Sunrise Footwear
Meena runs Sunrise Footwear, a small unit that makes school shoes. Each cutting knife, last and glue pot has its own numbered hook on the wall rack, and every worker hangs the item back on its hook after use. Arif, the supervisor, speaks of ‘our order’ and ‘our deadline’ in every meeting with the workers, and never of ‘my order’.
The workers come from different states and speak different languages. When promotions are due, Meena looks only at each worker’s work record, never at where the worker comes from.
Last year, a machine operator thought of a new way of laying out patterns on the leather. Meena let her try it out on the next order and gave her a cash reward when it cut waste.
Meena also found that the unit made shoes in fourteen sizes and five shades of black. She cut them down to six sizes and one shade.
According to Fayol, which of the following will Arif’s way of speaking to the workers give rise to?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → A spirit of mutual trust and belongingness among the members of the team
Option (1) Complete harmony between management and workers, through a change in the thinking of both — Incorrect. This is Taylor's principle of harmony, not discord, which needs a complete mental revolution on both sides. It deals with the thinking of both sides.
Option (2) A spirit of mutual trust and belongingness among the members of the team — Correct. Fayol's principle of esprit de corps asks managers to build a team spirit of unity and harmony. A manager who uses ‘We’ in place of ‘I’ when talking to workers, as Arif does, fosters that spirit. Fayol says this gives rise to mutual trust and belongingness among team members.
Option (3) Complete cooperation between labour and management, in place of competition — Incorrect. This is Taylor's principle of cooperation, not individualism. It is not Fayol's.
Option (4) The interest of the whole group placed above the interest of any one worker — Incorrect. This is Fayol's principle of subordination of individual interest to general interest. It is about putting the firm's goals first.
NCERT (2026-27 Edition): “(xiv) Esprit De Corps: Management should promote a team spirit of unity and harmony among employees, according to Fayol. Management should promote teamwork especially in large organisations because otherwise objectives would be difficult to realise. It will also result in a loss of coordination. A manager should replace ‘I’ with ‘We’ in all his conversations with workers to foster team spirit. This will give rise to a spirit of mutual trust and belongingness among team members. It will also minimise the need for using penalties. …” |