Professional Documents
Culture Documents
14 Principles of Management by Henry Fayol
14 Principles of Management by Henry Fayol
14 Principles of Management by Henry Fayol
Good leaders are made not born. If you have the desire and willpower, you can
become an effective leader. Good leaders develop through a never ending process of
self-study, education, training, and experience (Jago, 1982). This guide will help you
through that process. To inspire your workers into higher levels of teamwork, there are
certain things you must be, know, and, do. These do not come naturally, but are
acquired through continual work and study. Good leaders are continually working and
studying to improve their leadership skills; they are NOT resting on their laurels.
2. Authority The right to issue commands, along with which must go the
balanced responsibility for its function. According to Henri Fayol, the
accompanying power or authority gives the management the right to give orders
to the subordinates. The responsibility can be traced back from performance
and it is therefore necessary to make agreements about this. In other words,
authority and responsibility go together and they are two sides of the same
coin.
3. Discipline Employees must obey, but this is two-sided: employees will only
obey orders if management play their part by providing good leadership. It is
often a part of the core values of a mission and vision in the form of good
conduct and respectful interactions. This management principle is essential
and is seen as the oil to make the engine of an organization run smoothly.
4. Unity of Command Each worker should have only one boss with no other
conflicting lines of command. The management principle ‘Unity of command’
means that an individual employee should receive orders from one manager
and that the employee is answerable to that manager. If tasks and related
responsibilities are given to the employee by more than one manager, this may
lead to confusion which may lead to possible conflicts for employees. By using
this principle, the responsibility for mistakes can be established more easily.
5. Unity of Direction People engaged in the same kind of activities must have the
same objectives in a single plan. This is essential to ensure unity and
coordination in the enterprise. Unity of command does not exist without unity
of direction but does not necessarily flows from it. All employees deliver the
same activities that can be linked to the same objectives. All activities must be
carried out by one group that forms a team. These activities must be described
in a plan of action. The manager is ultimately responsible for this plan and he
monitors the progress of the defined and planned activities. Focus areas are the
efforts made by the employees and coordination.
10. Order Both material order and social order are necessary. The former
minimizes lost time and useless handling of materials. The latter is achieved
through organization and selection. employees in an organization must have the
right resources at their disposal so that they can function properly in an
organization. In addition to social order (responsibility of the managers) the
work environment must be safe, clean and tidy.
13. Initiative Allowing all personnel to show their initiative in some way is a
source of
strength for the organization. Even though it may well involve a sacrifice
of „personal vanity‟ on the part of many managers. H. F argued that with this
management principle employees should be allowed to express new ideas. This
encourages interest and involvement and creates added value for the company.
Employee initiatives are a source of strength for the organization according to Henri
Fayol. This encourages the employees to be involved and interested.
14. Esprit de Corp Management must foster the morale of its employees. He
further
suggests that: “real talent is needed to coordinate effort, encourage keenness,
use each person‟s abilities, and reward each one‟s merit without arousing
possible jealousies and disturbing harmonious relations.” The management
principle ‘esprit de corps’ of the 14 principles of management stands for striving
for the involvement and unity of the employees. Managers are responsible for the
development of morale in the workplace; individually and in the area of
communication. Esprit de corps contributes to the development of the culture and
creates an atmosphere of mutual trust and understanding.
School leaders at all levels of education can use the resources and strategies in this
document to strengthen their efforts to ensure that students learn with high quality
teachers. It should be noted that the term “school leader” extends beyond the role of
superintendent or principal. Often, assistant superintendents, vice principals, or others
are responsible for certain areas and this needs to be acknowledged when reading the
strategies that are recommended. Further, some issues discussed here are building
level, while others are district level.
Principals in the 21st century are held accountable to ensure that students are
achieving, which has major implications for maintaining effective working conditions in
schools. Principals are responsible for working conditions that facilitate the success of
students, realizing that teachers make the most difference in student achievement
(Yost,2002). According to Minette, ―the heart of education is the classroom teacher‖
(Knudsen,2007, p. 41). In order for teachers to be successful in the classroom, they
need working conditions that meet their expectations (Johnson, 2006). Principals are
responsible for providing resources and support to teachers to assist them in improving
instruction and increasing student achievement (Berry, Wade & Trantham, 2009; Yost,
2002; Prawat & Petersen, 1999; Portin, Schneider, DeArmond & Gundlach, 2003).
It appears that the physical facilities in the school setting go a long way to
motivate students to learn. Physical facilities in any school system range from the
school plant, that is the school buildings, classroom, library, laboratories, toilet
facilities, learning materials to other infrastructures that would likely motivate
students towards learning. Experience has shown that most of the physical facilities
that are germane to effective learning/academic performance of students appears not
to be sufficient in our public secondary schools today.
The school facility is much more than a passive container of the educational
process: it is, rather, an integral component of the conditions of learning. The layout
and design of a facility contributes to the place experience of students, educators, and
community members. Depending on the quality of its design and management, the
facility can contribute to a sense of ownership, safety and security, personalization and
control, privacy as well as sociality, and spaciousness or crowdedness. When planning,
designing, or managing the school facility, these facets of place experience should,
when possible, be taken into consideration.