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The Thoughts of Henri Fayol and Contemporary Business World *Dr. Pushpinder Singh Gill, **Ms. Paramjeet Kaur *Professor, School of Management Studies, Punjabi University, Patiala **Research Scholar, Punjabi University, Patiala and Assistant Professor, Khalsa College for Women, Ludhiana,
[email protected] Abstract The journey from the times of Adam to modern technological man involved a voyage consisting of many phases; some discussed and some hidden in the literature, folklore and mythology. The phases of migrations, civilizations, wars, barter, trade, commerce and technology etc. had influenced the development of mankind. The society progressed in various phases and with the developments of civilization, the new and refined forms of management kept on emerging. The world history has thousands of stories of people working together in formal as well as informal ways. The management literature is packed with uncountable theorists and thinkers who suggested their individual perspectives on managing people, materials, time, motions and other valuable resources. Some of these prominent thinkers gave took the management voyage in altogether new directions in different eras. These personalities have been designated an elevated and well defined place in management discipline. They presented unique ideas and grasped the attention of those who were facing challenges in managing. Henri Fayol was one of such theorists who were able to make a difference. Till date he is remembered for their novel contributions. In fact he was the one who laid foundation of systematic management thought. The present paper discusses about the background of Henri Fayol, reasons which shaped his management thinking. The paper also analyses the applicability of his thoughts in the contemporary business world. It further discusses Fayol’s ideology and validity of the criticism he had to face. Key Words: Management, Administrative, Era, Thinkers, Organizations. I. Introduction Management literature is crammed with the names of hundreds of theorists who added their knowledge and experiences to this field with their unique ideas, which were the need of their times. But one of the thinkers who perhaps influenced management thinking through his work was Henri Fayol. Fayol occupies an elevated position in the management literature and is admired as the ‘Father of Administrative Management’.1 He is most remembered for his ‘Management Process Theory’ 2 which was based on administering organisations effectively. In the initial decades of twentieth century, varied thoughts were coming from different thinkers on managing organisations. When Taylor and his associates were connecting the dots of scientific methods and productivity in U.S. and Europe, Henri Fayol was thinking about the developing a blueprint for managing organisations. He was thinking seriously about management issues in the same time with Taylor, but the general management and control 3 of the entire organisation was the VOLUME 2, ISSUE 3, SEPTEMBER 2017 IJEIMT.ORG
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concern for Fayol. Taylor thought about lower strata of management and concentrated on individual tasks, while Fayol visualized an altogether different angle and focused on the middle and especially top level of management. The best part was that, the focus for both converged at the same point, which was raising productivity levels and efficiency. The ideas of Taylor and Fayol were on the same lines and at same times, but Fayol refined the voyage of management thought with new seeds of knowledge. His emphasis was on creating managerial functions and offering broad administrative principles that would serve as guidelines for rationalization of organizational activities.4 Henri Fayol is considered as one of the few men who offered systematized the management theory. He advocated that management practices follow a system and pattern. If certain criteria are followed management could be a task of everyone. He proposed a comprehensive and pervasive theory and believed in universal application of management functions and principles. His formalized management elements and principles grasped the attention of organisations in the middle of twentieth century. He identified a body of functions and principles for managers to manage the organisations well, thus he shaped management as a distinct discipline. His administrative management thinking was focused on the culmination of both theory and practice. II. Fayol’s Brief Profile Jules Henri Fayol (1841-1925), a French Industrialist laid the foundation of ‘Administrative management Theory’. He was born in Constantinople (Istanbul, Turkey) in an engineers’ family. He was the son of an engineer (Eugenie Cantin Fayol) who used to offer engineering services to the military forces for construction projects for a contract between France and Turkey. Henri got basic qualification from La Voulte (a small town), France. He was getting prepared for School of Industrial Engineering in Valence. 