Top 16 Principles of Management Prepared by Dr. Balamurugan R
This article throws light upon the top sixteen
principles of management of an enterprise. Some of the principles are: 1.
Division of Work 2. Authority and Responsibility 3. Discipline 4. Unity of
Command 5. Unity of Direction 6. Subordination of individual Interest to
General Interest 7. Remuneration of Personnel and Others.
Management Principle # 1.
Division of Work:
This
is nothing but the principles of specialisation needed for proper and efficient
work performance in all spheres of activity, both technical and managerial.
The
overall work of an enterprise are divided into several divisions. The work of
each division is entrusted to a particular worker or a group of workers to
perform. This improves efficiency.
Management Principle
# 2. Authority and Responsibility:
“Authority
is the right to give orders and the power to exact obedience.” Whenever a
manager is allocated tasks, he should be given requisite authority so that the
particular manager can exercise his own skill and initiative for performing the
entrusted tasks. Delegation of authority to managers necessarily signifies that
they have responsibility for the delegated tasks.
“Responsibility
is the corollary of authority, it is its natural consequences and essential
counterpart.” In order to discharge responsibility properly, authority must be
commensurate with responsibility. If there is no parity between the two, there
will be either wastage or misuse of authority.
Management Principle
# 3. Discipline:
Discipline
is absolutely essential for smooth running of business. Discipline must be
maintained in all its levels for successful management. Fayol points out that
for the maintenance of discipline, efficient and good managers are needed at
the top level and there should be clear agreement between the employer and the
employees. Discipline is of paramount importance for the smooth running of
production.
Management Principle
# 4. Unity of Command:
This
principle makes it clear that an employee should receive orders from one
superior only. One person will command one worker or each group of workers. If
several commands come from different masters to the workers, the latter may be
bewildered as to what is to be done or whose order should be followed.
Management Principle
# 5. Unity of Direction:
According
to this principle, direction to work must come to the workers of each
department or section from one authority. In other words; each group of
activity with the same objective must have one head and one plan.
Unity
of direction is different from unity of command in the sense that the former is
concerned with functioning of the organisation in respect of its grouping of
activities or planning, while the latter is concerned with functioning of the
personnel at all levels in the organisation.
Management Principle
# 6. Subordination of individual Interest to General Interest:
This
principle demands that in management the common interest is considered to be
over and above the individual interest. When there is any conflict between the
two, the manager should reconcile them.
Management Principle
# 7. Remuneration of Personnel:
Remuneration
of personnel is the price of services rendered by them. This principle requires
that the remuneration payable to the staff must be fair and reasonable and it
should bring maximum possible satisfaction for both the employees and the
employers. The remuneration factor must not cause any grievance for either
party.
Management Principle
# 8. Centralisation:
In
management, ‘centralisation’ means the centralised authority or leadership of
an organisation and ‘decentralisation’ signifies the dispersal of such
authority or leadership to different levels of an organisation. The principle
of centralisation calls for that a balanced system of centralisation must be
introduced to produce the best results taking into consideration the individual
circumstances.
The
objective to pursue is the optimum utilisation of all faculties of the
personnel. So the question of centralisation and decentralisation is a matter
of proportion. In small firms, there is absolute centralisation, but in large
concerns, there are a series of intermediaries between the top and bottom level
and, as such, decentralisation of authority is essential.
So
the principle to be followed in this respect is to maintain a proper balance
between the two.
Management Principle
# 9. Scalar Chain:
It
is the chain of superiors running from the highest authority to the lowest
level for the purpose of communication. The highest level of the organization
must be linked with its different levels by a line of direct authority. It
implies that each communication going up or coming down must flow through each
position in the line of authority.
Management Principle
# 10. Order:
This
principle refers to the arrangement of persons and things required in any
organisation. Order is divided into material order and social order. In
material order, there should be a “place for everything and everything in its
place”, so that wastage of materials can be avoided.
Similarly,
in social order, there should be a “place for everyone and everyone in his
place” that is the placement of “right man in right job.” This kind of order
demands precise knowledge of the human requirements and resources of the
organisation and a constant balance between these requirements and resources.
Management Principle
# 11. Equity:
This principle calls for the maintenance of an attitude of justice
and generosity towards the working personnel and treating them equally and
sympathetically. This is necessary to secure devotion
and loyalty of the subordinates for good performance.
Management Principle
# 12. Stability of Tenure of Personnel:
Stability
of tenure of service is essential to get an employee accustomed to new work and
succeeding in doing it perfectly and well. For this purpose, as far as
possible, frequent and unnecessary labour turnover should be avoided’ because
instability is both the cause and effect of bad management.
Management Principle
# 13. Initiative:
Initiative
is the power of thinking out and execution of a plan. It is one of the powerful
stimulants of human endeavour. So to create zeal and energy, the managers
should permit the employees to exercise as much initiative as possible.
Management Principle
# 14. Team Spirit:
It
means the unity of spirit or, in other words, team-spirit. This unity of spirit
is the moving force which ensures maximum of co-ordinated efficiency in any
undertaking. Collective effort is essential for the success of any enterprise.
So
the managers should create a mentality of co-operation and team spirit among
all the working personnel of the enterprise, so that they work as a team for
its success. Besides these principles as enunciated by Henry Fayol, in modern
management science a few more principles have been introduced.
Management Principle
# 15. Flexibility:
Management
should be flexible in nature. Its activities should be so planned, organised,
directed and controlled that it can adjust with the changed time and
circumstances. Market conditions are subject to constant changes. Price of
commodities, tastes and fashions, demand for the products are also changing.
New machinery and equipment are being found out newer varieties of products are
now manufactured.
All
these changes and technological advancements require supporting changes in the
technique of production and business policies. Therefore, it becomes imperative
that the management technique should be as flexible as possible to adjust with
these changing conditions.
Management Principle
# 16. Sound Organisation:
Organisation
is the framework of management. For effective management of the different
affairs of the business, a sound organisation is to be built up. The type of
organisation depends on the nature of business, the nature of product and the
technique of production.
In
the cases of diversification of products and the production of standardised
products in different places administrative authority is to be decentralised to
a great extent. In the case of others, particularly production of a single
item, centralised leadership is preferred.
