- Henry Fayol gave the now universally acceptable 14 principles of management. Fayol advocated for all managers following the following principles;
Division of work; According Fayol work should be subdivided to smaller tasks and divided among individuals. This encourages specialization which in turn improves efficiency in the organization.
Authority and Responsibility; Fayol defined authority as the power to exact obedience and the right to give orders. The two concepts are closely related and go hand in hand. Authority without responsibility results in irresponsible behavior whereas responsibility without authority results to ineffectiveness in a manager.
Discipline; Fayol defined discipline as sincerity, respect of authority, obedience and adherence to the rules and regulations of an organization. Discipline is required both to management and subordinates.
Unity of command; in this principle Fayol emphasized that each worker in an organization should report to only one boss. When a worker receives instructions from conflicting lines of command it; weakens discipline, delays work, undermines authority, delays work, creates confusion and results in duplication of effort.
Subordination of personal interests to the general interests; the interests of the enterprise should take priority over individual interests.
Remuneration; in determining an employee’s pay rate many variables need to be considered. Such variables include cost of living, business success, supply of qualified work force, and the general business conditions.
Centralization; the degree of adoption of centralization or decentralization depends on the requirements of the organization the manager is working in. Other principles include scalar chain, order, equity, initiative, and stability of personnel’s tenure.
Max weber on the other hand, stressed on the need for reduction of ambiguity and diversity in organizations. His focus was on establishment of clear authority lines and control. His bureaucratic theory laid emphasis on the need for structure of power which was hierarchical. Like Fayol’s division of work principle, Weber’s theory too recognized the significance of specialization and division of labor.
Both theories do work in today’s work place in different measures. The extent of application in the organization varies depending on the philosophy to which management subscribe to. Besides, the two theories share a few common ideologies.
- A bureaucracy is a form of organization comprised of officials who are non-elected. The officials implement rules in the organization. In the public sectors examples include public universities, United States military, Environmental Protection Agency and Environmental protection Agency. In the private sector example of organizations which have implemented the bureaucratic structure include; the Union Pacific Railroad, GM and IBM.
- Quality is in manufacturing can be defined as a state of being free from significant variations or defects. It’s an excellence measure. Just-in-time is an inventory management policy in which no stocks are held in the company’s warehouses. Inventory is ordered as and when it is required, and in the quantities demanded. Examples of companies that use this method of inventory management are Toyota and Dell.
- Both theories are content (or need) theories i.e. they both focus on the factors internal to an individual that direct behavior. They both regard motivation as a product of an inner drive that compels a person to act towards the fulfillment of individual needs. However, the two theories are different in that; Maslow hierarchy of needs suggests that an individual’s needs are hierarchical consisting physiological, security belonging, esteem and self-actualization needs. According to this theory, the lower level needs need to be satisfied before the higher level needs. On the other hand, Herzberg’s hygiene theory argues that meeting the lower level needs of an individual do not motivate and individual. These he call hygiene factors, However higher level needs do motivate an individual and thus called motivators.
- Affirmative action is the law that allows a disadvantaged group to be favored. The purpose is to bring in equity and help promote the disadvantaged so that they get opportunities like in jobs. Critics argue that affirmative action is also a form of discrimination. Some also say that it does not achieve its objective. I think it is a positive thing since it tries to bring a balance in the society.
- Labor Unions are organized groups that are representative of workers in a country. They represent workers interest and hold a collective bargain for better working terms and conditions. In the US, AFL-CIO and the Change to Win Federation are umbrella trade unions the former is mostly concerned with global trade issues while the latter looks into legislation and advocates for better working conditions. Labor unions have managed to advocate for better working conditions for their members. They have also often come out in defense of their members when accused of malpractice or other work related offences.
- Marketing has shown progress over the years, focusing on different aspects. To begin with marketing was focused on trade, then production, the focus then moved to then sales, marketing department and finally company marketing.
- The four components of marketing are target product, price, promotion and place. They determine how one tailors a good marketing strategy that takes into account the four elements
- B2B marketing is more complex and the decision to buy is informed by a range of issues while B2C marketing is simple, the consumer involves emotion into what to purchases and focuses on obvious issues like quality, cost etc. When starting a small business, I would directly market to the consumer since a small enterprise means sales in small quantities. Marketing to businesses might need a larger operation.
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