Principles of Management Fayol

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The general management principles as summarized by Fayol. Explanation of 14 Principles of Management of Henri Fayol. (1916)

Contributed by: Vincent Marino

What are the 14 Principles of Management? Description

The 14 Management Principles from Henri Fayol (1841-1925) are:

1. Division of Work. Specialization allows the individual to build up experience, and to continuously improve his skills. Thereby he can be more productive.
2. Authority. The right to issue commands, along with which must go the balanced responsibility for its function.
3. Discipline. Employees must obey, but this is two-sided: employees will only obey orders if management play their part by providing good leadership.
4. Unity of Command. Each worker should have only one boss with no other conflicting lines of command.
5. Unity of Direction. People engaged in the same kind of activities must have the same objectives in a single plan. This is essential to ensure unity and coordination in the enterprise. Unity of command does not exist without unity of direction but does not necessarily flows from it.
6. Subordination of individual interest (to the general interest). Management must see that the goals of the firms are always paramount.
7. Remuneration. Payment is an important motivator although by analyzing a number of possibilities, Fayol points out that there is no such thing as a perfect system.
8. Centralization (or Decentralization). This is a matter of degree depending on the condition of the business and the quality of its personnel.
9. Scalar chain (Line of Authority). A hierarchy is necessary for unity of direction. But lateral communication is also fundamental, as long as superiors know that such communication is taking place. Scalar chain refers to the number of levels in the hierarchy from the ultimate authority to the lowest level in the organization. It should not be over-stretched and consist of too-many levels.
10. Order. Both material order and social order are necessary. The former minimizes lost time and useless handling of materials. The latter is achieved through organization and selection.
11. Equity. In running a business a ‘combination of kindliness and justice’ is needed. Treating employees well is important to achieve equity.
12. Stability of Tenure of Personnel. Employees work better if job security and career progress are assured to them. An insecure tenure and a high rate of employee turnover will affect the organization adversely.
13. Initiative. Allowing all personnel to show their initiative in some way is a source of strength for the organization. Even though it may well involve a sacrifice of ‘personal vanity’ on the part of many managers.
14. Team Spirit (Esprit de Corps). Management must foster the morale of its employees. He further suggests that: “real talent is needed to coordinate effort, encourage keenness, use each person’s abilities, and reward each one’s merit without arousing possible jealousies and disturbing harmonious relations.”

What is Management? Five elements

Fayol's definition of management roles and actions distinguishes between Five Elements:

1. Prevoyance. (Forecast & Plan). Examining the future and drawing up a plan of action. The elements of strategy.
2. To organize. Build up the structure, both material and human, of the undertaking.
3. To command. Maintain the activity among the personnel.
4. To coordinate. Binding together, unifying and harmonizing all activity and effort.
5. To control. Seeing that everything occurs in conformity with established rule and expressed command.

Origin of the 14 Principles of Management. History

Henri Fayol (1841-1925) was a French management theorist whose theories in management and organization of labor were widely influential in the beginning of 20th century. He was a mining engineer who worked for a French mining company Commentry-Fourchamboult-Decazeville, first as an engineer. Then he moved into general management and became Managing Director from 1888 to 1918. During his tenure as Managing Director he wrote various articles on 'administration' and in 1916 the Bulletin de la Société de l’ Industrie Minérale, printed his "Administration, Industrielle et Générale – Prévoyance, Organisation, Commandement, Coordination, Contrôle". In 1949 the first English translation appeared:  ‘General and Industrial Management’ by Constance Storrs.

Usage of the 14 Management Principles. Applications

• Change and Organization.
• Decision-making.
• Skills. Can be used to improve the basic effectiveness of a manager.
• Understand that management can be seen as a variety of activities, which can be listed and grouped.

