Henry Fayol's Organizational and Management Theory

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There are many theories that have been developed by scholars to explain the principles and practice of management. Some of these theorists include: Henry Fayol; and Mintzberg among others. Henry Fayol is believed to be the first scholar to develop the management theory. Other scholars developed their theories based on the weakness of Henry Fayol’s theory of management (Thomson 2004).

Henry Fayol is a scholar of French national and was born in 1841. The scholar Fayol was born at the cusp of French’s industrial revolution. Fayol mainly developed theories on management and organization of labor. Fayol developed the theory of management out of the experiences of French economy in the early years of the 19th century. During this period, France was underdeveloped compared to countries like Britain and Prussia. During this period the unification of Germany further exposed the underdevelopment of France and made it more economically insecure. Fayol is believed to be the founding father of the administration school and the first to describe management as a top down process based on planning and the organization of people (Thomson 2004).

The industrial and trade success of Germany and Britain to the expense of France was influential to Fayol too. This led to Fayol developing the French economic centralization and firm policy. The development of these policies boosted the development of France as it began to catch up with the rapidly growing Germany. This was in the year 1871 (EmeraldInsight 2011).

These were also considered to be Fayol’s productive years as a businessman in the mining industry. At this timeframe France was also desperately in need of a new management theory so as to address its rapid and destabilizing economi...

... middle of paper ...

...d realization of the goals; planning, organizing, commanding, coordinating and controlling processes are vital and essential (12manage).

Due to the changes in management patterns and advancements, there are changes that could be made to the theory to make it relevant and applicable in the contemporary management. For instance, in the fourteen principles, the inclusion of staff welfare may make the theory flexible and adaptable (Thomson 2004).

References

EmeraldInsight, (2011). Henri Fayol, Practitioner and Theoretician-Revered and Reviled. Web 4 April. 2015.

http://www.emeraildinsight.com/1751-1348.htm

12Manage, (2010). Principles of Management by Henry Fayol. Web 4 April. 2015.

http://www.12manage.com/methods_fayol_14_principles_of_management.htm

Thomson, (2004). Management Theory and Practice. Web 4 April. 2015.

http://www.thomsonlearning.co.uk

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