Henri Fayol

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Henri FayolHenri Fayol (Istanbul, 29 July 1841 Paris, 19 November 1925) was a French mining engineer and director of mines who developed a general theory of business administration that is often called Fayolism.[1] He and his colleagues developed this theory independently of scientific management but roughly contemporaneously. Like his contemporary, Frederick Winslow Taylor, he is widely acknowledged as a founder of modern management methods.

Contents [hide] 1 Biography2 Work2.1 Mining engineering2.2 Fayolism2.2.1 Functions of management2.2.2 Principles of management3 Publications4 References5 External linksBiography[edit]Fayol was born in 1841 in a suburb of Istanbul, Ottoman Empire. His father (an engineer) was appointed superintendent of works to build the Galata Bridge, which bridged the Golden Horn.[1] The family returned to France in 1847, where Fayol graduated from the mining academy "cole Nationale Suprieure des Mines" in Saint-tienne in 1860.

In 1860 at the age of nineteen Fayol started the mining company named "Compagnie de Commentry-Fourchambault-Decazeville" in Commentry as the mining engineer. In 1888 he became managing director, when the mine company employed over 10,000 people, and held that position over 30 years until 1918. By 1900 the company was one of the largest producers of iron and steel in France and was regarded as a vital industry.[1]

Based largely on his own management experience, he developed his concept of administration. In 1916 he published these experience in the book "Administration Industrielle et Gnrale", at about the same time as Frederick Winslow Taylor published his Principles of Scientific Management

Work[edit]Fayol's work became more generally known with the 1949 publication of General and industrial administration,[2] the English translation[3] of the 1916 article "Administration industrielle et gnrale". In this work Fayol presented his theory of management, known as Fayolism. Before that Fayol had written several articles on mining engineering, starting in the 1870s, and some preliminary papers on administration.[4]

Mining engineering[edit]Starting in the 1870s Fayol wrote a series of articles on mining subjects, such as on the spontaneous heating of coal (1879), the formation of coal beds (1887), the sedimentation of the Commentry, and on plant fossils (1890),

His first articles were published in the French Bulletin de la Socit de l'Industrie minrale, and beginning in the early 1880s in the Comptes rendus de l'Acadmie des sciences, the proceedings of the French Academy of Sciences.

Fayolism[edit]Main article: FayolismFayol's work was one of the first comprehensive statements of a general theory of management.[5] He proposed that there were five primary functions of management and fourteen principles of management[6]

Functions of management[edit]To forecast and planTo organizeTo command or directTo coordinateTo controlThe control function, from the French contrler, is used in the sense that a manager must receive feedback about a process in order to make necessary adjustments and must analyse the deviations. Lately scholars of management combined the commanding and coordinating function into one leading function.

Principles of management[edit]Division of labor - Fayol presented work specialization as the best way to use the human resources of the organization.Authority - Managers must be able to give orders. Authority gives them this right. Note that responsibility arises wherever authority is exercised.Discipline - Employees must obey and respect the rules that govern the organization. Good discipline is the result of effective leadership.Unity of command - Every employee should receive orders from only one superior.Unity of direction - Each group of organizational activities that have the same objective should be directed by one manager using one plan for achievement of one common goal.Subordination - The interests of any one employee or group of employees should not take precedence over the interests of the organization as a whole.Remuneration - Workers must be paid a fair wage for their services.Centralization - Centralization refers to the degree to which subordinates are involved in decision making.Scalar chain - The line of authority from top management to the lowest ranks represents the scalar chain. Communications should follow this chain.Order - this principle is concerned with systematic arrangement of men, machine, material etc. there should be a specific place for every employee in an organizationEquity - Managers should be kind and fair to their subordinates.Stability of tenure of personnel - High employee turnover is inefficient. Management should provide orderly personnel planning and ensure that replacements are available to fill vacancies.Initiative - Employees who are allowed to originate and carry out plans will exert high levels of effort.Esprit de corps - Promoting team spirit will build harmony and unity within the organization.Fayol's work has stood the test of time and has been shown to be relevant and appropriate to contemporary management.[citation needed] Many of todays management texts including Richard L. Daft's[7] have reduced the six functions to five: (1) planning; (2) organizing; (3) leading; (4) controlling (5) forecasting. Daft's text is organized around Fayol's five functions.

Publications[edit]Books, translated1930. Industrial and General Administration. Translated by J.A. Coubrough, London: Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons.1949. General and Industrial Management. Translated by C. Storrs, Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons, London.Articles, translated, a selection1900. "Henri Fayol addressed his colleagues in the mineral industry 23 June 1900." Translated by J.A. Coubrough. In: Fayol (1930) Industrial and General Administration. pp. 7981 (Republished in: Wren, Bedeian & Breeze, (2002) "The foundations of Henri Fayols administrative theory")1909. "Lexposee des principles generaux dadministration". Translated by J.D Breeze. published in: Daniel A. Wren, Arthur G. Bedeian, John D. Breeze, (2002) "The foundations of Henri Fayols administrative theory", Management Decision, Vol. 40 Iss: 9, pp. 906 9181923. "The administrative theory in the state". Translated by S. Greer. In: Gulick, L. and Urwick. L. Eds. (1937) Papers on the Science of Administration, Institute of Public Administration. New York. pp. 99114