5 His father was an engineer and slowly Henry too got interested in the same field. He began his career as a junior engineer in French Mining Company. In 1858, when he was 17 years of age, he joined National School of Mines at Saint Etienne (a polytechnic school in Valence) to get qualified as a mining engineer. He got sufficiently well versed with physical sciences. Here he completed his graduation in 18606 and started working as an engineer. He worked for developing techniques of handling underground coal fires, which were quite common in the coal mines. Due to his untiring efforts he was promoted as a manager in Commentry coalfield in the year 1866. Fayol continued with his passion and in the year 1872 he was designated as sole supervisor of many colliers. Thirteen years later in 1885 he was named for Comambault’s CEO/MD and was assigned the responsibility of manage its operations to attain efficiency and success. With his exemplary leadership, he took his mining company to a large and integrated mining, iron and steel organisation indulged in complete production process. As a French manager, he worked for creating a general management theory for years and in year 1916 he first published his thoughts in his French monograph titled ‘Administration Industrielle et Generale’. His VOLUME 2, ISSUE 3, SEPTEMBER 2017 IJEIMT.ORG
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ideas were eye opening, as book was based on his personal experience. Being in French language his ideas could not popularize much. This work was translated in 1929 in English. But his ideas were popularized and recognized when the book was retranslated into English in 1949 in U.S. as ‘General and Industrial Management’.7 He got real recognition in the management literature many years after his death. His thoughts were read and well understood by the organisations and many of which are applied by contemporary managers as well. His analytical discussion on five basic elements of management influenced the managerial thinking in organisations, as he identified a specialized set of skills required to manage organisations. He emphasized that managerial level is as important as workers’ level in the organisations, thus he focused on managerial aspects of management. His concern was to create formalized organisations with structures of authority and relations. Most of his ideas are used by contemporary managers even today to manage their organisations optimally. III. Fayol’s Classic Piece of Work when he introduced Administrative Management Ideas Fayol worked as a mining engineer at Commentry coalfields, within 6 years he was promoted as a manager and then slowly promoted as a general manager. While working at various levels at a quite young age, he was in the habit of keeping notes and records of events that influence the output levels. He kept notes of events happening in coalfield while working as a mining engineer. When he was put as a general manager, he created a blueprint his ideas in a systematic and formalized manner. He developed management principles not due to his engineering education and background, but his managerial insight. Table 1: Highlights of Fayol’s Observations with his Proposed Solutions Sr.
Facts and Fayol’s Solution
Observation
No. Fayol used his experiences and observations to develop a well-defined management theory. A.
Imbalance
Fayol was working as coalfield engineer 1861, he observed that
between authority entire work in St. Edmund mine had to be stopped, because a horse and responsibility
working in mine fell and broke its leg.8 The mine manager was not available for some time and in his absence no one was authorized to replace the horse. Even the livery stable keeper had no power to take any action. He observed that the stable keeper was assigned responsibility, but had no authority to take decision, even in emergency. Taylor advocated that the authority and responsibility must go hand in hand. This imbalance between authority and responsibility caused delayed and wastages.
B.
Individualized
Fayol observed that the employees were assigned tasks at
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thinking
of individual level. They were concerned only with their personal
organisational
effectiveness and output.
people
Fayol was a foresighted thinker. Showcasing his visionary thinking, he organized miners into self-selected team. He observed that creating such teams gave some intangible benefits. The employees’ retention rate started increasing with declining turnover rates. Further, the connections between group members started becoming strong and they worked more effectively. The rate of output in the group was far higher than the combined individual output. His principle of ‘Espirit De Corps’ was based on enhancing unity among people in organisations.
C.
Managing is not Fayol observed in mining organisations that management was one time activity
being viewed a single task. Fayol looked at management as a process. According to him, “to manage is to forecast, to plan, to organise, to command, to coordinate and to control.”9
D.
Managerial Ability
Fayol got engineering qualification from technical schools. While
Vs. working as a mining manager, he noticed that he required managerial
Technical
skills to manage people which were never taught to him. His
Expertise
contribution to management was not based on his technical engineering knowledge, but his managerial capabilities and insight.
In 1908 he quoted that, “A leader who is a good administrator, but
technically mediocre is generally much more useful to the enterprise than if he were a brilliant technician but a mediocre administrator.”10 He advocated that a manager has to plan things, organise materials and equipment, direct people and do much more. These skills were taught to him in his engineering school. Therefore, Fayol preferred managerial capability as compared to technical knowledge and expertise for being successful as a manager. E.
