Principles of Management || Introduction of Management || Bcis Notes

Principles Of Management

Management of Objectives
Division of Work
Substitution of Resources
Span of Control
Unity of functions
Unity of command
Delegation of authority
Management by exception
Shortest decision-path

The principles of management are described below:

1. Management of Objectives

It is one of the important principles of management. The objectives of a management system and its sub-system must be clearly identified, defined and understand. Any confusion or lack of clarity in objectives would confuse managers and, ultimately lead to no or poor results. When a gap occurs between the objectives and results, management makes an analysis of how the observed results were achieved and, discovers what caused the gap. Action is taken accordingly and learning takes place. Thus, helps management to formulate realistic objectives and achieve the results.

2. Division of Work

The work is divided or distributed among the groups and also among members of the group. When there is specialization in a division of labor, each member exercises his or her own skills towards achieving the objective. It should attempt to bring about a balance among the different groups and people in terms of workload and difficulty. It is also a concern of management that materials and other resources be adequate for the staff in a position to enable them to undertake their jobs.,

3. Substitution of Resources

When a commodity becomes scarce, ordinary people buy less of it. The concept of economy of resources is applied by almost everyone in daily life. This leads us to the principle of substitution of resources. When the resources that are normally used to provide services become scarce or too expensive, a different balance of resources may be used to produce the intended results.

4. Span of Control

The number of subordinates under the immediate supervision of one manager should be limited to a manageable number. The span of control, however, can be determined depending upon the capacity and skill of the supervisor and the nature of operation the supervisor undertakes. The span of control is satisfactory if it avoids an unnecessarily tall structure and does not overtax the mental and physical capacities of the managers.

5. Unity of functions

An organization is composed of various functions that are inter-related. They must work together to achieve major objectives. The principle of unity of functions requires the various functions to be in proper balance and, adequately co-ordinated an integrated as component parts of a single system.

6. Unity of command

An employee should receive orders and instructions from only one superior. When an employee receives a command from two or more superiors. Confusion is created. Sometimes these orders may also be in conflict. This situation event usually destroys organizational disciplines. If the lines of authority are not properly drawn, one supervisor will not know where his/her command stops and others begin. The principle says that lines of command must be clearly drawn and the working relations among employees must be properly determined.

7. Delegation of authority

Individuals in the organizations must be delegated authority that commensurates with their assigned responsibilities. Then, only they can be accountable for the performance of their duties. Delegation takes place when somebody’s authority is lent to another person. Thus, according to this principle, the authority should be delegated to the lowest level at which it can competently discharge. This ability to delegate is a key responsibility for every manager.

8. Management by exception

Managers should not overload themselves with routine and repetitive types of work. They should be selective and keep time available for exceptional or critical issues. Managers should make big decisions first. Being overloaded with petty decisions may neglect the more important ones. Management by exception means selectivity in work and priority in decisions.

9. Shortest decision-path

This principle deals with the issue of making a decision. The decision must be made as closely as possible in time a place to the object of the decision and to those affected by it. This saves time and work. And also ensures that decisions can take full account of the actual circumstances which demand the decisions in which they are put into effect.