Interrelationship Between Management Functions

APPRAISAL OF PRINCIPLES OF MANAGEMENT

Fayol used the word ‘principle’ only for convenience and according to him principles are not immutable laws. He simply described them as flexible and capable of adaptation to every need. The principles are based on experience of various writers. The situations under which they were derived may not occur again. Simon has pointed that some of the principles are contradictory to each other, e.g., the principle of unity of command is incompatible with the principle of specialization. But it does not mean that these principles should be discarded altogether. They may be modified to fit the new situations. These principles are not rigid laws and so they may not be applicable fully in all situations. They are simply guideposts which help a manager to take right decisions. They cannot be applied blindly even in similar situations. They are to be used carefully and discretely. To quote Fayol, “It is a matter of knowing how to make use of them; which is a difficult art requiring intelligence, experience, decision and proportion.”

Fayol was a universalists in the sense that he thought that his principles would be applicable to all types of situations. He was of the opinion that his principles are not only applicable to business organizations with the same degree of clarity and success. The universality of these principles has been established beyond doubt as they are being applied by various people managing different organizations. They are applicable to any kind of organization wherever there is a need of coordinated effort of human beings. This is because the same management functions are to be performed for achieving the objectives of any organization.

It is conceded by the advocates of universality of management principles that these principles may require modification in different situations. “Principles are flexible and capable of adaptation to every need.” It is not out of place to add that the future managers will discover new principles of management to meet the new challenges which may occur as a result of changes in social, technological, political and economic environment.