The Administrative Principles of Management

The administrative principles of management, created in the early 20th century by French industrialist Henri Fayol, changed the way that many view management. Fayol’s principles focused mainly on the management teams of businesses and helped establish a top to bottom hierarchal system to produce a more structured organization (Brunsson, 2008; Yoo, Lemak, & Choi, 2008; Fells, 2000). This essay will focus on four of the 14 key principles of administrative theory – unity of command, subordination of individual interest for the interest of the organization, esprit de corp. and remuneration – and analyze how they have been applied in a leading New Zealand company, Pumpkin Patch Limited (Ltd.) (Samson & Daft, 2009, p.64; Wren, Bedian, & Breeze, 2002). This essay will argue that although Fayol’s administrative principles were devised in the early 20th century, they are still relevant in contemporary businesses today and how, like Pumpkin Patch, they have been developed to fit their organizational structure.
Fayol’s most influential principle is arguably unity of command. Unity of command is where every worker, whether it be a factory worker, a supervisor or the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) only receive orders from one superior source (Fells, 2000; Parker & Ritson, 2005; Samson & Daft, 2009). This stops confusion in the work place over what has to be done and therefore the organization is able to increase productivity thereby allowing the organization to reach their goals in a shorter time frame. This principle led to management teams being more structured as well as increasing work place efficiency which is still needed in today’s contemporary business. Pumpkin Patch Ltd., as well as many other businesses around the world, use this principle with great effect. Pumpkin Patch’s management runs from the Board of Directors right down to the shop assistants in stores such as Takapuna (Pumpkin Patch Limited, 2008). The structure of their management allows