14 PRINCIPALS OF MANAGEMENT BY HENRY FAYOL

 14 PRINCIPALS OF MANAGEMENT BY HENRY FAYOL

The principles of management imply the starting principles or rules on which effective management practices are founded. They are deduced from experiences, observations, and analyses of successful management practices that provide a framework for managers to understand, predict, and influence organizational behavior. Such principles facilitate managers in attaining organizational goals efficiently and effectively by providing insights into how to manage people, processes, and resources.

Henri Fayol was a French mining engineer and management theorist who developed 14 principles of management in the early 20th century. These principles have been such that they served as a guide to managers in managing organizations efficiently and effectively. The detailed explanation of each principle is given below:

1. Division of Labor:

Specialization increases the output of the workforce due to the reason that every worker performs specific tasks. Division of work in small parts and assigning them to several workers raises productivity due to the fact that workers become skilled and efficient in performing assigned tasks.

Authority is the right to give orders and the power to exact obedience. Responsibility implies being accountable for the performed action. As per Fayol, there needs to be a proper balance between authority and responsibility; the amount of authority should be as much as the responsibility.

2. Discipline:

Discipline implies obedience, application, energy, behavior, and respect in the workplace of an organization. He believed that discipline is a must to ensure smooth working in any organization. Managers have to enforce discipline among the subordinates.

3.  Unity of Command:

Every employee should receive orders from only one superior. This avoids confusion and conflict. A single point in command prevails clarity without any chance of conflicting interests.

4. Unity of Direction:

Teams with the same objective should be working under the direction of one manager, using one plan. This principle ensures that all activities are directed towards the same goal.

5. Subordination of Individual Interest to General Interest:

The interests of the organization as a whole should take precedence over the interests of individual employees. This principle ensures that individual goals do not interfere with the organization's objectives.

6. Remuneration:

The remuneration for the work done must be just to both the worker and the employer. Fayol believed in fair remuneration with the objective of motivating employees towards satisfaction out of which emanates productivity.

7. Centralization and decentralization:

Centralization refers to how much authority is concentrated at the top of the organizational hierarchy. The process of distributing decision-making authority throughout the organization is decentralization. The amount of centralization versus decentralization should be contingent upon the circumstances of the entity.

8. Scalar Chain:

This is the line of authority from the top management to the lowest ranks. Fayol paid a lot of importance to a clear chain of command but still reserved the fact that there is a need for flexibility in communication; he advocated that a 'gang plank' or bridge should be provided to facilitate communication between different levels without strictly following through the hierarchy.

9. Order:

People and materials should be in the right place at the right time. Fayol's principle of order involves both material order, that is, having appropriate things in the right place and social order, that is, having the right people in the right place.

10. Equity:

The manager should be kind along with being fair to his subordinates. Equity means the manager and his subordinates should be treated with justice and impartiality. This leads to the creation of an atmosphere of loyalty and devotion of the employees towards their organization.

11. Stability of Tenure of Personnel:

High employee turnover is inefficient. Fayol believed that a stable workforce would contribute to the organization's long-term success. Employee retention reduces recruitment and training costs and improves organizational knowledge and cohesion.

12. Initiative:

Employees should be given the freedom to express new ideas and take initiatives. Initiative could bring innovation and improvement in organizational processes if correctly encouraged.

13. Esprit de Corps:

Team spirit will foster an atmosphere of harmony and unity in an organization. He considered communication, unity, and morale to be key drivers for teamwork and employee cooperation, which was what Fayol focused on most.

These rules remain relevant even in the contemporary period and established management from the ground level. They basically ascribe to the view that structure, discipline, fairness, and teamwork are critically essential in order to run an organization successfully.

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