Principles of Management
This domain covers Fayol's fourteen principles and Taylor's scientific management - both his principles and his techniques - plus the difference between a principle, a rule and a value.
Fayol's principles (selected)
- Division of work: specialisation raises efficiency.
- Unity of command: one employee, one boss - avoids confusion.
- Unity of direction: one head, one plan for one group of activities.
- Scalar chain: the formal line of authority from top to bottom; the gang plank lets two same-level managers communicate directly in emergencies.
- Esprit de corps: unity is strength; initiative: encourage employees to suggest and act.
- Others: authority and responsibility, discipline, subordination of individual interest, remuneration, centralisation, order, equity, stability of personnel.
Taylor's scientific management
Principles: science, not rule of thumb; harmony, not discord (implies a mental revolution on both sides); cooperation, not individualism; development of each person to their greatest efficiency and prosperity. Techniques: time study, motion study, method study, fatigue study, differential piece wage, standardisation and simplification of work.
Worked example
Two departments each report to a different head but both are working on the same product launch with separate plans. This breaks unity of direction, not unity of command, because each employee still has one boss. Reasoning: unity of command is about who you report to; unity of direction is about one head and one plan for one activity.
Traps that cost marks
Mixing Taylor's principles with his techniques; treating the gang plank as a violation of the scalar chain rather than a permitted shortcut; forgetting that unity of command and unity of direction are different principles.