Read the following text and answer the following question.

After completing her Bachelors in Fashion Designing from a well-known college in Germany, Ashima has opened a boutique in a posh market in Mumbai. She has divided the work in smaller units and each employee is well trained to perform his/her task efficiently. The sales persons are allowed to close a deal with a buyer by giving a maximum of 10 percent discount, whereas the decision to give any further discount rests with Ashima as the final authority. In the earlier period of her business venture, employees were asked to put in extra hours of work. In return she had promised to give them a special incentive within a year. Therefore, when the business was doing well, she honoured her commitment by giving bonus to her employees. She also instructed her employees that communication from top to bottom should follow the official lines of command. However, she tends to be more biased towards her female employees, when it comes to solve the conflicts among employees.

'Ashima has divided the work in smaller units and each employee is well trained to perform his/ her task efficiently.'

Which principle of management is being followed here?

Division of Work

The correct answer is option 1- Division of Work.

The principle being followed here is Division of Work. Here, Ashima is breaking down the work into smaller units and ensuring that each employee is well-trained to handle their specific tasks. This aligns with the principle of Division of Work, which suggests that work should be divided into smaller tasks to enhance efficiency and productivity. By doing this, employees can specialize in their tasks and perform them more effectively.

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.”

OTHER OPTIONS

• Authority & 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 abuse of managerial power. At the same time a manager should have necessary authority to carry out his responsibility. A manager should have the right to punish a subordinate for wilfully not obeying a legitimate order but only after sufficient opportunity has been given to a subordinate for presenting her/his case.

• Order- According to Fayol, “People and materials must be in suitable places at appropriate time for maximum efficiency.” The principle of order states that ‘A place for everything (everyone) and everything (everyone) in its (her/his) place’. Essentially it means orderliness. If there is a fixed place for everything and it is present there, then there will be no hindrance in the activities of business/ factory. This will lead to increased productivity and efficiency.

• Unity of direction- All the units of an organisation should be moving towards the same objectives through coordinated and focussed efforts. Each group of activities having the same objective must have one head and one plan. This ensures unity of action and coordination.