UGC NET COMMERCE January 2017(Paper-II) Q25
- Option : D
- Explanation : Henry Fayol, a Frenchman, was the first person
who issued a complete statement on a theory
of general management. Born from relatively
well-to-do parents, Fayol was graduated as a
mining engineer and started his career as a
junior executive of a coal mining and iron
foundry company in 1860. In 1888, when the
company was near bankruptcy, Fayol took
over as Managing Director and rapidly
transformed the company into a financially
sound organization. After his retirement in
1918, Fayol spent his remaining years lecturing
and popularizing his theory of administration.
He became especially interested in the
application of administrative theory to
government.
Although he published earlier papers outlining his general thinking, Fayol’s major contribution, Administration Industrielle et Generale, was published in 1916. Unfortunately, this work was not translated into English until 1930 and there was only a very limited number of copies. The book was not readily available in English until 1949.
Possibly the most significant of Fayol’s work was his discussion of management principles and elements. Fayol stated the following 14 “principles of management”, stressing that managers should be flexible in the application of these principles and that allowances should be made for different and changing circumstances. These 14 principles are (1) division of work, (2) authority, (3) discipline, (4) unity of command, (5) unity of direction, (6) subordination of individual interests to the general interests, (7) remuneration, (8) centralization, (9) scalar chain/line of authority, (10) order, (11) equity, (12) stability of tenure personnel, (13) initiative and (14) esprit de corps.
Fayol developed his list of principles from those practices which he had used most often in his work. He used these principles as broad and general guidelines for effective management. The real contribution made by Fayol was not the 14 principles themselves, for many of these were the products of the early factory system, but rather his formal recognition and synthesis of these principles. In presenting his “elements of management”, Fayol was probably the first person who outlined what today are called as management functions. Fayol listed planning, organizing, commanding, coordinating and controlling as elements of management. However, he placed the greatest emphasis on planning and organizing because he viewed these elements as primary and essential for the other functions.
