Principles of Management

1. Concept of Management
2. Function of Management.
3. Planning & its Nature & Organising
4. Designing organisational Structure
5. Authority relationships
 GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF MANAGEMENT
Thinkers, experts and writers on scientific management have evolved useful
principles to have practical guidance for management operations. In this section
some basic principles provided by F.W Taylor, Henry Fayol and Charles Barnard
respectively representing scientific management school, operational management
theory and systems theory, are presented.
Fayol’s Principles
Noting that the principles of management are flexible, not obsolete and must be
usable regardless of changing and special conditions, Fayol listed fourteen
principles based on his experience. They are summarised below:
• Division of work: Specialisation allows workers and managers to acquire an
ability, sureness, and accuracy which will increase output. More and better work
will be produced with the same effort.
• Authority: The right to give orders and the power to exact obedience are the
essence of authority. Its roots are in the person and the position. It cannot be
conceived of apart from responsibility.
• Discipline: Discipline is composed of obedience, application, energy, behaviour
and outward marks of respect between employers and employees. It is essential
to any business. Without it no enterprise can prosper. It is what leaders make it.
• Unity of command: For any action whatsoever, an employee should
receive orders from one superior only. One person, one boss. In no case is
there adaptation of a social organism to a duality of command.
• Unity of direction: One head and one plan should lead a group of
activities. It is necessary that all sing the same objective and that is one
head, one plan.
• Subordination of individual interest to general interest: The interest of
one person or group in a business should not prevail over that of the
organisation.
• Remuneration of personnel: The price of services rendered should be fair
and should be satisfactory to both employees and employer. A level of pay
depends on an employee’s value to the organisation and on factors
independent of an employee’s worth - such as cost of living, availability of
personnel and general business conditions.
Centralisation: Everything that serves to reduce the importance of an
individual subordinate’s role is centralisation. Everything that increases the
subordinate’s importance is decentralisation. All situations call for a
balance between these two positions.
• Scalar chain: The chain formed by managers from the highest to the
lowest is called a scalar chain or chain of command. Managers are the
links in the chain. They should, communicate to and through the links.
Links may be skipped or circumvented only when superiors approve
and a real need exists to do so.
• Order: This principle is the simple advocacy of a place for everyone,
and everyone in her/his place; a place for everything, and everything
in its place. The objective of order is to avoid loss and waste.
• Equity: Kindliness and justice should be practised by persons in
authority to extract the best that their subordinates have to give.
• Stability of tenure of personnel: Reducing the turnover of personnel
will result in more efficiency and fewer expenses.
• Initiative: People should be allowed the freedom to propose and to
execute ideas at all levels of an enterprise. A manager who is able to
permit the exercise of initiative on the part of subordinates is far
superior to one who is unable to do so.
• Esprit De Corps: In unity there is strength. Managers have the duty to
promote harmony and to discourage and avoid those things that
disturb harmony
Barnard’s Principles

