Question

What are the principles of management? Include the name, explanation, and reasoning for each of the critical dimensions in your response. Provide examples to convey understanding.

Answer 1

Management: Management is simply defined as the art of getting work done through others in the most effective and efficient manner in such a way that the collective objective is to reach the predetermined set of goals set by the organization.

Principles of Management:
Henry Fayol suggested 14 Principles of Management that help in the proper planning, delegation and controlling the management of the organization as a whole. The 14 principles are as follows:

1. DIVISION OF WORK
The work should be distributed amongst the employees who are capable of doing it in such a way that no employee feels the burden of the work. Work should not be overloaded.
Eg: In a factory of workers, distributing the workload on the workers of the department instead of loading all the work to be done on a select few.

2. AUTHORITY
Responsibility and Authority are two sides of the same coin. The one who takes authority must also be responsible for the situation. Authority must be carried down a chain.
Eg: A marketing head took the call on marketing a product. If the product fails, he is to take responsibility and not blame it on others.

3. DISCIPLINE
Discipline is an integral part of an organization’s mission and vision. Discipline percolates down the line to the employee chain too.
Eg: The employees are disciplined with regards to proper usage of time

4. UNITY OF COMMAND
The power to give orders must vest in a certain selected few. Command should not be diluted. It must flow down the chain
Eg: An employee reporting to one leader, and not 2 -3 leaders. The employees know who their superiors are and who their subordinates are

5. UNITY OF DIRECTION
The whole organization must function in a way such that there is a unity in the direction they follow. They must all have the same collective objective and strive to achieve it.
Eg: The CEO of the company performs in a manner that brings growth to the company. His subordinates must also work in the same direction, without deviating from the path.

6. SUBORDINATE INTERESTS
For the better working of the organization, one has to understand the interests of the employees and make them understand that the interest of the company lies above the interest of all others.
Eg: The manager keeping in touch with the employees to ensure that their individual interests are in total compliance with the interests of the organization.

7. REMUNERATION/ COMPENSATION
The employees have to be compensated in such a way that they are interested to stay on and work in the same organization without wanting to join the competitor’s organization. This helps in the retention of talent
Eg: Compensation can be of two types – Monetary, and Non-Monetary. Monetary means the salary and non-monetary includes bonuses, incentives, fringe benefits, etc

8. CENTRALIZATION
Centralization means the power of the company vests in a selected few members. When an organization is decentralized, the chain of command, and the structure gets disturbed
Eg: The employees know who they have to report to and who they take orders from in a centralized format

9. SCALAR CHAIN
Scalar Chain means having a clear line of authority as to how the communication is supposed to flow from person to person according to their position in the organization
Eg: An employee would report to his team manager, who reports to the regional manager, who will report to the national manager, and so on.

10. ORDER
For an organization to work in an orderly manner, employees need the right equipment, and the right procedure at all times. The organization must ensure that the workflow in the organization flows in a smooth, orderly manner.
Eg: The managers taking timely assessment whether everything in the organization is going according to the pre-set order

11. EQUITY
Everyone in the organization must be treated equally, and given equal preference in the organization. No one person must be treated specially.
Eg: An organization having the right culture complying with ethical norms and equality

12. STABILITY OF TENURE
An organization has a better chance to grow if there is stability in the organization. Or else, if there is no stability, a lot of time is consumed in training and developing the new candidates.
Eg: To maintain the stability of the employees in an organization, the manager makes a constant effort to keep the employees motivated at all times and that he looks into their grievances, if any, to ensure that the employee is retained.

13. INITIATIVE
The initiative taken by the organization to continuously innovate and introduce new products.
Eg: Google and Apple are two companies who keep coming up with new products and enhancements of old products as per the liking of their customer base

14. ESPRIT DE CORPS
Espirit de corps is the feeling of integration and mutual loyalty shared by the members of a group. It is the ultimate union of all the members of an organization.
Eg: The employees are motivated, enthusiastic and productive when spirit de corps is followed. This gives the organization a competitive advantage.