Q.A company's management believes that only senior executives should think of new ideas, and it never invites suggestions or initiative from its shop-floor employees, even when an employee has a genuinely useful idea to reduce wastage. Name the principle of management, given by Fayol, that this company is failing to practise, and explain how following it would benefit the organisation.
The principle of management being neglected here is Initiative, as described by Fayol. This principle holds that employees at every level of an organisation — not only its senior executives — should be encouraged to think up and put forward their own ideas and suggestions within the scope of their own authority, rather than being expected merely to carry out orders passively.
In this case, the company's management has restricted the freedom to originate ideas entirely to senior executives, and it does not invite or welcome suggestions from shop-floor employees, even when such an employee genuinely has a useful idea (here, one to reduce wastage). This is a clear failure to practise the principle of initiative.
How following the principle would benefit the organisation: shop-floor employees are often closest to the day-to-day reality of a process, and are therefore well placed to spot practical inefficiencies (such as the wastage mentioned here) that a senior executive, working at a distance from the actual operation, might never notice. Encouraging and rewarding employee initiative can uncover genuinely valuable cost-saving or quality-improving ideas, increases employee motivation and a sense of ownership over their work, and builds a more engaged, loyal workforce, since employees who feel their ideas are valued tend to be more committed to the organisation's success.
What the company should do: management should create a simple channel — a suggestion box, a regular suggestion meeting, or a formal rewards scheme for adopted ideas — through which employees at any level can put forward suggestions, and it should genuinely consider and, where appropriate, act on good ideas rather than dismissing them because they did not originate at senior level.
The company is failing to practise the principle of Initiative — it should actively invite and encourage suggestions and ideas from employees at every level, not only from senior executives.
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