Principles of management are guidelines that are universally applicable to any organization at any level. They serve as general guidelines, rather than rigid rules, and allow for a great deal of managerial discretion. Besides general guidelines, management principles also identify cause-and-effect relationships among related variables. In other words, certain actions will result in specific outcomes, and a specific principle can help the organisation achieve its goals in a particular situation. Although human behavior is complicated, principles of management offer general guidelines for achieving organizational goals.
In addition to these general guidelines, there are some principles that are especially helpful to managers. For example, the division of work principle focuses on ensuring that the right resources are made available to employees. In addition, it emphasizes social order, a healthy workplace, and adequate resources for all employees. A manager should apply these principles to the workplace to ensure that all employees feel equally valued and in the right place. Finally, the equity principle focuses on the fair treatment of all employees, regardless of their position in the organization.
The Administrative Theory focuses on empowering people and improving practices. By contrast, the Scientific Management school, led by Frederick Taylor, focused on individual work and experimented with methods of boosting productivity by dividing tasks. Regardless of the method used, experts agree that division of work improves productivity. They also note that efficiency improves with training and skill development. However, they also suggest that managers should not multi-task or focus on multitasking.
The Principles of Management textbook covers all of the requisites for an introductory-level management course. As a result, it uses the traditional management approach of planning, organizing, and controlling. However, management is a broad field and includes many specialties. In order to provide a comprehensive, accessible and relevant textbook for students, Cady, Fenwick, and Fenwick have conducted extensive content analyses and reviewed over 100 syllabi in order to determine what topics are most relevant to the curriculum.
A scalar chain is the chain of authority between employees and their superiors. Employees should understand where they fall in the hierarchy and who to report to. Organizational charts can help visualize the scalar chain of authority. The principle of material order suggests that resources should be allocated to the right places at the right time. Inefficient resource allocation leads to misplaced resources and an unorganized workplace. This principle is often applied to a company’s structure and outlines how the managers and supervisors should communicate with each other.
The Fourth and most basic principle of management is decision-making. Decision-making involves defining the goals of the organization, developing alternative solutions, selecting one, and delegating authority to implement the solution. Once the decision is made, the team members should evaluate the solution and make it work in the best interests of the organization. It is important that management is constantly reevaluating the principles of management. For example, it is important to be flexible and agile in order to adapt to changes in the workplace.