Fayol’s principles of management

Equity relates to treatment and remuneration relates to pay. In exams keep fair treatment and fair pay separate.

Frequent changes reduce experience and increase training cost. In exams connect employee turnover with stability.

Direct answer: Option A, increase in creativity and sense of responsibility among employees. Fayol’s principle of initiative means giving employees a reasonable chance to think, suggest ideas, plan some work, and take useful action within the organisation’s rules. When a worker is trusted, the worker does not remain merely a passive order-follower. The reasoning is: opportunity to suggest or act leads to participation; participation encourages new ideas; responsibility for an idea develops ownership and confidence. Therefore creativity and responsibility increase. Option A is correct because it directly describes this result. Option B is wrong because initiative does not automatically change salary; pay depends on wages, policy, performance, or agreement. Option C is wrong because initiative does not remove discipline or rules. Option D is wrong because initiative does not mean ignoring authority or breaking the scalar chain. A manager can encourage initiative while keeping proper reporting lines. Remember: initiative means “think, suggest, and act responsibly,” not “do anything without permission.”

The governing concept is Fayol’s principle of esprit de corps, meaning harmony, unity, and team spirit among employees. A manager who deliberately creates rival groups encourages suspicion, conflict, and division, so the collective spirit of the organisation becomes weak. Therefore, option B is correct. Order in option A refers to having the right person and material in the right place. Discipline concerns respect for rules and agreements, while centralisation concerns the degree to which decision-making authority is concentrated at higher levels. Although rivalry may eventually damage discipline or order as well, the principle most directly opposed by deliberate group division is esprit de corps. Managers should promote cooperation, mutual trust, and a shared organisational purpose.

Fayol gave fourteen general management principles. In exams remember both number and general nature.

Fayol's principles are guides and are applied according to situation. In exams do not write them as rigid orders.

Repeated same work improves specialisation and efficiency. In exams connect speed and accuracy improvement with division of work.

Fayol’s scalar chain principle concerns the formal hierarchy extending from the highest authority to the lowest position in an organisation. It establishes who reports to whom and provides the normal route for authority, instructions, accountability and communication. Therefore option A is correct: it describes a clear formal line of authority and communication. A wage list concerns remuneration, not hierarchy. Personal employee goals are unrelated to the chain of command, and the purchase price of materials belongs to procurement or cost management. The scalar chain supports orderly communication and reduces confusion about responsibility. Fayol also recognised the gang plank as a limited shortcut in urgent situations, but routine communication should normally follow the formal chain.

Fayol’s scalar chain requires routine authority and communication to move through the established hierarchy. A gang plank is a permitted shortcut between employees or departments at the same level when immediate communication is necessary, especially in an emergency, while accountability and relevant superiors remain respected. In the stated situation there is no emergency and employees bypass the normal chain repeatedly to contact the top manager. That is misuse of the gang plank or an improper bypass of hierarchy, so option B is correct. Initiative means proposing or carrying out useful ideas within appropriate authority; it does not mean ignoring reporting lines. Remuneration concerns payment, and equity concerns fair treatment, so options C and D do not describe the problem.

The governing concept is Fayol’s principle of esprit de corps, meaning unity, harmony, cooperation and team spirit among employees. When a team is recognised for collective success rather than members being encouraged to compete for separate individual rewards, mutual support and cooperation are strengthened. Therefore, option C is correct. Centralisation concerns where decision-making authority is concentrated. Scalar chain refers to the formal line of authority from higher to lower levels. Division of work concerns specialisation, whereby tasks are distributed to improve skill and efficiency. Those principles may operate in the same organisation, but none directly describes the unity created by shared recognition.

The governing concept is Taylor’s time study, a technique used to determine the standard time required for completing a task under specified conditions. Once standard time is known, management can estimate expected output and set realistic daily production targets. Therefore, option A is correct. Simplification reduces unnecessary varieties or sizes of products; it does not primarily establish the time standard. A gang boss is a specialised foreman, not a scientific-management technique for calculating time. Mental revolution refers to a change in the attitude of workers and management toward cooperation, not to time measurement. The direct clue is the phrase “standard time,” which is the result of time study.

The correct answer is A, Fayol. Equity means that employees should receive fair and just treatment, while initiative encourages employees to think, suggest ideas, and take constructive action within the organisation. Both are explicitly included among Fayol’s fourteen principles of management. Taylor’s scientific management is more closely associated with work study, standardisation, time and motion analysis, scientific selection and training, and incentive wages; it is not the direct source of the principles named in this case. Gantt and the Gilbreths made important contributions to work planning, incentives, and motion study, but fairness and initiative together point most clearly to Fayol’s administrative principles.