48 Principles and Functions of Management

48.1 Meaning of Management

Management is the process of planning, organising, leading and controlling the resources of an organisation to achieve stated objectives efficiently and effectively (robbins2022?; koontz2020?).

Three classic definitions:

Three Working Definitions of Management

Source	Definition
Mary Parker Follett	“The art of getting things done through people.”
Peter F. Drucker	“Management is a multipurpose organ that manages business and manages managers and manages workers and work.”
Harold Koontz	“Management is the art of getting things done through and with people in formally organised groups.”

48.2 Nature and Characteristics of Management

Six Features of Management

Feature	Working content
Goal-oriented	Directed at organisational objectives
Universal	Applies to every organised activity
Continuous process	Ongoing — plan, organise, lead, control
Multi-disciplinary	Draws on economics, psychology, sociology, statistics
Group activity	Coordination of people
Both science and art	Body of knowledge + skill in application

48.3 Management as Science, Art and Profession

Science — has a systematic body of knowledge, principles, cause-effect relationships, scope for experimentation.
Art — requires skill in application; personalised; gets better with practice.
Profession — has a body of knowledge, formal education (MBA), code of conduct (AIMA), and service motive — but lacks restricted entry like medicine or law.

Modern view: management is both science and art, and an evolving profession.

48.4 Levels of Management

Three Levels of Management

Level	Roles	Examples
Top	Strategy, policy, long-term goals	Board, CEO, MD, CFO, COO
Middle	Implementation, coordination, departmental policy	Department heads, regional managers
Lower / Supervisory	Day-to-day operations, direct workers	Foreman, supervisor, team leader

48.5 Functions of Management — POSDCORB and Beyond

The classical list comes from Henri Fayol (1916) — plan, organise, command, coordinate, control. Luther Gulick (1937) gave the famous mnemonic POSDCORB: Planning, Organising, Staffing, Directing, Coordinating, Reporting, Budgeting. Modern textbooks usually compress this to four to five functions:

Five Modern Functions of Management

Function	Working content
Planning	Set objectives; decide what, how and when to do
Organising	Assign tasks, group activities, allocate authority and resources
Staffing	Manpower planning; recruit, select, train, appraise, reward
Directing / Leading	Lead, motivate, communicate, supervise
Controlling	Set standards, measure performance, take corrective action

flowchart LR
  P[Planning] --> O[Organising]
  O --> S[Staffing]
  S --> D[Directing]
  D --> C[Controlling]
  C -.feedback.-> P
  style P fill:#FFEBEE,stroke:#C62828
  style C fill:#E8F5E9,stroke:#2E7D32

48.6 Schools of Management Thought

Major Schools of Management

School	Era	Key thinker	Core idea
Scientific Management	early 1900s	F.W. Taylor	Time-and-motion study; “one best way”
Administrative / Process	1916	Henri Fayol	14 principles; functions of management
Bureaucracy	1920s	Max Weber	Hierarchy, rules, impersonal roles
Human Relations	1930s	Elton Mayo	Hawthorne studies; people matter
Behavioural	1940s–60s	Maslow, Herzberg, McGregor	Motivation, leadership, group dynamics
Quantitative / Operations Research	1940s	Various	Math models, decision science, OR
Systems Approach	1950s	Bertalanffy, Boulding	Organisation as a system of subsystems
Contingency / Situational	1960s–70s	Lawrence, Lorsch, Fiedler	“It depends” — fit between situation and structure
Modern: TQM, BPR, Excellence	1980s onwards	Deming, Hammer, Peters	Quality, process redesign, excellence

48.7 Taylor’s Scientific Management

F.W. Taylor’s The Principles of Scientific Management (1911) launched the modern field. Taylor’s four principles:

Taylor’s Four Principles of Scientific Management

Principle	Working content
Science, not rule of thumb	Replace tradition with study
Harmony, not discord	Cooperation between management and workers
Cooperation, not individualism	Group rather than individual effort
Development of each person to their greatest efficiency	Training and progress

Taylor’s techniques: time and motion study, functional foremanship, differential piece-rate wage system, standardisation, scientific selection and training.

48.8 Fayol’s 14 Principles

Henri Fayol’s General and Industrial Management (1916) listed 14 principles of management that remain the bedrock of administrative theory (fayol1916?):

Fayol’s 14 Principles

Principle	One-line meaning
Division of work	Specialisation raises productivity
Authority and responsibility	Right to command and obligation to perform
Discipline	Obedience and respect
Unity of command	One superior per subordinate
Unity of direction	One head, one plan for one group of activities
Subordination of individual interest to general interest	Common goals first
Remuneration	Fair and motivating pay
Centralisation (and decentralisation)	Right balance per situation
Scalar chain	Line of authority from top to bottom
Order	A place for everything and everyone
Equity	Kindness and justice combined
Stability of tenure	Avoid high turnover
Initiative	Encourage employee initiative
Esprit de corps	Build team spirit

48.9 Taylor vs Fayol — A Note

Taylor vs Fayol

Dimension	Taylor	Fayol
Level of focus	Shop floor / lower levels	Top-level / general management
Approach	Bottom-up; engineering view	Top-down; functional view
Emphasis	Operational efficiency	Administrative principles
Background	American mechanical engineer	French mining executive

48.10 Modern Functions and the Manager’s Roles

Henry Mintzberg (1973) identified ten managerial roles in three groups:

