Fayols

Fayols is a surname. The most prominent figure associated with the name is Henri Fayol (1841–1925), a French mining engineer and management theoretician whose work helped shape classical management theory. The term Fayolism is used to describe his approach to organizing and administering enterprises.

Henri Fayol developed a systematic Administrative Management framework. He posited five primary functions of management: planning, organizing, commanding, coordinating, and controlling. He argued that management could be taught and that a universal set of administrative principles could improve organizational efficiency across industries. In his major work, Administration industrielle et générale (Industrial and General Administration), Fayol outlined both these functions and a broader set of guidelines for effective administration.

Fayol is best known for his 14 principles of management. These include division of work, authority and responsibility, discipline, unity of command, unity of direction, subordination of individual interests to the general interest, remuneration, centralization, scalar chain, order, equity, tenure stability, initiative, and esprit de corps. He emphasized clear authority, orderly structures, standardized procedures, and the importance of managerial foresight and initiative.

Legacy and influence: Fayol's ideas contributed to the development of early management education and the formal study of organizational structure. While many later theories refined or challenged aspects of his framework, his emphasis on planning, formal authority, and a structured approach to administration had a lasting impact on management practice and pedagogy.