Father of principle of Management|Henry Fayol| 14 Principle of Management advocated by Henry Fayol.

Henry Fayol is popularly known as the father of modern management theory, because he laid down the theory of general management which is applicable to all kinds of administration and in all fields,

Henry Fayol was born in 1841 in France. His classic book, 'Administration Industrielle et Generale' was originally translated into English as General and Industrial Administration. Henry Fayol tried to develop a theory of management. He was of the view that management principles are flexible and should be adopted as per the situation. 

He suggested fourteen principles of management.

(1) Division of work: This means dividing the work into jobs and assigning these jobs to a person, who is best suited for it. This principle is applicable to both managerial and non-managerial situation and as a result of this, the efficiency of every individual and of the whole organisation improves.

(2) Parity of Authority and Responsibility: According to this principle when responsibility is given to a subordinate, sufficient authority should also be delegated. This will enable the subordinate to perform his duties. If authority is less, the subordinate will not be able to perform his duties well, if he is given excessive authority, he may misuse his authority.

(3) Discipline: Discipline means the observance of rules and regulations. According to Fayol, discipline is necessary for the smooth running of the organization. Maintenance of discipline in the organization depends upon the quality of leadership, clear and fair terms or agreements and actions taken in the right spirit, without any partiality.

(4) Unity of Command: According to this principle, a subordinate should receive order from one superior only and should be accountable to that superior only from whom he received order. In other words, every employee should have only one boss.

(5) Unity of Direction: This means that each group of activities having the same objective must have one head and one plan. In other words, all the activities of a work unit or group should be directed towards its common objectives. This will lead to better coordination and help in the effective management of the enterprise.

(6) Subordination of individual interest to general interest: While arriving at any decision, the general interest must be given preference over individual interest. The goal of the organisation must not be sacrificed for the promotion of personal interest of individuals.

(7) Remuneration to personnel: Remuneration and the methods of payment in an organisation should be fair. It should bring about high productivity for the organisation and greater satisfaction to the personnel.

(8) Centralisation: Centralisation means concentration of authority at one place or at one level in the organisation. On the other hand, decentralisation means dispersal of authority even to the lower levels in the organisation. Small firms have absolute centralisation, but in large concerns, there is less degree of centralisation. There should be proper combination and balance between centralisation and decentralisation in one organisation based on several factors such as experience of the superiors, ability of the subordinates, size of the organisation etc.

(9) Scalar Chain: Scalar Chain implies the chain of superiors ranging from the top to the lowest ranks in management. Each manager is superior to the manager below him but he is also subordinate to his own superior. It is a path of communication, command and authority. As a matter of principle, the order or path of this chain should be maintained if some instructions are to be made. The main disadvantage of scalar chain is that communication takes too much time. Henry Fayol felt that for sake of convenience and to make communication fast and effective this path can be cut short. He called it 'Gang Plank'. This enables two subordinates or employees or managers to communicate directly with each other.

(10) Order: Fayol said that "there should be place for everything  and everyone. At the same time, every thing and everyone should be in its own place." That means, there should be systematic arrangement of materials (i.e. material order) and placement of people (i.e. social order) in the organisation. This principle further signifies that each man in the organisation should take up that work for which he or she is best suited.

(11) Equity: Equity refers to fair treatment to all workers in an organization. Fair treatment involves kindness and justice on the part of superiors while dealing with their subordinates. The workers performing similar jobs should be paid the same wage rate. Equity is essential for getting devotion and loyalty of subordinates towards the organisation.

(12) Stability of tenure: Employees should be appointed after keeping in view the principles of recruitment and selection. But once they are appointed, their services should be stable and secured. They should get proper training so that in due course of time they become perfect. There should not be frequent terminations. If this happens, there will be wastage of efforts and money which has been used in appointing the employees and in their training.

(13) Initiative: Initiative means eagerness to initiate action in work related matters without being asked to do so. Henry Fayol wanted subordinates to take initiative and responsibility. In doing so, managers may be required to encourage their subordinates. Employees get satisfaction when they art allowed to take initiative.

(14) Esprit de corps: It refers to team spirit. These French words are similar to English proverb "union in strength". Managers must take steps to develop a sense of belonging and unity among the members of a work group. There should be no place for misunderstanding. When united. team will be in a position to achieve the objectives of the organisation in a planned and efficient way. Unity among the personnel can be accomplished through proper communication and coordination.

Henry Fayol made it clear that these principles can be applied to most of the organizations. He also admitted that these are not the absolute principles but has described only those which he has been able to use. He also cautioned that organisations are at liberty to adopt those principles, which suit them or to change or delete a few according to their requirements.