Monotony of Jobs
Fayol noticed that doing the similar tasks makes job monotonous
for workers.
He suggested that jobs must be enlarged to enhance skills of
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Other Noticeable points F.
Major Challenge
The managers working in the organisations didn’t possess any specialized professional qualification on managing. Most of them were not ready to give authority to their subordinates, which was must for fulfilling their responsibility on tasks.
G.
Success Mantra of Fayol became a mining manager at a very young age. He got Fayol
practical experience of many years in dealing with people and other resources. He could judge the gap between his own practical training and required managerial insight. Fayol laid the foundation for systematic methods and could develop the blueprint for middle and top level managers.
Table 2: Reasons for Developing Administrative Management Theory Sr.
Reasons
Description
No. A.
Industrial
The advent of industrial revolution in the later years of eighteenth
revolution
century has necessitated the organisations to be efficient and effective. The revolution originated in Great Britain and didn’t take long for changes to reach the United States.11 Fayol realized that the managerial levels of organizations have much more power for raising efficiency and productivity levels as compared to workers. The performance of workers depends upon how they are managed. Thus he concentrated on middle and top management levels as opposite to Taylor’s shop level concentration.
B.
Practical Experience Fayol
Fayol got education in the field of engineering. While working in of the organisation he realized that the education he got was insufficient to deal with diversified group of people working in the organisation. He worked as an industrial mining executive for nearly fifty years and advocated that to manage a geographically diversified organisation, a set of skills is required. Thus the scope of management is far wider than applying scientific methodologies to enhance productivity levels. Fayol supported the view that management involved various
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activities dealing with production, distribution and selling of finished goods. He reached at the conclusion that the teachings of engineering were insufficient to deal with practical management challenges. He devised principles and functions based on his personal experience. C.
Organisational
The organisations were doing all the tasks such as arrangement of
Environment of raw material, production the goods, selling of the finished products, 1900s
utilization of the resources, finances and maintenance of required data. Fayol noticed that the functions that a manager needs to perform were altogether missing in the organisations. His ideas were on the same track with that of Taylor, but were more relevant to the type of organisations coming up in the middle of 20th century. Multi-unit enterprises were coming up which required set of guidelines to be followed. But the managers were so busy that they never thought of writing their experiences in theoretical form. Therefore he proposed administrative theory for managers.
D.
Fayol’s Personal Fayol was born and brought up in a well settled engineer’s family. Background
He was working as a manager in French Mining Company when he thought over the issue of management seriously. He became president of the company a young age of 37. His early and comprehensive exposure to upper managerial levels of large organisation gave him practical experience regarding what was missing at the top levels of management. Being at the managerial position and from a well to do family his thinking moved around higher levels of management.
E.
Fayol’s Vision
Fayol found that concentrating on individual task would not take the organisations to the expected output levels. Instead on stressing for the best way of doing a job, he tried to explore an ideal way to perform all the jobs together optimally. The need was to make the organisations effective and productive by taking all together. He advocated for the best way to run an organisation effectively.
F.
Complexity
in After 1900s the organisations were becoming complex and
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structures. Fayol came up with his thinking to create a blueprint of guidelines for managing these complex organisations. G.
of Fayol noticed that no management theory was available for the
Lack management
managers. There were many contradictions for management practices
Theory
and it was quite difficult to teach management skills. He developed a set of guidelines and principles for existing and upcoming managers.
Table 3: Highlights of Fayol’s Administrative Management Theory Sr.
Focus
Sub heads
Description
No. A.
Managers are Formal
Fayol
not
managers with a belief that managers are not
only Education
born,
but
proposed
a
set
blueprint
for
only born, but could be made also. He advocated that the qualities that are
made
required to be successful managers can be learnt through formal education. Thus he considered management as a skill. He quoted that “management could be taught, once its underlying principles were understood
and
a
general
theory
of
management was formulated.” B.
