Principles of Management builds on the first chapter and is heavy with marks — Fayol’s and Taylor’s ideas appear in the exam almost every year. This page teaches the whole chapter in plain language, with a plan and an original practice set (with answers you can reveal) at the end.
What This Chapter Covers
- Nature and significance of principles of management
- Fayol’s 14 principles
- Taylor’s scientific management
- Fayol vs Taylor
Your Game Plan for This Chapter
- First — Understand what “principles” are and why they matter.
- Next — Learn Fayol’s 14 principles and Taylor’s principles and techniques.
- Last — Be able to compare Fayol and Taylor, then attempt the practice set.
Study Notes
1. Nature and Significance of Principles of Management
Principles of management are broad guidelines for managerial decision-making and action. Their nature: they are general guidelines (not rigid rules), formed by practice and experimentation, flexible, mainly behavioural, show a cause-and-effect relationship, and are contingent (applied to suit the situation). Their significance: they provide useful insights, help make the best use of resources, support scientific decisions, help managers meet a changing environment, and aid in management training.
Principles of management are flexible guidelines, not fixed laws. A manager applies them with judgement, adjusting to the situation — that is what “contingent” and “flexible” mean here.
2. Fayol’s 14 Principles
Henri Fayol, the “father of general management,” gave 14 principles: division of work, authority and responsibility, discipline, unity of command, unity of direction, subordination of individual interest to general interest, remuneration, centralisation and decentralisation, scalar chain, order, equity, stability of personnel, initiative, and esprit de corps (team spirit).
Unity of command means one employee gets orders from one boss. Unity of direction means one head and one plan for each group of activities with the same objective. These two are the most confused principles — keep them separate.
3. Taylor’s Scientific Management
F. W. Taylor, the “father of scientific management,” gave four principles: science not rule of thumb; harmony not discord; cooperation not individualism; and the development of each person to their greatest efficiency and prosperity. His techniques include functional foremanship, standardisation and simplification of work, and the work studies — method study, motion study, time study and fatigue study — along with the differential piece-wage system.
The comparison of Fayol and Taylor, and telling unity of command from unity of direction, are near-certain questions. Learn both cold.
4. Fayol vs Taylor
Practice Worksheet
Try each question fully on your own first, then click Show Answer to check yourself.
Q1. State any three points that show the nature of principles of management.
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Q2. Differentiate between unity of command and unity of direction.
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Q3. State any four of Fayol’s principles of management.
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Q4. Name the four principles of Taylor’s scientific management.
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Q5. Give one difference between the contributions of Fayol and Taylor.
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Once these feel easy, you have genuinely finished this chapter. Do not aim for perfect on the first try — aim for one more correct answer than yesterday.