An Introduction
Henri Fayol explains management as a process of forecast followed by planning, organization, command, coordination and control of activities of others. In simpler terms, management refers to proper organization and delegation of work along with ensuring its completion. Vitally, this simple concept is the basis for Fayol’s principle of management.
Notably, be it a corporate set up or a simple business enterprise, efficient management is vital to ensure smooth functioning, which in turn generates significant revenue. Keeping this in mind, there have been quite a few theorists who have attempted to theorize the management’s role and function. In this regard, principles of management offered by Henri Fayol are a remarkable success.
Understanding Henry Fayol's Principles of Management
Management as a subject of study has developed in recent years. Various scholars have contributed significantly to developing these subjects as a course of study that is taught in high schools and colleges as a professional career.
Henry Foyal is one of such famous academicians who has given his famous 14 principles of management. He had proposed these theories in the early 20th century that hold very true and are important in the management in business settings of the world today. In industries or manufacturing units many individuals are employed for the production of the final product. It has been observed in such settings that the employees or laborers are not efficient in every department of the work division.
This observation of Henry Foyal led to his first conclusion that it is very important to segregate the employees according to their domain of expertise. This method of division of labor increases the efficiency of workers and benefits the enterprise or business unit as a whole. This method also assures for the accuracy of the work and its speedy completion. Authority and responsibility are also the major factors for the success of a business unit or any other organization and go hand in hand. Authority without responsibility or responsibility without authority can be a disastrous affair to be dealt with.
Likewise, Henry Floyed has suggested and described very crucial and fundamental factors of managing the workforce or human resources of anybody or organization. As a student of commerce, understanding these basic principles of management will not only help you in exams but also be very useful ordereir future professional life.
FAQs on Henri Fayol's Principles of Management: An Overview
1. What is Henri Fayol’s Principle of Management?
Henri Fayol’s principle of management is a general theory which offers a detailed understanding of different aspects of management. Applicable to any organisation or department, these principles implement managerial efficiency, thereby contributing to an organisation’s overall production and revenue generation. Consequently, Henri Fayol was also known as the father of modern management theory, owing to his principles.
2. What are Henri Fayol’s Functions of Management?
Henry Fayol’s functions of management emphasis on 6 distinct facets that come together to implement managerial efficiency. These are forecasting, planning, organising, commanding, coordinating and controlling. Essentially followed in this given chronology, managers must fulfil these functions to increase their efficiency and thereby contribute to an enterprise’s revenue.
3. Is There Any Other Theory of Management?
While there are quite a few theories of management, FW Taylor’s theory is also considered to be crucial along with Henri Fayol’s principles of management. Taylor’s theory of management was a scientific approach which includes experimentation, observation, analysis, etc.
4. How did Henri Fayol Define Activities Within an Industry in His Principles of Management?
Henri Fayol defined 6 activities of industry, of which managerial is the final aspect. Other activities are technical, commercial, financial, security, and accounting. These individual departments come together to contribute to revenue generation, though primarily it is management that maintains the efficiency of all these other activities.
5. What are all the 14 principles of Fayol ?
The management principles of Fayol includes division of work for efficiency of workers, authority and responsibility for proper control, discipline as a behavior, unity of command in a top to down approach , unity of direction that should be predetermined, subordination of individual interest in favor of organizational success , remuneration to keep everyone motivated , centralisation that aids easy inspection, scalar chain to run the system smoothly, order to prevent wastage of resources, equity in performance and reward, overall stability , initiative by the responsible authority, and finally esprit de corps.
6. What is Human resource ?
For every goods and service that we enjoy for improving our standard of living is produced from the raw materials available from nature. These raw materials are processed and value is added to transform them into a usable product for mankind. If we think about it more closely, we can easily understand that the effort provided by any worker is also as important as the raw material. So it will not be wrong to say the labor and management for getting the work successfully completed is itself a resource as well and can be termed as human resource.
7. Which are the other theories of management ?
Henry Fayol's principles of management are a foundation in a sense of general terms. Other than him there are various other scholars and thinkers who have also made in depth studies of the working and management of a working organization. They have also propounded many theories under their names that we learn gradually in the course. F W Taylor has also suggested 4 major principles of management. Unlike Henry Fayol’s principle, it deals more with the scientific management of lower level working groups in a bottom to top approach.
8. What is the difference between the principles and functions proposed by Henry Fayol ?
Apart from suggesting the principles of management Henry Fayol also mentions some functions that are prerequisites for the proper understanding and implementation of the management principles. According to him, there are 6 functions that must be adopted by the person in charge of the board of management of any organization. First function is forecasting by analyzing available data in hand. Itbis followed by planning for the course of action to be adopted. Then comes organizing the resources to be used. Commanding all the resources towards their appropriate positions. Coordinating and communicating with different sections or departments of the organization. Finally, the function is controlling the overall duties and responsibilities of the various management points to check for any irregularity or wastage.
9. How can I remember all the principles of management ?
If you are a student of Class 11 or class 12 of the commerce stream then remembering all the principles of management would be an advantage for you to score good marks in your term exams or final exam. To remember any topic the key is to first properly understand all the concepts and underlying principles of that theory. By reading the books thoroughly and patiently you will have a good grasp of the subject matter. There are also various articles available on the Vedantu website dedicated to several topics of commerce and management which you can follow. You can also get these articles in hard copies by downloading them in PDF form and it is absolutely free of cost.
