Published By: Orna Ghosh

What are the principles of management?

Management is broadly defined as an act of controlling and directing a group of people or a company to achieve goals and targets.

It involves deployment and manipulation of employees, financial resources, technical systems and other resources. A manager is responsible develop skill sets such as leadership, planning, communication and organisation. Once Steve Jobs mentioned that if you want to excel as a manager, you must understand and learn to apply the universal principles of management. Therefore, let us study the principles of management.

 DIVISION OF WORK is a simple concept which refers to the segmentation of single work into small tasks. As per the deadline of the overall project, these tasks are to get completed within a particular timeframe. The manager in an organisation is responsible for assigning these tasks to the employees with relevant skill sets. After dividing the work, a manager makes sure that it is done with maximum accuracy and within the allocated timeframe.

 TEAM EQUALITY is the responsibility of the manager of any company. It is entitled to provide equal treatment to every team member. A manager with biased nature fails to maintain harmony among the members, which eventually affects work efficiency among others. However, having an impartial nature is one of the core values of a leader. As a manager, your responsibility is to keep the interest of an organisation above all. Therefore, you can line up some non-discrimination policies to encourage equality among the team.

 UNITY OF DIRECTION ensures that every unit in an organisation is working to achieve the common objective. The manager acts as a single head to control the direction of several teams having similar organisational goals. Today, managers are thinking to introduce flexibility to encourage creativity among the team members. However, a manager acts as a bridge between employees and senior levels officers. They take directions from the higher-level officers and applies them into an action plan.

 AUTHORITY AND RESPONSIBILITY are two main aspects of leadership qualities. A manager has the power to give directions and assign tasks to the employees. Along with it comes the responsibilities to maintain a work culture and resolve obligations by workers. According to Henri Fayol, a successful manager maintains the balance between authority and responsibility.

 DISCIPLINE in an organisation is significant because it creates a better workspace environment and encourages creativity among employees. According to the management principles, organisations must follow a set of rules and regulations for smooth operations.

These are some of the management principles that will help you become a successful manager.