Mintzberg’s Ten Managerial Roles

Group	Roles
Interpersonal	Figurehead, Leader, Liaison
Informational	Monitor, Disseminator, Spokesperson
Decisional	Entrepreneur, Disturbance handler, Resource allocator, Negotiator

48.11 Skills of a Manager — Katz

Robert Katz (1955) identified three core managerial skills:

Katz’s Three Managerial Skills

Skill	Definition	Most important at
Technical	Specialised knowledge of the work	Lower management
Human / Interpersonal	Ability to work well with people	All levels
Conceptual	Big-picture, strategic thinking	Top management

48.12 Exam-Pattern MCQs

Q 01

"Management is the art of getting things done through people." This definition is attributed to:

AF.W. Taylor
BHenri Fayol
CMary Parker Follett
DPeter Drucker

View solution

Correct Option: C

The classic Mary Parker Follett definition.

Q 02

Match each function of management with its activity:

	Function		Activity
(i)	Planning	(a)	Recruit, select, train
(ii)	Organising	(b)	Set objectives and decide course of action
(iii)	Staffing	(c)	Lead, motivate, communicate
(iv)	Directing	(d)	Group activities, allocate authority

A(i)-(b), (ii)-(d), (iii)-(a), (iv)-(c)
B(i)-(a), (ii)-(b), (iii)-(c), (iv)-(d)
C(i)-(c), (ii)-(a), (iii)-(d), (iv)-(b)
D(i)-(d), (ii)-(c), (iii)-(b), (iv)-(a)

View solution

Correct Option: A

Q 03

Luther Gulick's mnemonic POSDCORB lists which of the following functions?

APlanning, Organising, Staffing, Directing, Coordinating, Reporting, Budgeting
BProducing, Organising, Selling, Distributing, Communicating, Refining, Buying
CProfit, Output, Sales, Distribution, Cost, Output, Brand
DPlanning, Operation, Strategy, Design, Control, Output, Branding

View solution

Correct Option: A

POSDCORB = Planning, Organising, Staffing, Directing, Coordinating, Reporting, Budgeting.

Q 04

Match each thinker with their major contribution:

	Thinker		Contribution
(i)	F.W. Taylor	(a)	Hawthorne studies; human relations
(ii)	Henri Fayol	(b)	Bureaucracy theory
(iii)	Max Weber	(c)	Scientific management
(iv)	Elton Mayo	(d)	14 principles of management

A(i)-(c), (ii)-(d), (iii)-(b), (iv)-(a)
B(i)-(a), (ii)-(b), (iii)-(c), (iv)-(d)
C(i)-(b), (ii)-(c), (iii)-(d), (iv)-(a)
D(i)-(d), (ii)-(a), (iii)-(c), (iv)-(b)

View solution

Correct Option: A

Q 05

Which of Fayol's principles requires that "one subordinate should receive orders from one superior only"?

AUnity of direction
BUnity of command
CScalar chain
DCentralisation

View solution

Correct Option: B

Unity of command — one superior per subordinate (different from unity of direction, which is "one head, one plan for one group of activities").

Q 06

Match Mintzberg's role group with its representative role:

	Group		Role
(i)	Interpersonal	(a)	Resource allocator
(ii)	Informational	(b)	Liaison
(iii)	Decisional	(c)	Spokesperson

A(i)-(b), (ii)-(c), (iii)-(a)
B(i)-(a), (ii)-(b), (iii)-(c)
C(i)-(c), (ii)-(a), (iii)-(b)
D(i)-(c), (ii)-(b), (iii)-(a)

View solution

Correct Option: A

Q 07

Katz's conceptual skill is most important at which level of management?

ALower / supervisory
BMiddle
CTop
DEqual at all levels

View solution

Correct Option: C

Conceptual / strategic thinking is most important at the top.

Q 08

Arrange the following management functions in the order in which they are typically performed: (i) Controlling (ii) Organising (iii) Planning (iv) Directing

A(iii), (ii), (iv), (i)
B(i), (ii), (iii), (iv)
C(iv), (iii), (ii), (i)
D(ii), (iii), (i), (iv)

View solution

Correct Option: A

Plan → Organise → Direct → Control (with Staffing typically between Organising and Directing).

Quick recall

Management — process of planning, organising, leading, controlling.
Three definitions: Follett (art of getting things done through people), Drucker (multipurpose organ), Koontz (formally organised groups).
Three levels: Top, Middle, Lower / Supervisory.
Functions — Fayol’s plan, organise, command, coordinate, control; Gulick’s POSDCORB = Planning, Organising, Staffing, Directing, Coordinating, Reporting, Budgeting.
Schools: Scientific (Taylor 1911), Administrative (Fayol 1916), Bureaucracy (Weber), Human Relations (Mayo Hawthorne), Behavioural, Quantitative / OR, Systems, Contingency, Modern (TQM, BPR).
Taylor’s 4 principles + techniques (time-motion, differential piece-rate, functional foremanship).
Fayol’s 14 principles — including Unity of Command, Unity of Direction, Scalar Chain, Esprit de Corps.
Taylor (shop floor, engineering) vs Fayol (top-level, administrative).
Mintzberg (1973): 10 roles in 3 groups — Interpersonal, Informational, Decisional.
Katz (1955): three skills — Technical, Human, Conceptual (technical at lower; conceptual at top).