Principles of Management
Principles of management are fundamental concepts and advisory guidelines for managerial decision making. By using management principles, managers can more easily achieve the objectives and avoid making mistakes in their activities. Management principles can be applied to any kind of organization and to managers at all organizational levels.
A principle can be defined as a fundamental statement of truth providing a guide to thought or action. Principles help to understand what results can be expected when a particular management principle is applied. These management principles emerge based on certain qualities/characteristics that have relevance to management theory and practice.
Principles of management are to the manager as a guidebook of strengths and weaknesses which provides fundamental truths, expressed as quantitative data based on years of experience and testing. The manager can use these principles to take timely guidance for various management issues as these management principles have been developed from years of experience and testing, in public and private, in big and small organizations. By using management principles, managers can effectively achieve business objectives and avoid making fundamental mistakes in their actions and decisions. They are basic guides and a framework for reference but not absolute as managers need to take actions based on the context in which they operate. They are like working hypotheses that are reasonably well established, accepted, and used in many successful organizations, and managers must adapt them to their specific situation.
As more research is conducted, we gain more understanding of the way management principles operate; new principles will emerge, some existing management principles will get modified, and some others will be discarded not being truly representative of management practice in today’s context.
Henri Fayol (1849-1925), a French industrialist and a prominent European management theorist, developed a general theory of management. Fayol outlined the fourteen principles of management. Given below are some of the other attributes of good management principles:
- Practical: Management principles should have a practical application, which means they can be applied in the organizational context and remain appropriate
- Relevant: Management principles should not be restricted to one business scenario but they should be invariably applicable to the various broad forms of organizational structures and different businesses operating in different business domains.
- Consistent: The management principles should be consistent in their applicability and application meaning thereby that under a similar set of circumstances, similar business results can be expected.
- Flexible: Business operates in different environments and has multiple types of products and services. They build different operational and organizational structures. Management principles should take into accounts the particular differences or changes in the conditions that affect the organization. The use of management principles is intended to simplify, guide, and facilitate management work.
Therefore, management principles are a guiding key to actions that should be taken in a particular business context. They provide the guidelines from which the manager can understand the situation and recommended action and apply that in his particular context. They represent the major considerations in current management thought.
Given below are some of the important principles of management that will help you to build a better understanding of the management process:
Focus on Business Objectives
Management is always purposeful focused on the achievement of specific business objectives and goals. Managerial success is measured by the extent to which these objectives have been met. Management should keep a continued focus on the work needed to be accomplished.
Keep Things Moving
Management is responsible for making things happen and meet business goals. Managers should focus their efforts on bringing about successful action as per the vision and mission of the organization. They must provide direction to set goals, keep things moving, follow through to ensure members of the group accomplish the task they have been assigned.
Directing the Team
Management is accomplished by managing the team. The manager needs to relinquish the natural tendency to perform all things oneself and should focus on getting the tasks accomplished through the efforts of the group members. Management is thus associated with the efforts of the group. A group is necessary to accomplish business goals as an enterprise comes into existence to attain these goals, and these goals can be achieved only through group effort rather than by one person alone.
Motivating the Team
Management is an outstanding means for exerting a real impact on human, social, and political life. A manager can do much to improve the work-environment he operates in and the resources he deals in. A manager must stimulate and motivate people to do things better, and in the process should assist favorable organizational actions to take place. A manager can achieve progress, bring hope, and help group members acquire the better things in life.
These principles of management will definitely help you in discharging your roles and responsibilities as a manager. Understanding these principles will also broaden your understanding of the theories of management that every manager should be aware of.
Suggested Reading and Resources
Related Links
You May Also Like
-
The development of teams is an ongoing process because the composition of the team may keep on changing. The new members may join and the old members may leave the team. The team members pass through several stages for the development of the team and there has been a lot of research to identify these stages. In this article, we discuss the common theories of team development.
-
In its simplest sense, decision-making is the act of choosing between two or more courses of action. Decision making is a key skill in the workplace and is particularly important if you want to be an effective leader. When decisions have to be made, there are several stages that you should go through to reach a practical solution. Understand the meaning and importance of decision making and how to look at it as a process.
-
In this study of power, Raven identified five bases of power as coercive, reward, legitimate, referent, and expert. The 5 Types of Power can help you decide when it is appropriate to use a particular type of power in important situations. Leadership involves authority and it is very important for leaders to understand what type of power they're using.
-
Tools for Developing Your Team
If a manager has too many weak spots in the talent of the team, the ability to empower the team members to independently execute the project is impaired. Assignments fall behind schedule or stretch out because the needed skills or knowledge are not in place when needed. To successfully execute important projects, hiring talented people, and increasing the talents of existing staff are most important.
-
The best career choices are ones that match your values. Each person has several values that are important to him. These values are highly personal and knowing them provides a clearer sense of what's most important to you in your life and career. Career values are the beliefs you consider important from a work standpoint. Values help you understand what you want from a job? Explore a few examples of work values that can influence career path and job satisfaction.
-
Frederick Winslow Taylor started the “Scientific Management Movement”, and attempted to study the work process scientifically. Scientific management, also called Taylorism, was a theory of management that analyzed and synthesized workflows. It is a system for increasing the efficiency of manpower to its maximum potential and streamlining production to improve efficiency. This article explores this theory in more detail.
-
McClelland's Theory of Needs is a human motivation theory which states that an individual's specific needs are acquired over time through our culture and life experiences. As per the three needs theory, these acquired needs significantly influence the behavior of an individual. The three main driving motivators are the needs for achievement, affiliation, and power.
-
Investment Theory of Creativity
Sternberg in the year 2006, proposed the investment and confluence theory focused on understanding creativity. According to the investment theory, creativity requires a confluence of six distinct but interrelated resources known as intellectual abilities, knowledge, styles of thinking, personality, motivation, and environment. It emphasizes that creativity is not about one thing, but about a system of things.
-
Management Principles by Fayol
Henri Fayol (1849-1925), a French industrialist and a prominent European management theorist, developed a general theory of management. Fayol outlined the fourteen principles of management.
-
Quantitative Theory of Management
The quantitative management approach is given by the mathematical school that recommends the use of computers and mathematical techniques to solve complex management issues and assist in the managerial decision-making process. Managers observe historical quantitative relationships and use quantitative techniques such as statistics, information models, and computer simulations to improve their decision making.
