ABSTRACT
Prior to the adoption of the Constitution, the conduct of foreign relations was the responsibility of the Continental Congress throughout the period of its existence, 1774-1789. In 1947, the Commission on Organization of the Executive Branch of the Government was chaired by former President Herbert Hoover and was otherwise known as the Hoover Commission. In an organization such as the Foreign Service whose functioning is dependent upon the regular rotation of its personnel throughout its organizational structure, there is a continuing need for a supply of competent personnel to staff positions on a worldwide basis. By authority of the Constitution, the President exercises primary authority and responsibility for the formulation and execution of foreign policy. The rational model has the advantage of focusing attention on "mechanistic" patterns, i.e., the legally prescribed, formal structures which are subject to rational manipulation; but it tends to neglect the manner in which those patterns affect behavior within the organization.
