Fayol’s principles of management

The principle of equity requires a manager to treat employees fairly, justly and with suitable kindness. The facts in the question contain both key indicators—justice and kindness—so option C is the unambiguous answer. Stability of personnel concerns avoiding unnecessary employee turnover and retaining experienced staff. Initiative concerns allowing employees to propose ideas and plans, while division of work concerns specialisation through allocation of tasks. Although fair treatment may help retention and initiative, the principle directly identified by the manager’s behaviour is equity.

Fayol's principles make management more systematic and effective. Exam tip: connect Fayol with general management.

Division of work makes an employee skilled in a specific task. Exam tip: remember division of work equals specialisation.

The governing concept is Fayol’s principle of authority and responsibility. Authority is the right to give orders and use resources, whereas responsibility is the obligation to perform assigned duties and answer for the results. Effective management requires a reasonable balance between the two. If a person receives responsibility without enough authority, completing the task becomes difficult; if authority is given without corresponding responsibility, power may be misused and accountability becomes weak. Therefore, option C is correct because authority and responsibility should support each other. Options A and B describe imbalanced situations, and option D represents the absence of both managerial elements.

The direct answer is A: respecting and following rules. Fayol’s discipline principle expects employees and managers to obey organisational rules, agreements, orders, and accepted standards of behaviour. Discipline is not merely fear of punishment; it is orderly conduct based on mutual respect, clear rules, and fair enforcement. Step by step: the organisation sets understandable rules; employees know what is expected; they follow those rules and agreements; and work proceeds smoothly. Option A is correct because it states the positive behaviour required by discipline. Option B, breaking rules, directly violates discipline. Option C, ignoring orders, shows disobedience and weakens authority. Option D, deliberate delay, harms efficiency and also violates expected conduct. Exam cue: when a question mentions rules, agreements, obedience, or proper conduct, choose discipline unless another specific principle is clearly indicated.

In unity of command an employee should receive orders from one superior. Exam tip: remember one boss one employee.

Unity of direction requires one head and one plan for the same objective. Exam tip: remember one head one plan.

The governing concept is Fayol’s principle of subordination of individual interest to general interest. An organisation exists to achieve common objectives, so decisions should normally protect the interests and goals of the organisation as a whole rather than allowing one person’s preference to override them. This does not mean that employees are unimportant or that their legitimate needs must be ignored. Fair treatment, motivation and employee welfare can support the general interest when they improve organisational performance. Therefore, option B is correct: organisational interest has priority over individual interest when the two conflict. Option A reverses the principle, while C and D misunderstand it by removing goals or completely ignoring employees.

The remuneration principle emphasises fair payment. Exam tip: connect fair pay with remuneration.

The direct answer is C: in top management. Centralisation means that decision-making authority is concentrated more at the higher or top level of the organisation. It does not necessarily mean that every decision must be made at the top; the key idea is the degree to which authority is retained there rather than delegated downward. Step by step: authority is located mainly with senior managers; important decisions are made at that level; lower employees have less independent decision power. Option C is correct. Option A, lower employees, describes greater decentralisation, not centralisation. Option B, customers, are outside the management authority structure. Option D, nobody, cannot describe a system in which decisions must be made. Remember the cue: centralisation means authority is central, especially near the top.

In decentralisation, decision-making authority is distributed across different, especially lower, managerial levels of an organisation. It enables quicker local decisions and develops managers. Options B and D describe centralisation, where authority remains concentrated at the top level. Exam tip: distribution of authority downward means decentralisation.

The direct answer is B: the line of authority from top to bottom. Scalar chain shows the formal hierarchy through which authority, responsibility, and normal communication move. It connects the highest manager with lower levels in an ordered structure. Step by step: the organisation has top-level authority; authority passes through successive managerial levels; each position has a superior and subordinates; and the complete route forms the scalar chain. Option B is correct because it states this formal authority line. Option A, salary rate, concerns remuneration and does not show reporting relationships. Option C, list of machines, is an inventory record, not an organisational hierarchy. Option D, customer preferences, may guide marketing but cannot show internal authority. Memory cue: scalar chain is an organisational ladder, not a pay table, machine list, or customer survey.

The direct answer is A, when quick communication is needed. In Fayol’s scalar chain, communication normally moves through each level of authority. A gang plank is a permitted direct link between employees at corresponding levels when waiting for every intermediate level would cause harmful delay. The reasoning is: an urgent matter arises; the normal route may be too slow; the relevant employees use the short route with proper permission or informing their superiors; communication becomes quick while the hierarchy is not permanently removed. Option A is correct. Option B, stopping wages, is unrelated to communication. Option C, breaking rules, is wrong because the gang plank is an authorised exception, not permission for disorder. Option D, removing division of work, is also unrelated; employees may retain their specialised duties. Memory cue: gang plank means a safe communication shortcut during urgency.

Order means both material and people are at the right place. Exam tip: remember right place for everything.

According to Fayol’s principle of equity, managers should treat employees with fairness, impartiality and kindness. Therefore, “Fair and kind” is correct. Biased or discriminatory behaviour is contrary to equity. Exam tip: remember Fayol’s equity as a combination of fairness and kindness.

Stability of personnel means retaining employees for a reasonable time. Exam tip: remember low turnover.

In initiative employees get opportunity to give ideas and plans. Exam tip: connect initiative with ideas.

Direct answer: Option A, unity and cooperation in the team. Esprit de corps is Fayol’s term for team spirit. It encourages harmony, unity, mutual support, and pride in belonging to the organisation. When employees cooperate and communicate respectfully, they can solve problems more easily and work toward a shared objective. Option A is correct because it states the positive meaning of team spirit. Option B is wrong because separation weakens unity and cooperation. Option C is wrong because stopping communication prevents coordination and damages team spirit. Option D is wrong because increasing conflict is the opposite of harmony. Esprit de corps does not mean that every employee must think identically; it means that differences are handled cooperatively while the group works together. Memory cue: esprit de corps sounds unfamiliar, but its exam meaning is team spirit.

The governing concept is Fayol’s principle of unity of command. It states that one employee should receive orders and instructions about a particular task from only one superior. If two superiors issue different or conflicting orders, the employee may become confused, priorities may clash and accountability may become unclear. This situation therefore weakens or violates unity of command, making option A correct. Equity concerns fairness, remuneration concerns payment for work, and order concerns placing people and materials in suitable positions. None of those principles directly explains the problem of receiving competing instructions from two bosses. The clue is the presence of two superiors giving orders to one employee.

Unity of direction means that activities having the same objective should follow one plan under one head. Therefore, the sales and advertising departments should use a coordinated single plan rather than separate plans for the same goal. Unity of command is a close distractor, but it means that an employee should receive orders from only one superior. Exam tip: link “one goal, one plan” with unity of direction.

Individual interest should not be above organisational general interest. Exam tip: treat personal gain harming organisation as a clue.

Repeated shifting reduces employee stability and efficiency. Exam tip: connect frequent shifting with stability.

Fair salary and bonus relate to remuneration principle. Exam tip: connect pay and reward with remuneration.

Right material and right person at the right place is order. Exam tip: remember right place right role.

Equity includes justice and sympathetic behaviour. Exam tip: connect justice and sympathy with equity.