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This article brings together tile thinking of senior Members and Fellows of the IAM, captured in video format with a number of classical management principles coined by Hem Fayol in the year before the foundation of this Institute.
In 1916, a French mining engineer, Henri Fayol, published "Administration Industrielle et Generale" . This was arguably the first attempt to provide a theory of administrative management It was an attempt to help colleagues 'manage better' in the face of unprecedented change in business and commerce. Change had been gathering pace since the turn of the century and was accelerated by the 'war to end all wars'. Basing his work on direct personal experience, Fayol identified five areas of management activity, and fourteen principles for managers to follow in order to become effective in industry in a period of then rapid development. The framework and principles he set out were built upon by many writers, and served administrative managers well in meeting the challenges of industry and commerce through that turbulent Century.
The five 'elements' are still recognised as relevant and appropriate for the managers of today and tomorrow. Indeed, as the IAM CEO, Professor Graham Robinson has expressed it: the "capabilities" of planning, organising, directing, co-ordinating and controlling are regarded as essential for effective administrative management, and these can be seen in the curriculum of the Certificate and Diploma. The European Business Excellence Model (the base ofthe ATQ award) can also be regarded as a blueprint for directing effort in these areas of activity.
So far, so good ... at least managers know what they should be doing in general terms. But What of the principles which guide their efforts in meeting the challenges ofa new century? Although some of Fayols concepts remain as fresh and as relevant as ever, the weakness of others is evident. For example, in the relatively stable business environment of the early 2oth Century, Fayol's principles of centralisation and a hierarchical system of authority worked very well, but in today's fast-moving world these same principles can be a recipe for disaster. At the start of a new millennium, a new set of principles to guide a manager's everyday actions is needed. The first step however, is to identify what...