Henri Fayol is the universalist and he father of general management and Fayol developed the Theory of Management and he has given his opinion that managerial excellence is technical ability and can be acquired and he developed theories and principles of management which are universally accepted and made him a universalist. He was a pioneer of the formal education in management, Fayol’s principles of management meet the requirements of modern management, as such, he is rightly accepted as the “Father of General Management”.

Fayol’s long practical experience in the field of management is reflected in his written work and He did not develop a logical theory of management, nor evolved a philosophy that answered all questions and satisfied all doubts about its practicability and based on his own experience in the field, Fayol set forth 14 Principles of management and they are:

1. Division of Work

The division of work is applied to all kinds of work- technical as well as management and division of work also means specialization and division of work promoted efficiency.

2. Authority and Responsibility

Authority and responsibility go together and Fayol stressed that right and power to give orders should be balanced by the responsibility for performing necessary functions and according to Fayol “The result of authority is responsibility. It is the natural result of authority and essentially another aspect of authority and whenever authority is used, responsibility is automatically born”.

3. Discipline

According to Fayol, “Discipline is in essence obedience, application, energy, behavior and outward marks of respect observed following the standing agreements between the firm and its employees”. Agreements must be obeyed in totality, without any dissent and discipline is essential for the smooth running of the business.

4. Unity of Command

A subordinate should take orders from only one boss and Fayol claimed that if the unity of command is violated “Authority is undermined, discipline is endangered, order disturbed and stability threatened” if there are two or more superiors for an employee then confusion and conflict of interest arise and everyone has to make sure that this doesn’t happen.

5. Unity of direction

 Fayol advocates, “One head and One plan” for a group of activities having the same objectives, and this will create dedication of purpose and loyalty. Unity of direction for achieving unity of action in the pursuit of common objectives by a group of persons.

6.Subordination of Individual Interests to general Interests

This is a home truth and, in a family, the interests of its members should be subordinated to the interests of the family as a whole.

7. Remuneration to employees

Remuneration should to fair and adequate and it should be supported by both types of incentives- Financial as well as non-financial.

8.Centralization and Decentralisation

There should be one central point in the organization that exercises control over all the parts but the degree of centralization of authority should vary according to the needs of the situation.

9. Scalar Chain

The Scalar chain is a chain of supervisors from the highest to the lowest rank and this principle suggest that there should be a clear line of authority from top to bottom linking all managers at all level.

10. Principle of order

This principle applies to the arrangement of material and people and there should be a place for everything and everything should be in a place.

11. Principle of Equity

Kindness and justice should be exercised by management in dealing with their subordinates and this will infuse loyalty and devotion among the employees.

12. Stability of Tenure of Personnel

An employee with all the requisite abilities needs some time to gain specialization and stability is linked with a long tenure of personnel in the organization and efficiency is promoted by a stable workforce.

13. Principle of Initiative

The initiative is the power of thinking out a plan and ensuring its successful implementation. Initiative on the part of its employees can become a great source of strength, but it must not be against the established practice.

14.Esprit-de-corps

 It means the spirit of loyalty and revolution which unites the members of a group or society and Fayol said that there is strength in unity and the two enemies of sprit-de-corps are:

i. Divide and rule

ii. Abuse of written communication