a base for dividing the work. The authority is overlapping the responsibility is divided. This confuses workers.
6. Conflicts among foremen, delays in decision-making and limited discipline within the departments are some more demerits of functional Organisation.