Division of
In his first French publication ‘Administration
Business
Industrielle
Activities
discussed that the activities of a business
et
Generale’
(1916),
Fayol
organisation can be categorised under six heads12 and all business activities would be covered under these six categories: This head deals with production and manufacturing activities. This head deals with purchase of raw B1. Technical
materials and sale of finished goods. This head encompasses the arrangement,
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B2. Commercial
procurement, utilisation of monetary funds. This head deals with protection and safety
B3. Financial
of human and other organisational resources. This head includes the keeping the data and records of business transactions such as P&L
B4. Security
account and Balance sheet. This
B5. Accounting
head
includes
various
activities
performed by a manager to manage the organisation well. Fayol found the most of the organisations of his time lacked managerial skills.
B6. Managerial
Fayol advocated that all the tasks in these activities can be performed without specialized skills except the Managerial activities. He categorised the first five activities under the head Operating activities. He advocated that the organisations need to focus on the managerial skills of the managers which would comprehend the activities of other heads as well.
C.
Managerial
Fayol proposed a set of functions in his
Functions
evergreen definition that the managers must perform to guide their subordinates. He classified the functions for a manager under five heads:
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C1. Planning
Planning, being the foremost step, involved laying down the foundation for future course of action through setting up of realistic goals and objectives.
C2. Organising
Organising dealt with creating hierarchical positions and assigning authority along with responsibility.
C3.Commandin
Commanding was required to issue orders
g
and providing direction to the subourdinates, so that they attain what is desired. Fayol
further
felt
the
necessity
of
coordination among people at same and C4.
different
Coordinating
coordination among human and non-human
managerial
levels
along
with
organisational resources. Controlling involved the confirmation of the actual performance with the expected one through the mechanism of feedback. C5. Controlling D.
and
Fayol further explained that the managers
abilities of a
working at different levels in the organisation
Manager
require different sort of skills and abilities.
Skills
He advocated that to perform these five functions a manager is expected to possess certain skills. A manager is presumed to be able and specialized in certain areas. The type and magnitude of these skills vary according to size and nature of organisation. These abilities are:
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Technical abilities relate to the knowledge D1.Technical Skills D2. Human Skills D3.Managerial Skills
about technical aspects of the job. Human abilities relate to the skills required to deal with people in organisation. Managerial skills relate to the skills to manage organisational resources and talents.
Fayol suggested that when the managers
move up in the organisational hierarchy, the managerial skills need to be enhanced, while at the lower hierarchy level, technical skills become prominent.
Fayol focused on enhancing the managerial
skills of top level managers.
He further emphasised on certain personal
and individual qualities such as mental, physical, moral, experience, education and knowledge
to
perform
the
managerial
functions successfully. E.
Principles of
Management
principles13 of management, many of which
Fayol became well known for his fourteen
apply in contemporary organisations even today.
He proposed these principles on the basis
of his own practical experience in the industry. E1.
Division of
emphasized on dividing the tasks among many
Labour
instead of performing it alone. The tasks must
Principle
of
Division
of
Labour
be divided into sub-tasks and must be assigned. Fayol advocated that working on the same task again and again would fetch the benefit of specialization. E2.
Authority and
advocated that power should flow hand in hand
Responsibility
with responsibility and accountability for
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Principle of Authority and Responsibility
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people. To fulfill a responsibility, adequate authority must be given to the managers and when authority is given, the manager must have duty to perform the assigned task. E3.
Discipline
compliance/obedience to rules and regulations
Principle
of
Discipline
meant
for
designed for the organisation. Discipline can be maintained by varied methods such as imposing
punishment
for
disobedience,
exemplary leadership, motivation, effective supervision etc. Fayol was of the view that discipline shouldn’t be imposed rather people should obey willingly. E4.
Unity of
that
Command
instructions from single boss only. Having
Principle of Unity of Command advocated one
subordinate
should
receive
more than one boss would create the problems of
confusion
and
lack
of
clarity
for
subordinate. E5.
Unity of
grouping of the operations under one head
Direction
which carry the same objective. Fayol named it
Principle of Unity of Direction stressed on
as “one head for one plan”. E6.
