Fayol's principles (2) and Fayol versus Taylor

Fayol's other principles:

• Centralisation and decentralisation: keeping decisions at the top, or spreading them down. They must be balanced to suit the situation; large organisations decentralise more. Think of a country: the central government decides on defence, which affects everyone, but a broken water pump in a village is fixed by the panchayat. Big decisions stay at the top; day-to-day ones are passed down.
• Scalar chain: the formal line of authority from the top to the bottom, which orders and communication follow. In an emergency, Fayol allows a shortcut between two people at the same level in different chains: the gang plank, used only when needed, with their superiors kept informed.
• Order: 'a place for everything (and everyone), and everything (and everyone) in its place'.
• Equity: kindness and justice to all employees, with no discrimination.
• Stability of personnel: employees should be kept in their jobs for a reasonable time. Frequent changes raise recruitment, selection and training costs.
• Initiative: workers should be encouraged to suggest and carry out ideas, through suggestion systems.
• Esprit de corps: team spirit. A manager should say 'we', not 'I'.

Fayol versus Taylor:

The two are complementary: Fayol for administration, Taylor for production.