ABSTRACT
THE chief function of the supervisory organization of the bank wiring department was to maintain order and control. To maintain adequate control two things were essential: (1) orders had to be transmitted from top to bottom essentially as they were originally given; and (2) information about what transpired at each level, particularly at the work level, had to be transmitted upward without distortion. Only with the help of accurate information could the foreman act intelligently. The success of the first function was fairly well assured because orders had the weight of authority behind them, and whether or not they were carried out could ordinarily be observed to some extent. Whether the second function worked equally well was a matter of doubt; there was nothing to force information upward. In this chapter, the manner in which these two functions were performed by the supervisory organization in the Bank Wiring Observation Room will be examined.
