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Q.Explain the contribution of Henry Fayol in the field of management.

Telangana TsbieTSBIE Telangana Intermediate (2nd Year) Commerce Board 2018Subjective· 10mImportance★★★★★
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Henri Fayol, the 'Father of Modern Management', classified business activities into six groups, defined management by its functions (planning, organising, commanding, coordinating, controlling), and most famously gave the 14 Principles of Management as flexible, universal guidelines for administration.

Who was Henry Fayol?

Henri Fayol (1841-1925) was a French mining engineer who rose to become managing director of a large coal-and-steel company. Drawing on his long practical experience at the top of an organisation, he developed a general theory of administration. Because he looked at management from the top-management (administrative) viewpoint, he is called the Father of Modern Management or the father of the administrative management theory. This topic is part of the TS Intermediate 2nd-year Commerce principles-of-management unit, whose coverage aligns with the NCERT/CBSE commerce curriculum.

His contributions

1. Classification of business activities

Fayol divided all the activities of a business into six groups: technical (production), commercial (buying and selling), financial (raising and using capital), security (protection of persons and property), accounting (records, costs, statistics) and managerial (planning, organising, commanding, coordinating, controlling).

2. Functions (elements) of management

He identified management with five functions: Planning, Organising, Commanding, Coordinating and Controlling — a framework still used today.

3. The 14 Principles of Management

This is Fayol's best-known contribution. The principles are:

  1. Division of work — specialisation increases efficiency.
  2. Authority and responsibility — the right to command must go with accountability.
  3. Discipline — obedience and respect for agreed rules.
  4. Unity of command — each subordinate should receive orders from only one boss.
  5. Unity of direction — one head and one plan for activities with the same objective.
  6. Subordination of individual interest to general interest — the organisation's interest comes first.
  7. Remuneration — fair and satisfying pay to employees.
  8. Centralisation and decentralisation — a proper balance of concentration and dispersal of authority. …

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