• Along with scientific management and the manager’s tasks, many scholars
and practitioners were thinking about experimenting with, and writing on,
industrial psychology and on social theory both of which, in many instances,
were stimulated by the scientific management movement. We can get the
flavour of these developments by looking briefly at the emergence of
industrial psychology, the growth of personnel management, and the
development of a sociological approach to human relations and
management. In determining that the task of executives (by which he meant
all kinds of managers) was one of maintaining a system of cooperative effort
in a formal organisation, Barnard addressed herself/himself first to the
reasons for, and the nature of, cooperative systems. The logic of her/his
analysis can be seen in the following steps. Physical and biological limitations
of individuals lead them to cooperate, to work in groups; while the basic
limitations are physical and biological, once people cooperate, psychological
and social limitations of individuals also play a part in inducing cooperation.
The act of cooperation leads to the establishment of a cooperative system in
which physical, biological, personal, and social factors or elements are
present. S/he also makes the point that the continuation of cooperation
depends on effectiveness (does it accomplish the cooperative purpose?) and
efficiency
• it accomplish the purpose with a minimum of dissatisfaction and costs to
cooperating members?). Any cooperative system may be divided into two
parts: “organisation” which includes only the interactions of people in the
system, and other elements. Organisations can in turn be divided into two
kinds: the “formal” organisation which is that set of consciously coordinated
social interactions that have a deliberate and joint purpose, and the
“informal” organisation which refers to those social interactions without a
common or consciously coordinated joint purpose. The formal organisation
cannot exist unless there are persons who (a) are able to communicate with
one another, (b) are willing to contribute to group action, and (c) have a
conscious common purpose. Every formal organisation must include the
following elements:(a) a system of functionalisation so that people can
specialise (that is, various forms of departmentalisation), (b) a system of
effective and efficient incentives that will induce people to contribute to
group action, (c) a system of power (authority) which will lead group
members to accept the decisions of executives, and (d) a system of logical
decision making. The executive functions enter the process through the work
of the executive in integrating the whole and in finding the best balance
between conflicting forces and events. To make the executive effective
requires a high order of responsible leadership as Barnard so well
emphasises, “Cooperation”, not leadership, is the creative process, but
leadership is the indispensable culminator of its forces. Bernard’s thesis is a
social systems approach, concentrating on major elements of the managerial
job, containing extraordinary insights on decision making and leadership.
Principles of Management – Fayol’s 14 Principles

• Division of Work – This principle of management is based on the theory that if workers are given
a specialized task to do, they will become skillful and more efficient in it than if they had a
broader range of tasks. Therefore, a process where everyone has a specialized role will be an
efficient one.
• Authority – This principle looks at the concept of managerial authority. It looks at how authority
is necessary in order to ensure that managerial commands are carried out. If managers did not
have authority then they would lack the ability to get work carried out. Managers should use
their authority responsibly and ethically.
• Discipline – This principle relates to the fact that discipline is needed within an organization for it
to run effectively. Organizational rules, philosophies, and structures need to be met. In order to
have disciplined workers, managers must build a culture of mutual respect and motivation.
• Unity of command – There should be a clear chain of command in place within an organization.
An employee should know exactly whose instructions to follow.
• Unity of direction – Work should be organized in a way that means employees are working in
harmony toward a shared objective or goal using a shared method or procedure.
• Subordination individual interests to the collective interests – The interests of the organization as
a whole should take precedence over the interests of any individual employee or group of
employees. This encourages a team spirit and collective mentality of all for one and one for all.
Principles of Management – Fayol’s 14 Principles

• Remuneration – In order to motivate and be fair to employees, they should be paid a reasonable rate for the
work they carry out. An organization that underpays will struggle to attract quality workers who are motivated.
• Centralization – This principle relates to whether decisions should be made centrally, as in from the top down,
or in a more democratic way, from the bottom up. Different decision making processes are appropriate for
different types of decisions.
• Scalar chain – This relates to the principle of a clear chain of communication existing between employees and
superiors. The chain should be respected, unless speedy communication is vital, in which case the chain may be
bypassed if all parties consent.
• Order – This relates to the proper use of resources and their effective deployment in a structured fashion.
• Equity – Managers should behave ethically towards those they manage. Almost every organization in the
modern world will have a written set of policies and procedures which will outline exactly what is expected
from staff at all levels.
• Stability of tenure of personnel – It is seen as desirable within an organization to have a low staff turnover rate.
This is due to the benefits that come with having experienced staff and the time and expense needed to train
new ones. There should be a clear and efficient method of filling any staff vacancies that arise.
• Initiative – Employees that have an input as to how to best do their job are likely to feel more motivated and
respected. Many organizations place a great deal of emphasis on listening to the concerns of staff.
• Morale – Keeping a high level of morale and team spirit is an essential part of having the most productive
organization possible. Happy and motivated employees are far more likely to be productive and less absent.
Concept of Management

• INTRODUCTION The concept of management has acquired special significance in

the present competitive and complex business world. Efficient and purposeful
management is absolutely essential for the survival of a business unit.
Management concept is comprehensive and covers all aspects of business. In
simple words, management means utilising available resources in the best
possible manner and also for achieving well defined objectives. It is a distinct
and dynamic process involving use of different resources for achieving well
defined.

