Which of the following statements about the nature of principles of management is correct?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → The application of principles of management is dependent upon the prevailing situation at a particular point of time.
Option (1) The principles of management are formed by experience and collective wisdom of owners as well as experimentation. — Incorrect. The principles come from the experience and collective wisdom of managers, along with experimentation. Discipline, for example, comes from common experience.
Option (2) The principles of management are intended to be used in similar situations in a small number of cases. — Incorrect. Principles set up a cause and effect relationship so that they can be used in similar situations in a large number of cases.
Option (3) The principles of management are less than perfect since they mainly apply to changing market conditions. — Incorrect. They are less than perfect because they mainly apply to human behaviour. In real life, situations are not identical, so an accurate cause and effect link is hard to fix.
Option (4) The application of principles of management is dependent upon the prevailing situation at a particular point of time. — Correct. This is the feature called contingent. How a principle is applied depends on the situation at that time, and it is changed as needed. Fair pay, for example, depends on the worker's contribution, the employer's paying capacity and the going wage rate.
NCERT (2026-27 Edition): “(iii) Formed by practice and experimentation: The principles of management are formed by experience and collective wisdom of managers as well as experimentation. …” “(vi) Cause and effect relationships: The principles of management are intended to establish relationship between cause and effect so that they can be used in similar situations in a large number of cases. As such, they tell us if a particular principle was applied in a particular situation, what would be its likely effect. The principles of management are less than perfect since they mainly apply to human behaviour. In real life, situations are not identical. So, accurate cause and effect relationships may be difficult to establish. …” “(vii) Contingent: The application of principles of management is contingent or dependent upon the prevailing situation at a particular point of time. The application of principles has to be changed as per requirements. For example, employees deserve fair and just remuneration. But what is just and fair is determined by multiple factors. They include contribution of the employee, paying capacity of the employer and also prevailing wage rate for the occupation under consideration. …” |