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Management Principles

Introduction

Management is a vital role of the HR department that ensures that an

organization has what it takes to accomplish its goals and objectives. It comprises

interrelated social and technical functions and activities that pull people and other

resources together in a formal organizational setting in the effort of facilitating the

achievement of these goals. Management principles refer to some strategically

developed guidelines and set timelines that are used to organize staff, maintain

organizational structure, delegate authorities, and establish policies and procedures in

the view of implementing the vision of any organization. Henry Fayol, a Frenchman and

a coal-mining engineer, developed fourteen management principles that form the basis

for today’s effective organizational management. Fayol’s management principles help

managers to make crucial decisions towards the accomplishment of individual and

organizational objectives. Apparently, management and leadership go hand in hand in

the process of running an organization. On the other hand, Stauffacher describes

leadership as an interpersonal role of an individual to influence and provide purpose,

direction, motivation, and support of other people in the achievement of the mission.

Leadership is the most essential element of the management process. However, it is

knowledge, skills and experience that culminate into a leader’s effectiveness. Therefore,
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the objective of this paper is to discuss Fayol’s management and Stauffacher’s

leadership principles. Besides, it shows the relevance of these concepts in

contemporary organizations.

Fayol’s Management Principles

Fayol identified fourteen universal doctrines of management from his long

experience in the industry (Anupkumar 5). Fayol derived these principles from five basic

elements of management. The first element, which he identifies as forecasting and

planning, implies that a manager needs to look ahead, examine, and make future

provisions for the organization. The second element is organizing. This concept is very

similar to planning, despite the fact it being a rigorous process that puts together all the

elements systematically to accomplish the overall plans of an organization. Command is

the third function. This element ensures the execution of all drawn plans. The fourth

element of management is control, which is concerned with ensuring that every step

conforms to the set procedures that govern task performance. Lastly, Fayol describes

co-ordination as a crucial factor in the survival of an organization. The importance of co-

ordination is to make sure that all elements of management work together harmoniously

to accomplish a common objective (Anupkumar 3). However, for the five elements of

management to work effectively, Fayol’s fourteen management principles come into

play. This paper also discusses some of Fayol’s most essential management principles

in an organization.

Division of Labor

This principle holds that an effective performance requires division of tasks into

individual units by assigning them to specific workers (Rodrigues 880). Focus on single
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tasks enhances employees’ experience in their areas of specialization. It also ensures

increased productivity and better results whilst using the same workforce. However,

Fayol warned that the division of work has certain limits. Despite the successfulness of

the individual units, the processes and interrelationships between management

functions must be congruent for a meaningful production process (Darr 19). The

concept of division of labor is unavoidable in many contemporary organizations since

production processes are extremely dynamic. Therefore, the application of

specialization in job design remains a valid approach to management.

Authority and Responsibility

This principle holds that authority and responsibility go hand in hand. All leaders

in an organization have the right to authority. They require authority to carry out

managerial responsibilities. In this context, a good leader is the one who infuses

courage to accept responsibility into those around him or her (Anupkumar 5). Fear and

assumption of authority lead to destruction of good leadership qualities. Authority and

responsibility seek more employee participation and group empowerment that

eventually culminate into self-managed work teams with powers of making their own

decisions to control activities within their framework (Rodrigues 881). Companies that

rely on employee participation and empowerment programs improve the effectiveness

of production.

Discipline

According to Fayol, discipline in an organization is a way of obedience, respect

for authority, and conformity to the laid rules. Employees must remain obedient and

respectful to rules that govern an organization (Rodrigues 881). Provision of good

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supervision at all managerial levels improves the level of employee discipline. There is a

need to provide employees with clearly defined rules and appropriate procedures

regarding their conduct in the organization. Employee behavioral performance

significantly affects individual and organizational performance. Some employees who

have individualistic characteristics tend to seek primary control by influencing the social

and behavioral tendencies of colleagues at work with the aim of attracting good

appraisals and performance rewards. Such behaviors tend to be incongruent with the

set disciplinary rules and procedures of any organization. Therefore, there is a need to

create formal control systems that consist of rules, norms, and behavioral standards to

guide, motivate, and appraise employee behavioral performance (Rodrigues 882).

