Henri Fayol is widely considered to be the father of administrative management theory which focussed on the development of broad administrative principles that were applicable to general and higher managerial levels. Though his contribution to the field of management sciences is indispensable, it is argued that some of the fourteen principles propounded by him are rather outmoded due to the way the present-day organisations conduct their business

T., Senthil Kumar

UMP Institutional Repository

Proceeding 7th International Conference on Global Social Entrepreneurship (Kundasang) 2016 ISBN: 978-967-13718-5-5 276 MODERN ORGANISATIONS AND FAYOLISM Senthil Kumar T. Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Industrial Management Universiti Malaysia Pahang, 26300, Gambang, Malaysia senthilkumar@ump.edu.my, +6 09 5493235 Abstract  Henri Fayol is widely considered to be the father of administrative management theory which focussed on the development of broad administrative principles that were applicable to general and higher managerial levels. Though his contribution to the field of management sciences is indispensable, it is argued that some of the fourteen principles propounded by him are rather outmoded due to the way the present-day organisations conduct their business. Keywords: Fayol, Fayolism, management, administration, organisation, management theory Introduction  Henri Fayol published his ideas on administration and management (Narayanan & Nath, 1993) about a century ago based on his experience as a Mining Engineer in France (Witzel, 2003). It was proposed that there were five primary functions of management and fourteen principles of management (Fayol, 1917). The fourteen principles of management were synthesised as follows (Vlett, 2014):1. Division of Work 2. Authority and Responsibility 3. Discipline 4. Unity of Command 5. Unity of Direction 6. Subordination of Individual Interest 7. Remuneration 8. The Degree of Centralization 9. Scalar Chain 10. Order 