Subordination
General Interest favoured that when the
of Individual
organisational
interest
attained, individual objectives (secondary) are
Subordination of Individual interest to
objectives
(primary)
are
ultimately attained. Thus people are expected to give their best for the attainment of organisational goals. Whenever there is clash between individual and organisational goals, individual goals would be sacrificed. E7. VOLUME 2, ISSUE 3, SEPTEMBER 2017 IJEIMT.ORG
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Remuneration
system of remuneration for the organisational employees. People who work equally deserve equal pay; those who work more deserve higher pay. It makes the employees work harder for organisational goals.
Principle
of
Centralisation
gave
top
E8.
management the power to take all major
Centralisation
decisions. Fayol warned the managers to keep optimal balance between centralization and decentralization.
E9.
Scalar Chain
chain of command to be followed in the
Principle of Scalar Chain advocated the
organisations. But in case of necessity, some points in the chain may also be skipped. When information is shared between people at same levels, Fayol named it as Gangplank. E10.
Order
everyone and everything in the organisation.
Principle of Order demanded a place of
Human beings as well as resources must be at the right place all the times. E11.
Equity
treatment with the people working at varied
Principle of equity stands for equitable
levels in the organisation. E12.
Stability of
that people appointed in the organisation must
Tenure
be retained for reasonably longer period.
Principle of Stability of Tenure advocated
Being at a specific place helps managers and workers know their jobs well. E13.
Initiation
employees to put in their innovative ideas in
Principle
of
Initiation
motivated
the
front of management. They must be given chance to initiate the things and participate in decision making process. E14. VOLUME 2, ISSUE 3, SEPTEMBER 2017 IJEIMT.ORG
Principle of Espirit De Corps stressed on 12
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Espirit De
the importance of working in teams and
Corps
favoured that ‘unity is strength’. It is required to have synergic effects in various activities. He shared a revolutionary idea of uniting workers at the time when there were no trade unions.
Fayol said that his principles were not rigid and can be changed according to the nature and requirement of the organisation. But he suggested that these principles would apply to most, if not all, sort of organisations. According to him ‘the word principles depicts the flexibility’. He quoted that “I prefer the word principles in order to avoid any idea of rigidity, as there is nothing rigid or absolute in administrative matters; everything is a question of degree. The same principle is hardly ever applied twice in exactly the same way, because we have to allow for different and changing circumstances.” 14 He further stressed that the same principle can be applied in varied situations, but the success of application of these principles depend upon the person who applies them. Taylor and Fayol were the two personalities who shaped management as a distinct discipline with their everlasting contributions. The difference was that Taylor talked about enhancing productivity and supervision from shop floor (lower level) of management, while Fayol talked about organisation as a whole. IV. Applicability of Fayol’s Ideas in Today’s Times Most of the ideas suggested by Henri Fayol more than 100 years back are valid in contemporary era. He was a visionary in true sense. Although many theorists try to do additions and deletions to his functions, but his ideas are novel even today. Managers at every level and at every sort of organisation are supposed to forecast, plan, organise, command, coordinate and control.
Sr.
Basis
No.
Table: 4 Validity of Fayol’s Ideology in Contemporary Technological Management Era Validity Validity Evident in the Contemporary practices When
in
Proposed
Today’s Era
A. A1.
Basic Ideology Managers are
made
not born
Valid
More
Fayol’s view that managerial skills can
than
be acquired overtime is and may always
Valid
remain valid. Modern
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and
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schools are meant for teaching specialized skills to upcoming managers.
Special
courses in management, entrepreneurship, international business, interpersonal skills, social relations, communication teach varied skills which are a pre condition for success of modern managers. Brainstorming, Group decision making and Group discussion sessions instill the managerial qualities. Global business giants such as Google create new managers by effective training programs
as
well
as
performance
management. The skill need analysis is done and accordingly training programs are designed in the organisation to create innovative HR. The training programs as well as results are continuously evaluated, which ensures that they meet Google’s HR needs. A2.
Logic and Valid
More
Fayol based his principles and functions
Rationality
than
on rationality and logic.
Valid
Managers in the contemporary world rely on rational thinking. The techniques of Operations
Research
Programming,
such
Replacement
as
Linear theory,
Simulation, Queuing Theory are based on logic and rational approach. Samsung has emerged as a global leader in screen technology, TVs, batteries and chip designs due to its logical and rational approach. Even in Apple, when any a project requires innovative approach, the organisation assigns three teams to its development, each one of which competes VOLUME 2, ISSUE 3, SEPTEMBER 2017 IJEIMT.ORG
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against each other to reach at logical decisions. A2.
