The correct answer is option 2- Division of work.
'Specialisation is the most efficient way to use human effort highlights the division of work principle.
Division of Work: Work is divided into small tasks/ jobs. A trained specialist who is competent is required to perform each job. Thus, division of work leads to specialisation. According to Fayol, “The intent of division of work is to produce more and better work for the same effort. Specialisation is the most efficient way to use human effort.” In business work can be performed more efficiently if it is divided into specialised tasks; each performed by a specialist or trained employee. This results in efficient and effective output. Thus, in a company we have separate departments for finance, marketing, production and human resource development etc. All of them have specialised persons. Collectively they achieve production and sales targets of the company. Fayol applies this principle of division of work to all kinds of work – technical as well as managerial. You can observe this principle at work in any organisation like hospital or even a government office.
OTHER OPTIONS
- Authority and responsibility- According to Fayol, "Authority is the right to give orders and obtain obedience, and responsibility is the corollary of authority. The two types of authority are official authority, which is the authority to command, and personal authority which is the authority of the individual manager." Authority is both formal and informal. Managers require authority commensurate with their responsibility. There should be a balance between authority and responsibility. An organisation should build safeguards against the abuse of managerial power. At the same time, a manager should have necessary authority to carry out his responsibility.
- Unity of command- According to Fayol there should be one and only one boss for every individual employee. If an employee gets orders from two superiors at the same time the principle of unity of command is violated. The principle of unity of command states that each participant in a formal organisation should receive orders from and be responsible to only one superior. Fayol gave a lot of importance to this principle. He felt that if this principle is violated “authority is undermined, discipline is in jeopardy, order disturbed and stability threatened”. The principle resembles military organisation. Dual subordination should be avoided. This is to prevent confusion regarding tasks to be done.
- Centralisation & Decentralisation- The concentration of decision-making authority is called centralisation whereas its dispersal among more than one person is known as decentralisation. According to Fayol, “There is a need to balance subordinate involvement through decentralisation with managers’ retention of final authority through centralisation.” The degree of centralisation will depend upon the circumstances in which the company is working. In general large organisations have more decentralisation than small organisations. For example, panchayats in our country have been given more powers to decide and spend funds granted to them by the government for the welfare of villages. This is decentralisation at the national level.
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