Stauffacher’s Leadership Principles

Stauffacher defines leadership as the possession of interpersonal roles and

powers to influence other people’s thoughts and behavior with a view of achieving a

common task (Darr 9). Stauffacher’s leadership principles resolutely help in defining the

features of an effective leader. Leaders use these principles to judge their actions

towards employees and the organization with a view of accomplishing performance

goals. However, this section discusses a few of these leadership principles.

Knowing oneself and seeking Self-improvement

Stauffacher’s leadership principles help leaders identify their strengths and

weaknesses through self-evaluation as a way of triggering self-improvement. Leaders

should clearly understand their personality and its impact on the behavior of others

within an organizational set up (Darr 10). Leaders should carry out self-evaluations to
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study the causes of success or failure and seek opinions from friends, colleagues, and

superiors to show them how to improve on the weak areas (Vuono 35).

Knowing one’s Subordinates

As leaders, managers need to understand employees and distinguish the

manner in which they react to different circumstances. This effort helps them make

decisions on the best ways to handle different employees and/or know when they need

supervision (Vuono 36). In addition, managers should put the welfare of employees to

whom they are accountable first before their own welfare. Employees need the help of

supervisors to accomplish their tasks. Therefore, managers should maintain a friendly

work environment to enable employees seek guidance and advice regarding their

particular areas of specialization (Darr 14).

Relevance of Fayol and Stauffacher’s Management Principles in Contemporary

organizations

Fayol’s management principles are considered the most comprehensive

concepts that form the basis for modern world management systems. Many

organizations embrace division of labor in order to realize increased output (Anupkumar

6). Recently, I worked for a hotel industry as the overall manager in the catering

department. Being a manager, I had to display charisma as a leader to handle my

designated responsibilities effectively in the entire department. To improve on

productivity, I defined a number of chores in the department that helped me group the

staff members into waiters, cooks, assistant supervisors, and procurement staff. The

placement of a worker in a particular position highly depended on the qualifications,

performance, behavior, and experience of the worker. Eventually, the hotel realized
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improved customer satisfaction because of increased efficiency and specialization of

duties in the department. Their attitude towards customers also improved because of

the new disciplinary rules that I instilled in them regarding their conduct in the hotel. My

responsibility as a manager assumed Fayol’s management and Stauffacher’s

leadership principles. Studies have revealed that the application of these principles in

any organization improves the performance of both employees and the organization.

For instance, most organizations in the United States rely heavily on the principle of

task specialization to improve organizational performance (Rodrigues 883).

Conclusion

Fayol and Stauffacher’s principles form a general contemporary framework for all

managerial institutions. The principles describe the effectiveness of present-day

managers to perform managerial duties in a manner that speeds production, improves

the quality of work, and/or reduces wastage of resources. Research reveals that many

modern organizations do not apply all the fourteen of Fayol’s management principles.

However, some of the organizations have intensified the application of some of the

principles. The implementation or maintenance of this managerial framework is often

expensive since employees need to update their knowledge and develop skills through

education and training. However, implementation is highly depended on the

organizational structure of a particular institution. In conclusion, the consideration of

implementing contemporary management and leadership principles as a way of

achieving organizational effectiveness needs to be of utmost importance.

Works Cited
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Anupkumar, Aditya. Principles of Management: An Analysis of the Contributions of

various thinkers to the field of management and a review of management

practices in five companies, 2005. PDF file. 17 April 2014.

<http://www.adityaanupkumar.com/files/ManagementThinkers.pdf>.

Darr, Kurt. Introduction to Management and Leadership Concepts, Principles and

Practices, n.d. PDF file. 15 April 2014.

<http://samples.jbpub.com/9780763742911/42910_CH02_007_024.pdf>

Rodrigues, Carl. “Fayol’s 14 Principles of Management Then and Now: A framework for

managing today’s organizations effectively.” Management Decision 39.10(2001):

880-9. Print.

Vuono, Carl. Military Leadership. Washington DC.: Department of the Army, 1990. Print.