Principles of Management
Fayol and Taylor dominate this domain. The exam tests the 14 Fayol principles, Taylor’s scientific management, and the distinction between the two.
Core rules
- Fayol’s principles include division of work, authority and responsibility, discipline, unity of command, unity of direction, subordination of individual interest, remuneration, centralisation, scalar chain, order, equity, stability of tenure, initiative and esprit de corps.
- Unity of command means one employee receives orders from one superior. Unity of direction means one head and one plan for activities with the same objective.
- Taylor’s principles are science, not rule of thumb; harmony, not discord; cooperation, not individualism; and development of each person to maximum efficiency.
- Taylor’s techniques include time study, motion study, differential piece wage and functional foremanship. Functional foremanship uses eight specialists and therefore violates unity of command.
Worked example
A worker’s standard is 25 units. The low piece rate is ₹10 and the high rate is ₹12, paid on total output. A worker making 20 units earns 20 × ₹10 = ₹200. A worker making 30 units earns 30 × ₹12 = ₹360. The gap rewards above-standard output and penalises below-standard output; it is not a flat bonus.
Traps
Do not attribute unity of command to Taylor. Do not say functional foremanship follows Fayol. Differential piece wage applies different rates to total output, not a higher rate only for extra units. Esprit de corps means team spirit, not discipline.