The unity of command can lead to excessively chains of authority which hinder communication. Hierarchic organizations regularly insisted that departments communicated with each other only through their heads. This meant that the volume of work handled by a department mushroomed as items went up and down the chain in a game of 'pass the parcel'. Fayol rightly condemned this as inefficient and advocated a 'gang plank' arrangement whereby juniors involved in regular interactions with other departments dealt directly with each other, cutting out the hierarchy. Unwittingly, Fayol provided a key to modern organizations which he could not have conceived. As will be seen later, electronic gang planks have become so efficient that networked organizations are possible which no longer have any requirement whatsoever for layers of management.