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1. Division of Labour: The more people specialize, the more efficiently they can perform
their work. This principle is epitomized by the modern production assembly lines.
2. Authority: Managers must give orders so that they can get things done. While their
formal authority gives them the right to command, managers will not always compel
obedience unless they have personal authority (such as relevant expertise) as well.
3. Discipline: Members in an organization need to respect the rules and agreements that
govern the organization. To Fayol, discipline results from good leadership at all levels of
the organization, air agreements (such as provisions for rewarding superior
performance),and judiciously enforced penalties for infractions. In organisations today
one finds a handbook that outlines rules and regulations.
4. Unity of Command: Each employee must receive instructions from only one person.
Fayol believed that when an employee reported to more than one manager, conflicts in
instructions and confusion of authority would result.
5. Unity of Direction: Those operations within the organization that have the same
objective should be directed by only one manager using one plan. e.g. the personnel
department in a company should not have two directors, each with a different hiring
policy.
6. Subordination of the individual interest to the common good. In any undertaking, the
interests of employees should not take precedence over the interests of the organization
as a whole. It is common practice today to find organisations that prohibit leave in peak
seasons.
7. Remuneration: Compensation for work done should be fair to both employees and
employers.
8. Centralization: Decreasing the role of subordinates in decision making is centralization;
increasing the role is decentralization. Fayol believed that managers should retain final
responsibility, but should t the same time give their subordinates enough authority to do
their jobs properly. The problem is to find the proper degree of centralization in each
case.
9. Hierarchy of Authority: The line of authority in an organization (often represented by
the neat boxes and lines of the organization chart) runs in order of rank from top
management to the lowest level of the enterprise.
10. Order: Materials and people should be in the right place at the right time. People, in
particular, should be in the jobs or positions in which they are best-suited. In
organisations it is common practice for management to allocate people specific sitting
positions in the office.
11. Equity: Managers should be both friendly and fair to their subordinates.
12. Stability of staff: A high employee turnover rate undermines the efficient functioning of
an organization.
13. Initiative: Subordinates should be given the freedom to conceive and carry out their
plans, even though some mistakes may result.
14. Esprit de Corps: Promoting team spirit will give the organization a sense of unity. To
Fayol, even small factors should help to develop the spirit. He suggested, for example,
the use of verbal communication instead of formal, written communication whenever
possible. The 14 principles are relevant today since they are still being applied in modern
organisations.
Kavungya answered the question on May 17, 2019 at 12:54