Managing
Valid
is a process
More
The process of planning, organising,
than
commanding, coordinating and controlling
Valid
is applicable in the modern times as well. Managers need to perform these basic functions even today with certain new dimensions as suggested by Mintzberg. These
basic
principles
are
being
comprehended by new dimensions. The function of planning was taken further in the form of MBO and Goal setting by Peter Drucker. The function of control was comprehended by concepts of Quality assurance, Quality Control by Juran and Deming. But the basic functions are same for a manager and these functions may remain in management disciple in the future as well. The way Apple Inc. stays competitive, is that they follow a process. Apple innovates its new products by applying a process which initiates from learning from customer complaints and experiences, product teasers are planned and then only the new product is planned. While the organization launched iPhone4, it collected the data on problems faced from iPhone 3Gs, fixed the errors and made the iPhone 4 a success in October 2011. A3.
Universality
of
Valid
Partly
Most of the management principles apply
Valid
to every organisation.
Principles
Certain principles such as Centralisation, Scalar Chain etc. may not be applicable to
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all types of organisations. Contingency theory proposed in the modern era put forth the idea that management thinking depends upon the circumstances of each case. Modern business giants such as IBM, Maruti, Toyota etc equip themselves with contingency plans every time to face the dynamic business environment. A4.
A set
of Valid
skills
Partly
Managers need mental, physical, moral,
Valid
educational
skills
to
manage
their
subordinates. But a fixed skill kit may not work everywhere. Managers are expected to apply their creativity and innovation to upcoming business emergencies. In the modern times the skills of managers are updated regularly through training programmes. A5.
Group
Valid
efforts
More
Principle of ‘Espirit De Corps’ apply in
than
the modern times without any doubt.
Valid
Collaborations in the forms of mergers and acquisitions are increasingly becoming acceptable in the modern organisations to raise productivity and efficiency. The recent mergers of AT&T Inc and Time Warner, Reliance Communications and Aircel, Sony Pictures Network and Zee Entertainment, Unilever Plc and BlueAir, Google and Moodstock and many others were aimed at pooling of resources and sharing of results.
B. B1.
Tools and Techniques Division of
tasks
and
Valid
More
The organisations prefer to divide the task
than
among individuals.
Valid
The concept of Fayol has further been
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tion
into the era of Super-specialization. It requires further fragmentation of tasks into sub tasks. Further the specialized people are provided
with
specialized
technology.
Specialization can be clearly seen in modern assembly line businesses. The managers in contemporary private as well as public sector organisations
are
appointed
on
the
specialized professional degree in their respective field. B2.
Unity
of Valid
Valid
Getting direction form one boss and
Command
having one vision for all are must to avoid
and
delays and chaos in the organisations.
Direction
The concept of MBO and Goal setting used by contemporary organisations aim at having similar direction for all. The concepts of vision, mission, objectives and goals guide the organisation towards the same end. The techniques of Strategic Management are another move towards one direction and command. The direction and leadership of Steve Jobs in Apple, Mark Zukerburg in Facebook and Dhirubhai Ambani in Reliance Industries Limited are some of the classic examples of optimal command and direction.
B3.
Hierar-
Valid
Valid
Organisations follow strict hierarchical
chical
structure in the modern times as well.
Structure
Centralized leadership and control still carry the same legacy. The matters are decided after discussion, but a leader is must to direct the organizations towards its vision. The organisational structures have rather flattered overtime instead of tall structures. The use of Matrix organisational structure
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has increased since 1990s. In certain business areas such as event management and infrastructure (bridges) temporary teams are
created,
but
the
people
remain
accountable to higher managers for their work. There may be no such hierarchy but leader is always one. Once the project is over, teams get disbursed. B4.
Individual
Valid
Valid
The Group and Individual goals must
and Group
move in the same direction.
Goals
The concept of MBO and Group goals facilitate the synchronization of goals in modern times.