• objectives. The resources are: men, money, materials, machines, methods and
markets. These are the six basic inputs in management process (six M's of
management) and the output is in the form of achievement of objectives. It is
the end result of inputs and is available through efficient management process.
MANAGEMENT: CONCEPT AND MEANING

• Management is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals

and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively. Management
comprises planning, organizing, staffing, leading, coordinating and controlling an
organization (a group of one or more people or entities) or effort for the purpose
of accomplishing a goal. Resourcing encompasses the development and
manipulation of human resources, financial resources, technological resources
and natural resources. Since organizations can be viewed as systems,
management can also be defined as human action, including design, to facilitate
the production of useful outcomes from a system. This view opens the
opportunity to 'manage' oneself, a pre-requisite to attempting to manage others.
The term 'management' is used extensively in business. It is the core or life giving
element in business. We expect that a business unit should be managed
efficiently. This is precisely what is done in management. Management is
essential for the conduct of business activity in an orderly manner. It is a vital
function concerned with all aspects of working of an enterprise.
DEFINITIONS OF MANAGEMENT

• 1. According to George R. Terry, "Management is a distinct process consisting of

planning, organising, actuating and controlling, performed to determine and
accomplish stated objectives by the use of human beings and other resources".

• 2. According to Henry Fayol, "To manage is to forecast and to plan, to organise,

to command, to coordinate and to control".

• 3. According to Peter Drucker, "Management is a multi-purpose organ that

manages business and manages managers and manages workers and work".

• 4. According to Harold Koontz, "Management is the art of getting things done

through and with people in formally organized groups”.
 Functions/ Elements of Management
• The essential elements/components of Management Process are four. a. Planning b.
Organising c. Directing and d. Controlling. We may add some more elements in the
management process. Such elements are:- i. Motivating ii. Co-coordinating iii. Staffing
and iv. Communicating. The elements in the management process are actually the basic
functions of management these functions constitute the management process in
practice. Management process is in fact, management in practice. This process suggests
what a manager is supposed to, do or the basic functions that he has to perform while
managing the job assigned to him. Luther Gullic gave a new formula to suggest the
elements of Management Process i.e. basic functions of management. According to him,
management process may be indicated by the word "PODSCORB”. Here, ‘P' states for
'planning'. "O" for 'organising', "D" for 'directing', "S" for 'Staffing', "CO"

• for 'Coordinating, "R" for 'Reporting' and "B" for 'Budgeting'. Gullic coined the word
"PODSCORB" to suggest seven functions of management. The following figures show the
management process and the elements involved:
• 1.Planning: Planning is the primary function of management. It involves determination of a
course of action to achieve desired results/objectives. Planning is the starting point of
management process and all other functions of management are related to and dependent
on planning function. Planning is the key to success, stability and prosperity in business. It
acts as a tool for solving the problems of a business unit. Planning plays a pivotal role in
business management it helps to visualize the future problems and keeps management ready
with possible solutions.
• 2. Organising: Organising is next to planning. It means to bring the resources (men, materials,
machines, etc.) together and use them properly for achieving. the objectives. Organisation is
a process as well as it is a structure. Organising means arranging ways and means for the
execution of a business plan. It provides suitable administrative structure and facilitates
execution of proposed plan. Organising involves different aspects such as departmentation,
span of control delegation of authority, establishment of superior-subordinate relationship
and provision of mechanism for co-ordination of various business activities.
• 3. Staffing: Staffing refers to manpower required for the execution of a business plan.
Staffing, as managerial function, involves recruitment, selection, appraisal, remuneration and
development of managerial personnel. The need of staffing arises in the initial period and
also from time to time for replacement and also along with the expansion and diversification
of business activities. Every business unit needs efficient, stable and cooperative staff for the
management of business activities. Manpower is the most important asset of a business unit.
In many organisations, manpower planning and development activities are entrusted to
personnel manager or HRD manager. 'Right man for the right job' is the basic principle in
staffing.
• 4. Directing (Leading): Directing as a managerial function, deals with guiding and instructing people to do
the work in the right manner. Directing/leading is the responsibility of managers at all levels. They have to
work as leaders of their subordinates. Clear plans and sound organisation set the stage but it requires a
manager to direct and lead his men for achieving the objectives. Directing function is quite comprehensive.
It involves Directing as well as raising the morale of subordinates. It also involves communicating, leading
and motivating. Leadership is essential on the part of managers for achieving organisational objectives.

