14 Principles

Most of you are familiar, I imagine, with the 14 Principles that my old colleague at the
University of Michigan Prof. Jeff Liker describes in his landmark book The Toyota Way. And, I
imagine most of you also know Dr. Deming’s 14 Principles of Quality Management from the
1980s (perhaps one of you Deming experts can clarify whether it was actually the 80s when he
came out with them. Also, did he actually call them “principles”?). Since I spent some time
discussing with Jeff as he was writing the Toyota Way, I think I can say that the similarity -- the
number 14 -- was coincidental (Jeff, if you are there, please feel free to verify or correct!). But, I
bet most of you do NOT know the original set of 14 management principles.

Henri Fayol laid down the first theory of general management and statement of management
principles about 100 years ago. A French engineer, industry executive (in mining, where he was
a successful turnaround executive), and management theorist in the 1800s, he wrote A Theory of
Administration (I am told that would be “Administration Industrielle et Generale" in French) in
1916. For you Frederick Taylor fans, that would be five years after The Principles of Scientific
Management.

I don’t read French and have never found a good English translation, but as I have pieced it
together you can compare Fayol and Taylor like this: Taylor took a frontline engineering
approach, examining work methods and efficiency, while Fayol took a top-down business
administration approach, examining management, and organization. They both embraced
functional specialization and a reductionist approach to understanding how organizations do and
should operate.

Fayol discussed five functions of management, not dissimilar to other views (Drucker for
example) of the tasks of managers:
• Planning
• Organizing
• Commanding
• Coordinating activities
• Controlling performance
But, what has long fascinated me about Fayol is his list of 14 principles. Aside from the funny
fact that his principles total exactly 14 - same as both Deming and Liker - what is significant
about Fayol’s early articulation of management principles is the basic thinking they represent.
These 14 principles of management of Henri Fayol comprise a comprehensive framework of
general organizational management:
1. Specialization or division of labor
2. Authority with responsibility
3. Discipline
4. Unity of command
5. Unity of direction
6. Subordination of individual interests
 7. Remuneration
8. Centralization
9. Clear line of authority
10. Order
11. Equity
12. Lifetime employment
13. Initiative
14. Esprit de corps
Note in particular, Fayol’s number two -- authority with responsibility-- an important topic dealt
with in Managing to Learn. The basic assumption that authority should equal responsibility is the
root of much organizational evil, a topic I will return to again. These 14 principles of
management of Henri Fayol comprise a comprehensive framework of general
organizational management. Even though you never heard of them until today, they
have been infecting the way you’ve thought about organizations your whole work
life.