14 Principles of Management (explained)

The Administration is a social science whose task is the study of human organizations and the various techniques for the control, direction, organization and planning of the resources involved in them, such as: human, financial, material, technological resources, etc. This in order to maximize the benefits obtained and the effectiveness of the organization, in accordance with its established goals and aspirations.

Administration is usually understood as the conglomerate of necessary processes to ideally systematize a human organization, making it possible to apply its precepts to all kinds of Business, countries, institutions, corporations, households and social entities, both public and private, regardless of their role.

Stages of the administrative process

For this, the Administration integrates four main processes:

Administration features

Despite the existence of numerous trends and theoretical schools of management science, this social science is normally expected to meet the following characteristics:

The 14 principles of administration

The investigations of the engineer and theorist of the administration Henry Fayol in managerial matters and business sought to achieve a systemic, global and universal approach to companies, for which designed the fourteen principles basic principles of administration, the application of which in any company or human institution would have to lead to very high rates of efficiency in its task.

These principles are as follows:

1. Division of labour. In an organization not everyone can carry out the same work, since it is necessary to attend to different aspects of it and the way to go to the goal. The separation of responsibilities and specification of the tasks of each member or employee allow progress in different paths at the same time and centralize the energies of each one in its corresponding task, thus gaining time and efficiency in the job.
2. Authority. From the presence of authority in an organization, that is, from the construction of a chain of command, the responsibility and commitment to respond By individual or group actions, it will not be diluted in the possibility that each one has a different opinion and undertakes the actions that he considers on his own.
3. Discipline. Respect for authority and the chain of command is a necessary character in the proper functioning of a human organization. This should not necessarily be interpreted as a martial or military relationship, but without a doubt the instructions emanating from figures with more authority and responsibility must be followed.
4. Unity of command. Each individual in the organization must receive orders from a single superior, since contradictions or juxtapositions in orders and instructions would place him in a difficult position, having to choose which chief to listen to and which one not, which would lead to the division of the unit from the business.
5. Steering unit. The management of the organization as such must respond to a single action plan, led by the administrator in charge, and they must advance as a whole in the same direction, without contradictions, deviations and strays. If all members pursue the same overall goal, they will move more quickly and efficiently in that same direction.
6. Subordination of individual interests to group interests. This principle is fundamental for the constitution of an organizational unit and identity, whatever its nature, since the individuals who working in it must put the benefit of the whole, the achievement of the general objectives common to all, to those of their own and personal schedule. This would prevent corruption, for example.
7. Remuneration. Every individual whose efforts contribute to the achievement of the organization's objective shall receive fair compensation for his efforts, which translates into salaries, benefits and other rights acquired for the workers of a company, for example.
8. Centralization. The optimal degree of centralization in an organization is one that allows the chain of command to operate effectively without bureaucratizing or make "bottle peaks" in decision-making, in which you must wait for the approval of the superior for the slightest effort.
9. Hierarchy. The organization's chain of command must be visible, clearly defined and adhered to. From the highest to the lowest rungs, every individual must know her place in the hierarchy and respect it.
10. Ordering. The different resources necessary for the operation of the organization must be in the place and time when they are necessary and not another.
11. Equity. Leadership in an organization should be exercised in an equitable and humane way, not despotic and selfish. Otherwise, the commitment of the subordinates will be lost.
12. Stability in staff. Constant changes in staff damage the organization as each new individual must learn to do their job again and it will not grow in it, since it will be replaced by another and so on, preventing the growth of the set.
13. Initiative. The Liberty subordinates is vital to their motivation, so an organization must accommodate new ideas, improvisation and initiative, since otherwise it would castrate the entrepreneurial desire of its staff and, incidentally, lose possible good ideas.
14. Esprit de corps. In order to have a good work environment, team conscience must be cultivated and all the members that compose it must be considered essential. Coordinated and peer work is always more motivating than despotic.