• 5. Coordinating: Effective coordination and also integration of activities of different departments are
essential for orderly working of an Organisation. This suggests the importance of coordinating as
management function. A manager must coordinate the work for which he is accountable. Co-ordination is
rightly treated as the essence of management. It may be treated as an independent function or as a part of
organisms function. Coordination is essential at all levels of management. It gives one clear-cut direction to
the activities of individuals and departments. It also avoids misdirection and wastages and brings unity of
action in the Organisation. Co-ordination will not come automatically or on its own Special efforts are
necessary on the part of managers for achieving such coordination.

• 6. Controlling: Controlling is an important function of management. It is necessary in the case of individuals

and departments so as to avoid wrong actions and activities. Controlling involves three broad aspects: (a)
establishing standards of performance, (b) measuring work in progress and interpreting results achieved,
and (c) taking corrective actions, if required. Business plans do not give positive results automatically.
Managers have to exercise effective control in order to bring success to a business plan. Control is closely
linked with other managerial functions. It is rightly treated as the soul of management process. It is true
that without planning there will be nothing to control it is equally true that without control planning will
be only an academic exercise Controlling is a continuous activity of a supervisory nature.
• 7. Motivating: Motivating is one managerial function in which a manager
motivates his men to give their best to the Organisation. It means to encourage
people to take more interest and initiative in the work assigned. Organisations
prosper when the employees are motivated through special efforts including
provision of facilities and incentives. Motivation is actually inspiring and
encouraging people to work more and contribute more to achieve organisational
objectives. It is a psychological process of great significance.

• 8. Communicating: Communication (written or oral) is necessary for the

exchange of facts, opinions, ideas and information between individual’s and
departments. In an organisation, communication is useful for giving information,
guidance and instructions. Managers should be good communicators. They have
to use major portion of their time on communication in order to direct, motivate
and co-ordinate activities of their subordinates. People think and act collectively
through communication. According to Louis Allen, "Communication involves a
systematic and continuing process of telling, listening and understanding".
Planning & its Nature & Organising
 Types of Planning

contingency plans
Plans that deal with alternative courses of action.
single-use plans
Plans developed for unique situations or problems and one-time use.
standing plans
Rules, policies, and procedures about how to deal with issues
that managers face repeatedly.
strategic plans
Hierarchical plans that address an organization’s institutional-level
needs and attempt to position it advantageously within its task environment.
operating plans
Direction and action statements for activities in the organization’s technical core.
administrative plans
Plans that work to integrate institutional-level plans with the operating plans
and tie together all of the plans created for the organization’s technical core.
Planning & its Nature & Organising
Planning & its Nature & Organising
Planning & its Nature & Organising
Planning & its Nature & Organising
Planning & its Nature & Organising
Planning & its Nature & Organising

