"Dual subordination should be avoided".

Identify the principle of management which propagates the above statement.

Unity of command

The correct answer is option (1)- Unity of command.

The principle of management that propagates the statement "Dual subordination should be avoided" is Unity of command.

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. Suppose a sales person is asked to clinch a deal with a buyer and is allowed to give 10% discount by the marketing manager. But finance department tells her/ him not to offer more than 5% discount. Now there is no unity of command. This can be avoided if there is coordination between various departments.

OTHER OPTIONS

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.

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.

Subordination of individual interest to the general interest: The interests of an organisation should take priority over the interests of any one individual employee according to Fayol. Every worker has some individual interest for working in a company. The company has got its own objectives. For example, the company would want to get maximum output from its employees at a competitive cost (salary). On the other hand, an employee may want to get maximum salary while working the least. In another situation an individual employee may demand some concession, which is not admissible to any other employee like working for less time. In all the situations the interests of the group/company will supersede the interest of any one individual. This is so because larger interests of the workers and stakeholders are more important than the interest of any one person. For example, interests of various stakeholders, i.e., owners, shareholders, creditors, debtors, financers, tax authorities, customers and the society at large cannot be sacrificed for one individual or a small group of individuals who want to exert pressure on the company. A manager can ensure this by her/his exemplary behaviour.