Book: Henri Fayol - General and Industrial Management -

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Expert Tips - Principles of Management - Fayol Premium   Fayol's 16 Management Duties of the Organisation 1. To aim at giving serious thoughts to activity plans and having them firmly executed. 2. To aim at having employed people and used equipment be... Usage (application): Management Science       Fayol's 5 Elements of Administration Fayol wrote any organisation can be subdivided into 6 types of Operations. The sixth one has 5 elements: 6. Administrative Operations: I. De... Usage (application): Management Science       Fayol's 6 Types of Operations Fayol wrote that any organisation can be subdivided into 6 types of Operations. Each operation is fulfilled by its corresponding essential function: Usage (application): Management Science       Fayol's 7 Qualities of Managers The 7 qualities Fayol expected from managers were: 1. Health and vigour 2. Cleverness 3. Moral qualities 4. General knowledge (cul... Usage (application): Management Science       Six Groups of Activities of Henri Fayol Frederick Taylor basically viewed managers as mere overseers with limited responsibility. Fayol viewed the role of managers as critical to organizatio... Usage (application): Management Science       Why and How the Functions of Managers Have Changed Traditionally, the task of managers would be described or summarized as "getting the work done by others". Nowadays, the tasks and functions of manage... Usage (application): Modern Management, Management Functions, Management Roles       Powell's Support to Fayol's Ideas Fayol named one of the duties of organization "To set up a unique 'direction' (~top management), skilled and vigorous". General Colin Powe... Usage (application): Management Science

Resources - Principles of Management - Fayol Premium Visions on the Roles of Managers, Management Roles, Managerial Roles This superb presentation outlines the roles and tasks that managers perform. The presentation includes views of important contributors in the field of... Usage (application): Management, Leadership, Reflection on What Management Fundamentally is, Workshops, Trainings   Mintzberg: 7 Myths on Management In this interesting interview Prof. Henry Mintzberg refutes 7 myths on leadership and management: ORCHESTRA CONDUCTOR: One myth about man... Usage (application): Management Development, Leadership Development, Managers versus Leaders, MBA   Scientific Management: Definitions, Theorists and Main Contributions Presentation about Scientific Management that includes a description of the main theorists their contributions to the theory. The presentation consist... Usage (application): Scientific Management, Taylor, Gannt, Gilbreth, Gulick, Weber, Fayol   Original Source Document of the 14 Principles of Fayol Scan of the section in Fayol's Original Work "Administration Industrielle et Générale" that contains the "Principes et éléments d'administration". ... Usage (application): Management History 'pur Sang'   Fayol Principles of Management Short presentation by Saruchi Pandey.... Usage (application): Principles of Management   Delegation versus Empowerment Employees want to feel that their work is important and that they contribute to the success of the company. As a manager/leader (delegator) among your... Usage (application): Delegation, Employee Empowerment, Situational Leadership, Management   The Role of Supervisor | Skills of Supervisors This presentation elaborates on the skills that supervisors need in order to be successful in their business/organization. The presentation includes t... Usage (application): Skills of a Supervisor, Supervisor Role, Supervisor Behavior   Theory of Bureaucracy (Weber) and the 14 Principles of Management (Fayol) This presentation presents the 5 Principles of Weber’s Theory of Bureaucracy and Henri Fayol's 14 Principles of Management along with some short obser... Usage (application): Administration, Management, Early Administrative Management Theories, 5 Principles, Bureaucracy   Leading versus Managing Dr. John Kotter gives his opinion on what are the key differences between leading and managing. - Management is a set of processes like planning,... Usage (application): Understanding the differences between Leading and managing   Principles of Management Presentation by WJ Patterson includes some generic thoughts, observations on management and contains some slides on management in ancient times.... Usage (application): Principles and History of Management   Young Steve Jobs on the Role of Managers This video is a nice start for any management course. Jobs shares some ideas on managers (in a high-tech environment) and says: "The greatests people ... Usage (application): Management, Leadership, Talent Management, Talent Acquisition, Talent Development   Brief Overview of the Informal Organization Presentation that elaborates on the concept of informal organization. The presentation includes the following sections: 1. Informal Organizations... Usage (application): Informal Organization   Interpretation of the 14 Principles of Management: Comparison of Then and Now Paper by C.A. Rodrigues. This paper compares interpretation Fayol's fourteen Principles of Management today and in the past. Due many cultural, politi... Usage (application): Principles of Management     News Principles Fayol         News Management Fayol         Videos Principles Fayol         Videos Management Fayol         Presentations Principles Fayol         Presentations Management Fayol         More Principles Fayol         More Management Fayol

Compare with the 14 Principles of Management: POSDCORB  |  Organization Chart  |  Fourteen Points of Management (Deming)  |  Ten Schools of Thought  |  Training Within Industry  |  Eight Attributes of Management Excellence  |  Centralization and Decentralization

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