• Organizing – A Management Function

• Organizing is the function of management which follows planning. It
is the process of establishing orderly uses for all resources within the
management system of the organization. It is a function in which the
synchronization and combination of human, physical, financial, and
information resources takes place for the achievement of the results.
Organizing function is essential because it facilitates administration
as well as the functioning of the organization.
• According to Louis A. Allen, “Organisation is the process of identifying
and grouping of the works to be performed, defining and delegating
responsibility and authority and establishing relationships for the
purpose of enabling people to work most efficiently”.
• According to Chester Barnard, “Organizing is a function by which the
concern is able to define the role positions, the jobs related and the
co-ordination between authority and responsibility”.
•
Planning & its Nature & Organising

• Organizing is the next important function of management after the planning. In

case of planning the management decides what is to be done in future. In case of
organizing, it decides on ways and means through which it becomes easier to
achieve what has been planned. Hence, organizing refers to the following process.
• Identifying and grouping of the work to be performed.
• Defining and determining responsibility and authority for each job position.
• Establishing relationship among various job positions.
• Determining detailed rules and regulations of working for individuals and groups in
organization.
• Organizing creates and maintains rational relationships between human, material,
financial, and information resources by indicating which resources are to be used
for the specified activities and also when, where, and how they are to be used. The
organizing function leads to an organizational structure which defines precisely the
authorities and the responsibilities. Organization structure is the pattern of
relationships among various components or parts of the organization which
prescribes the relations among various activities and positions. It defines the
system of relations between elements, factors, and activities within the
organization. The organizational structure is to be designed for some concrete
conditions and objective needs of the organization. The following are the important
factors which are to be taken into consideration in the process of designing of the
organizational structure.
Designing organisational Structure

• An organizational structure defines the basic functional logic of an

organization. It defines how an organization’s strategy and scope are
translated into different activities to be performed by different units,
and how those units are linked and shaped to achieve a common
goal.
 Designing organisational Structure
• . Organization Structure. Drucker has decried bureaucratic structure because
of its too many dysfunctional effects. Therefore, it should be replaced. He has
emphasized three basic characteristics of an effective organisation structure.
These are:
• (i) enterprise should be organised for performance;
• (ii) it should contain the least possible number of managerial levels; and
• (iii) it must make possible the training and testing of tomorrow’s top
managers—giving responsibility to a manager while still he is young. He has
identified three basic aspects in organising: activity analysis, decision analysis,
and relation analysis. An activity analysis shows what work has to be
performed, what kind of work should be put together, and what emphasis is
to be given to each activity in the organisation structure. Decision analysis
takes into account the four aspects of a decision: the degree of futurity in the
decision, the impact of a decision over other functions, number of qualitative
factors that enter into it, and whether the decision is periodically recurrent or
rare. Such an analysis will determine the level at which the decision can be
made. Relation analysis helps in defining the structure and also to give
guidance in manning the structure.
 Authority relationships

A manager needs authority. It makes his position real and gives him
the power to order his subordinates and get them to comply. When
there is a chain of superior-subordinate relations in an organization, it
is the authority which binds and provides a basis for responsibility.
1.Academic authority