It further leads to good
relations between employers and employees, which is a necessity for survival. B5.
Order and Valid
Partly
Order and Discipline may never lose their
Discipline
In Valid
validity for the effective organisations. The introduction of various laws such as Worker Compensation Act 1936, Factories Act 1948, Minimum Wages Act 1948, Protection of Women, Child Labour Act and many other acts have been imposed in the direction
of
order
and
discipline
in
organisation. Placement of right person at the right place is valid even today. In contemporary times, people work from home and the concept of discipline has not so much relevant as in case of group efforts. B6.
Equity
Valid
Partly
Remuneration Act imposes obligation on
Invalid
managers to pay fair remuneration to people in organisation. The workmen from different castes, creeds and cultures are expected to be treated fairly at the workplace. Managing workforce
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diversity optimally is an upcoming challenge for the global organisations. Equity principle doesn’t apply in certain industries. A recent case related to that was found in the film industry. It was argued that heroines are paid less amount in Hollywood and as well as Bollywood as compared to heros. The equity of male and female workers is another area of concern in the modern arena. B7.
Stability
Valid
Valid
Organisations are working hard to retain their employees for longer period of time. Besides taking care of their personal needs, special attention is being directed towards their families.
B8.
Scalar
Valid
Valid
Chain
Organisations
arrange
for
cultural
activities and social gathering to open up with
people
working
at
various
organisational levels. Informal
interactions
and
open
communications facilitate the people at same level to interact more and discuss the things without involving wasteful communications. B9.
Centrali-
Valid
sation
Partly
Organisations involve their people to put
Valid
forth their ideas before taking decisions. Contemporary
managers
feel
that
participative decision making offers distinct benefits of novelty and creativity. The final decision making authority lies with the Top level cadre. B10
Team
Valid
Valid
Spirit
Modern managers equally stress on the importance of team spirit. Team projects, Group assignments, Group Tasks are widely used tools in today’s era.
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Top executives at Google always believed in building the best teams by combining the best people. The company believes that teams are more effective when everyone is friends, away from work.
Fayol ideas are still applied with certain modifications even after 111 years after his first publication on administrative management. However many updations have been done to his classic blueprint of managerial functions. His proposed principles and elements are criticised in today’s times, but they were fully valid when proposed due to different business conditions and requirements. His recommendation of management educations is widely accepted now. He proved that management is separate discipline and can’t be merged with Accounting, Finance, Production and Marketing and management is integral in all these functional areas. V. Validity of Fayol’s Criticism Fayol was in fact a visionary who could present such ideas, most of which apply even after a century and more. But his ideology had been criticized on certain loopholes. Table: 5 Validity of Criticism of Fayol’s Administrative Management Thinking Sr.
Basis
No.
Validity
Facts and Description to Support Validity
of Criticism
A.
Unified
Valid
Critics argue that Fayol stressed on a unified
Management
management theory. But in today’s era a single
Concept
theory can’t be applied to all types of organisation at all the times. Fayol proposed his theory and principles when business environment was not changing rapidly. In contemporary global business era, managers have to deal with one or the other change every day.
B.
Concern for Upper strata
Invalid
Fayol proposed functions and managers for middle and top levels of management. This doesn’t mean that he was not concerned with the workmen. His principles of Equity, Fair remuneration,
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Espirit De Corps, Division of Labour show his concern for the lower levels of organisation. C.
Rigid
Partly
Administrative management principles have
Organisational
Valid
been questioned for being rigid and inflexible. His
Structure
principles
of
Centralisation,
Order,
Discipline, function of Command require an organisation to be rigid. On the other side Fayol supported the idea of Gang
Plank
where
he
favoured
short
communication channels. Taylor quoted that his “principles were general guidelines and were flexible. These principles are not absolute and should be misunderstood.” The magnitude of rigidity would depend upon case to case. Therefore, his approach was rigid but to make organisation adaptive. D.
Lack
of Valid
Specificity
Fayol proposed his principles in a generalized manner. He gave his thoughts on the basis of his experience as a mine manager. But most of his principles and functions lack specificity and generalized.
Table: 6 Other Supporters of Administrative Management Theory Sr.
Thinker
Thinking
No. A.