Modern Organisations and Fayolism

Journal of Global Business and Social Entrepreneurship (GBSE)Vol. 4: no. 5 (2016) page 1–5| gbse.com.my | eISSN 24621714|1MODERN ORGANISATIONS AND FAYOLISMSenthil Kumar TFaculty of Industrial ManagementUniversiti Malaysia Pahang, 26300, Gambang, Malaysiasenthilkumar@ump.edu.my, +6 09 5493235AbstractHenri Fayol is widely considered to be the father of administrative management theory whichfocussed on the development of broad administrative principles that were applicable to generaland higher managerial levels. Though his contribution to the field of management sciences isindispensable, it is argued that some of the fourteen principles propounded by him are ratheroutmoded due to the way the present-day organisations conduct their business.Keywords: Fayol, Fayolism, management, administration, organisation, management theory2016 GBSE Journal1. IntroductionHenri Fayol published his ideas on administration and management (Narayanan & Nath,1993) about a century ago based on his experience as a Mining Engineer in France (Witzel,2003). It was proposed that there were five primary functions of management and fourteenprinciples of management (Fayol, 1917). The fourteen principles of management weresynthesised as follows (Vlett, 2014):1. Division of Work2. Authority and Responsibility3. Discipline4. Unity of Command5. Unity of Direction6. Subordination of Individual Interest7. RemunerationJournal of Global Business and Social Entrepreneurship (GBSE)Vol. 4: no. 5 (2016) page 1–5| gbse.com.my | eISSN 24621714|28. The Degree of Centralization9. Scalar Chain10. Order11. Equity12. Stability of Tenure of Personnel13. Initiative14. Esprit de CorpsFayol’s works gaining popularity in 1949 (Pugh & Hickson, 2007) and these principleshave stood the test of time for almost a century (Pryor & Guthrie, 2010 and Jacqueline, 2011),the modern organisations have evolved to fast in the recent years rendering the application ofsome his principles questionable. Rapid globalisation over the last few decades has resulted inmany changes in the job structure, nature of jobs and employees outlook toward employment.Consequently, employees’ perception on factors such as job security, urbanisation andoutsourcing have undergone changes in the recent years. Hence, it is felt that the following fourprinciples may still not be the order of the day:1. Division of work2. Unity of command3. Subordination of individual interest to general interest4. Stability of tenure of people2. Division of WorkThe operations of present-day organisations are different from the days of miningoperations that took place a hundred years ago. These days the term ‘work’ does not refer tophysical work alone. The term doesn’t convey the right meaning if it is used to describephysical work done by fitters, carpenters or workers in an assembly line.During the industrialisation era, the workers were expected to gain expertise in a tradeby repeating the same work again and again. It was presumed that they gained expertise byexperience and subsequently they would take lesser time to accomplish the job assigned tothem.Journal of Global Business and Social Entrepreneurship (GBSE)Vol. 4: no. 5 (2016) page 1–5| gbse.com.my | eISSN 24621714|3However, global economy is no more in that era and many nations are orientingthemselves towards service based economic development. In service based economies multi-tasking becomes an essential qualification. Banks are a classic example to describe this.A person who takes care of the cash counter for a few months is found in-charge ofloans and advances during the next few months. Subsequently, the person is moved to tellercounter or one-stop counters which offer multiple services such as cheque deposit, queryredressal, issuing of financial instruments and deposit acceptance.The pace at which the businesses change has placed a huge demand on employees tolearn new skills and be a master of all trades than specialising in one functional area. When thetypewriters were defunct the typists had to learn about using computers. And, with the adventof computers, the erstwhile typists do not just type letters, they must use it for billing, inventorymanagement, accounting and many other purposes.Another example is the post office. Apart from postal services, they offer multipleservices such as driving license renewal, road tax renewal, utility bill payment, courier servicesand money transfer. They tie up with private agencies and government departments to offerone-stop solution to consumers. So, the question of division of work doesn’t arise at all andwhether it is a bank or post office or super market or software company, one person is expectedto perform multiple functions.3. Unity of CommandOn a different note, multi-tasking poses challenges in terms of reporting. Typically, theemployees are required to report to many bosses. This is quite different from Fayol’s ideas(Brunson, 2008). A billing clerk doesn’t report to just the accounting head. The person isexpected to communicate with the purchase department, marketing department, ICT andaddress consumer complaints, as well.At one-stop counters in banks, the front office personnel must report on deposits, cashcollection, cheque collection and issue of drafts. Typically, this must be done to different heads/ sections. Marketing personnel must liaise with the production / operations department andfollow up with services department on customer feedback about product / service quality andafter sales service. The person must provide feedback on design and quality assurance also.Journal of Global Business and Social Entrepreneurship (GBSE)Vol. 4: no. 5 (2016) page 1–5| gbse.com.my | eISSN 24621714|4It would be imprudent to restrict the scope to marketing alone and ultimately theemployees end up reporting to multiple bosses. Previously, a worker would report to hissupervisor, the supervisor would report to the engineer, the engineer would report to theproduction manager and the production manager would report to the top management.But, the nature of jobs these days are changing and even in production lines computersare widely being used. This results in workers reporting to direct supervisors, designdepartment and computer section. Ultimately, most of the employees are forced to report tomany heads due to multitasking and changes in the job structure.4. Subordination Of Individual Interest To General InterestIn certain countries, employment was traditionally considered as a lifetime affair. Theemployee would seek alternate employment only when the incumbent company was closed.Loyalty was considered as a critical aspect and the employees sacrificed their own interests touphold the interest of the organisation.However, the current generation of employees and employers consider the idea ofloyalty as outmoded. An employee is expected to apply himself to the assigned job as long ashe was in the organisation. Earlier, employees were expected to be committed to theorganisation. These days, the organisation is committed to employees and vice versa(Rodrigues, 2001).5. Stability Of Tenure Of PersonnelBoth retrenchment and job hopping have become a part of the present employmentmarket. People are committed to their profession than the organisation and hence the employeeturnover is relatively high these days. Employees shift to companies which offer a bettercompensation, or better position or better environment. Similarly, employers do not hesitate todismiss underperforming employees.Organisations have become cost conscious and do not wish to retain employees on apermanent basis. Even the government departments employ workers on a contract basis for afew years and avoid the costs related to increment, EPF and pension. There is no long-termcommitment on either side and temping has come to stay.Journal of Global Business and Social Entrepreneurship (GBSE)Vol. 4: no. 5 (2016) page 1–5| gbse.com.my | eISSN 24621714|56. ConclusionDue to the quick and sweeping development that are happening in the global economy,corporate operations, job dynamics and employees’ perception towards various employmentfactors are changing. The expectation on specialisation has given way to multi-tasking and thathas affected factors related to ‘division of work’ and ‘unity of command’.Likewise, cost consciousness and societal changes have impacted the ideas related to‘subordination of individual interest’ and ‘stability of tenure’. These are not the only changesand numerous other dimensions have altered the way organisations manage their operations.This is an attempt to conceptualise some of the changes and their impact on selected the tenetsof ‘Fayolism’.7. ReferencesBrunsson, K. (2008). Some Effects of Fayolism. International Studies Of Management &Organization. 38 (1). pp. 30–47.Fayol, H. (1917). Administration industrielle et générale; prévoyance, organisation,commandement, coordination, controle (in French), Paris, H. Dunod et E. PinatJacqueline M. (2011). Fayol-Standing the test of time. British Journal of AdministrativeManagement. (74). pp. 32–33.Narayanan, V.K. and Nath, R. (1993), Organization theory : a strategic approach, Irwin, p. 29Pryor, J.L. and Guthrie, C. (2010). The private life of Henri Fayol and his motivation to builda management science. Journal of Management History.Pugh, D.S. and Hickson, D.H. (2007). Great Writers on Organizations. The Third OmnibusEdition, p.144Rodrigues, C.A. (2001). Fayol’s 14 principles of management then and now: a framework formanaging today’s organisations effectively. Management Decision, 30(10), 880 – 889.Vlett, V. (2014). 14 Principles of management (Fayol). Retrieved from: www.toolshero.com.Witzel, M. (2003). Fifty figures in management. Routledge.

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Modern Organisations and Fayolism

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