• This authority is not the one which is found in colleges held by teachers and
professors. Academic authority means to motivate your juniors’ colleagues
or followers by helping them with a good theoretical knowledge of a
particular subject.
• Normally it involves studying and understanding of the material in question
which employs that the authoritative person has knowledge of it. But the
person does not have to be an expert in the subject and should require only
enough knowledge to guide his colleagues on juniors.
• It so happens on an average that what we studied in the book might not be
applicable in real life situations and this exactly is the disadvantage of
academic authority. In the business world, academic authority is held by
someone who understands and knows the subject and also shares it with the
others who are usually beneath him in the corporate structure. This is one of
the most widespread Types of Authority because Education is one of the
largest industries out there.
2. Charismatic authority
• The charismatic authority of leadership is based heavily on the
characteristic of a certain individual and not on the knowledge and
expertise of that person. A person with unique, exemplary and
glorious character can possess charismatic authority.
• They are often considered about the other people all the most of the
times that perception is deemed to be incorrect. For example, Adolf
Hitler was considered to be charismatic by a lot of people but the
entire world knows that he was not. Walt Disney also was considered
to be a Charismatic leader. There are many different such leaders
over the years who represent different Types of Authority.
• Narcissism is found as a significant rate in charismatic authority. It is
found that people serving under a charismatic leader often leave the
company once the leader is gone thereby proving that they were
merely blind followers of the charismatic leader.
3.Expert authority
• When a person is an expert in a particular subject or subject area, he
or she possesses an expert authority. These Type of authorities tend
to specialize only in one area and that is the reason why the opinions
of these people are extremely valuable.
• Experts may or may not be charismatic but they certainly influence
others. A person who is an expert and a charismatic is very hard to
find and retain. To put an argument, it can be said that these people
are smart and talented only in one particular area than other people.
• In other words, they are ace of one and not a jack of all trades which
does not necessarily mean that they are superior to others. The
primary characteristics of export authorities are that they have an
intense and deep interest in the subject, they also know how the
subject really works and their understanding of the subject matter is
deepest. These characteristics make them unbeatable in their
subject.
4.Founder authority
• Generally held by a founding member of an organization this authority is seen
with the person who has motivation devotion along with immense expertise to
manage people and organization. Founders have well-defined roles they are self-
motivated and they have a deep interest and thirst for knowledge in their
particular organization which makes them involved more than any other person in
the organization. The past experiences and superior knowledge of the founders
are what makes then possess the founder authority. It can be said that found does
our heart and brain of the organization without which the organization may or
may not survive. They have a good hold over not only the employees but also the
senior leaders of the organization.
5.Legal governing authority
• A lawyer may be present in legal governing authority but that does not mean that
a non-lawyer cannot be, meaning legal governing authority is not strictly related
to lawyers or law profession. It simply indicates the official position or status that
you exert in that particular position that you are assigned to, which most of the
times is a high one. The Chairman of a society is also a legal governing authority.
There are various such positions in a legal Type of Authority. It is simply the status
that makes you feel that you hold authority over others. It is seen as a good thing
that there is a control over other people in the company unless and until it
becomes dominating other people and suffocating them of their rights. The
downside of a legal governing authority is it can make you feel distant from every
day ongoing of your company. Board of directors general managers are the
examples of a legal governing authority.
6.Organizational position authority
The people who are in charge of a major project are conferred with organizational
position authority. It refers to the authority granted only for that particular project
which implies that once the project has successfully ended or for some reason
terminated, the authority and ends along with it. However, some organizations ensure
that even after the competition of the project the position of the person is retained in
one way or the other to avoid loss of an employee. It is seen that many people feel
stressed because they are unable to handle the load of the particular project since they
may handle such a project for the first time. This authority is believed to be a good one
to have and there is a lot of learning involved for the first time people who are given
this authority.
7.Ownership authority:-The authority that belongs to people who own an
organization or a company in its entirety and because of this ownership they are
entitled to make decisions for the entire organization is called ownership authority.
Owners of a sports team are the best example of ownership authority. Although they
possess a huge amount of authority the organizational skills amount to almost nothing
and their decisions always affect everyone involved in the organization. Since they
possess only the ownership and not the knowledge and tools necessary to manage the
ownership more often than not the end of harming the organization rather than
progressing it. People with this kind of authority in need to have a good head and
should be able to take right decisions at right time in order to be a successful owner. If
you are a sole proprietor, then you belong to this Type of Authority.
8.Prophetic authority
• As the name suggests this authority is spiritual in nature but it applies to
people who possess gifts that include creating visions and teaching that
have been rooted in scriptures from a long time. In spite of possessing
excellent prophetic abilities, these self-proclaimed modern-day prophets
never fail to take their studies seriously of the scriptures. This authority is
found very rarely but all the parties involved in this kind of authority that is
the prophet and his or her followers take this very seriously. People with
prophetic authority never shy away from doing what is best even if it may be
derogatory to their position. They are bold and headstrong in their beliefs
and that is why their followers have respect for them which is undying in
most cases.
9.Punitive authority
• Knowing that you have the ability to punish someone if the person has done
something wrong is called punitive authority. The bad thing the person has
done may or may not harm and be an ‘evil’ thing but nevertheless, the
person has an intention to punish him that is why the name punitive. An
umpire in a cricket match can exert a punitive authority over the players.
Simply the fact that the empire possesses authority over the players makes
them respect him during the game. A Judge in court is another example of
punitive authority wherein a judge’s sentence can make or break the life of
the defendant. The judge has legal right and capability to punish someone if
found guilty.
10.Relational authority
• People that are interrelated within certain groups and the group is related in
such a way that any action any member may take with the effect the entire
group is said to have a relational authority. An example of this would be any
sports team of more than two members like a hockey team. Any action of one
member might affect the entire team. In the case of businesses, the best
example would be an individual sales contributor who if does not perform and
achieve his target will affect the target of the organization entirely. More often
than not the team members forgive each other’s mistake but things get really
bad if one of the members possesses grudge against another.
11.Results authority
• Consider a peak performer who always achieves his targets. That person they
said to have results authority. It is to be noted that a person who has achieved
results only once will not have that authority why the person who is regularly
achieving the results and has been consistent in this performance for a long
time is set to have results authority. These people get respect because of their
fantastic success stories and they are often put in charge of the projects where
they can be successful. The skill set is fully utilized within the organization.
Organization’s go to an extent, to consider this person’s an asset and will do
everything in their ability to retain the person with results authority.
12.Reward authority
• School teachers and college professors are seen as the most common people
who hold reward authority. They have the power to give a certain specific type
of rewards which matter a lot in the lives of the people. The can be tangible
or intangible for example marks are grades given by teacher are valuable and is
considered a reward. This makes students listen to the authority of the
teacher. In professional terms in HR of a company possesses reward authority
who decides monetary appraisal for an employee. The other side of reward
authority is that they also possess punishment authority if things do not turn
out to be the way they need.