Chester
I
Chester Barnard has significantly influenced the theory and
Barnard
practice of management for nearly half a century.
(1886-1961)
While walking on the footsteps of Fayol, he conveyed his ideas
through his classic book ‘The Functions of the Executive’, in 1938 in which he discussed the functions that an executive is supposed to perform.
He believed that the most important function of a manager is to
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promote cooperative effort toward goals of the organization. There will be effective cooperation between employees and employers if there is effective communication system and a balance is maintained between rewards and contributions.
Barnard arrived at a conclusion that an enterprise can operate
efficiently and survive only when the organization’s goals are kept in balance with the aims and needs of the individuals working for it.
Barnard recognized the importance of informal groups, which
was a major contribution to management thought. B.
Colonel Lyndall A British management expert and a business consultant further Urwick
comprehended the administrative management theory of Fayol.
(1891-1983)
He published his books ‘Meaning of Rationalization (1929), ‘The Management of Tomorrow (1933) and ‘Elements of Business Administration in 1943. He gave his services in the trenches during first world war and was awarded with Military Cross. He was designated as Director of International Management Institute in Geneva in 1928. He promoted the writings of Fayol to English audiences.
Fayol’s school of thought influenced the management theory and practice. Hs perspective was beyond the shop level of management and was for organisation as a whole. Therefore, he viewed management as a macro discipline. His philosophy was management centered and was top down approach. He advocated that every person in organisation from foreman to the supervisory level must receive some sort of management training. References 1. Tripathi P C and P N Reddy (2012). Principles of Management. Tata Mc Graw Hill Private Limited: New Delhi. pp. 23. 2. Keuning Doede (2007). Management: A European Perspective. Routledge, Noordhoff Uitgevers Groningen: Houten. Pp. 60. Retrieved from https://books.google.co.in/books?isbn=1135035423 3. Lee Robert and Peter Lawrence (2013) Organisational Behaviour. Routledge: New York. pp. 21 4. Scott W. Richard and Gerald F. Davis (2016). Organisations and Organizing: Rational, Natural and Open System Perspectives. Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group: London and New York. pp.44 5. Wood John C. and Michael C. Wood (2002). Henri Fayol: Critical Evaluations in Business and Management. Routledge: USA and Canada. pp. 73. retrieved from https://books.google.co.in/books?id VOLUME 2, ISSUE 3, SEPTEMBER 2017 IJEIMT.ORG
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6. Bhatia S K and Meenu Ranjan Arora (2016). Business Studies. New Saraswati House Private Limited: New Delhi. pp. 42 retrieved from https://www.books.google.co.in/books?isbn=9351996751 7. Amrin Horald T., John A. Ritchley, Colin L. Moodie and Joseph F. Kmec (1993). Manufacturing Organization and Management. Pearsons Education Inc. pp.29 retrieved from http://books.google.co.in/books?isbn=8177582755 8. Wren, Daniel A. (2005). The History of Management Thought. Wiley: University of California. Pp.211. retrieved from http://books.google.co.in/books?id=SQoeAQAAIAAJ 9. Business: The Ultimate Resource. Citic Publishing House. pp. 907 retrieved from https://www.google.co.in/search?q 10. Edoho Felix M. (2001). Management challenges for Africa in Twenty First Century: Theoretical and Applied Perspectives. Praeger: Westport Connecticut, London. Pp.32 retrieved from https://books.google.co.in/books?isbn=0275964124 11. Housel Debra J. (2007) Industrial Revolution. Teachers Created Materials. pp.5. retrieved on 4th April 2017 from https://books.google.co.in/books?id=3Lb4DQAAQBAJ&dq=industrial+revolution+started+in+Great+Br itain&source=gbs_navlinks_s 12. Vilet Vincent Van. (2014). Five Functions of Management: Fayol. Retrieved from https://www.toolshero.com/management/five-functions-of-management/ 13. Watson Gilian and Kevin Galaghar (2003). Managing for Results. Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development: London. Pp.11. retrieved from https://books.google.co.in/books?isbn=1843980142 14. Henri Fayol (1949). Industrial and General Administration, trans C. Storrs Pitman.
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