A purchase manager is made responsible for buying raw material on tim…

A purchase manager is made responsible for buying raw material on time, but she cannot place any order without the approval of the CEO.

Assertion (A): The case shows an imbalance between the authority and the responsibility of the purchase manager.

Reason (R): According to Fayol, managers require authority commensurate with their responsibility.

In the light of the above statements, choose the correct answer from the options given below:

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 1

The correct answer is Option (1) → Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A).

Assertion (A): The case shows an imbalance between the authority and the responsibility of the purchase manager. — True. Buying raw material on time is her responsibility. But she cannot place any order without the CEO’s approval, so she lacks the authority to do it. Her authority is less than her responsibility.

Reason (R): According to Fayol, managers require authority commensurate with their responsibility. — True. Fayol says a manager needs authority that matches his responsibility. There should be a balance between the two.

Why R explains A?

R gives the rule: authority must match responsibility. In the case, the responsibility is given but the matching authority stays with the CEO. Because R requires the two to match, this gap is an imbalance, so R is the reason A is true.

NCERT (2026-27 Edition): “(ii) 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 abuse of managerial power. At the same time a manager should have necessary authority to carry out his responsibility. …”