13.Traditional authority
• Following customs and traditions, the authority that is being given to someone
is called traditional authority. Patriarchy is one of the best examples of
traditional authority wherein the male is considered as the master of the
house and dominates the entire household. The inheritance is often passed to
the succeeding male. University history the examples of traditional authority
include Kings and Emperors.
• Types of Authority Available to Managers
• by Michael Holland
• As a leader, you have authority over critical resources. What’s the basis
of that authority? Generally, authority could be defined as: the power,
the right, the clout to influence people and get them to do what you
want and need them to. But in active leadership we can delineate that
definition a bit further. Here are several types of authority that can be
leveraged.
• Legal – based on the ability to influence others based on your official
authority and position.
• Expert – based on the ability to influence others based on your
knowledge and expertise
• Reverent – based on the ability to influence others based on your
behavior, manner and approach
• Reward – based on the ability to influence others by giving or
withholding rewards
• Punitive – based on the ability to influence others by imposing a
penalty for fault, offense or violation
• How Power and Authority Differ
• In a strictly physical sense, power is a rate of transferring energy over a
set period of time, like the electrical power you use to make your
computer work. In terms of human relationships, it is an ability to force
someone to do what you want, even if they don’t want to, because of
your (real or perceived) might. Power can get things done, as any
historical account of warfare will attest. It is necessary for roles of
leadership, but it must be used judiciously and not abused.
• Authority, on the other hand, is more analogous to the electrical cables
that get the power to your office. Those cables are “authorized” to bring
power to your home for you to use as you see fit. In terms of leadership,
authority is the glue that holds together the many promises of leadership.
It has several key attributes:
• It is decisive
• It is accomplishment-oriented
• It is influential
• It is courageous
• It inspires