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7.7.2025

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Top 20 Articles  - Management Theory Review Blog

"Sharpen The Saw"

Read my detailed article on Stephen Covey's Sharpen the Saw Principle

Knowledge is the saw with which knowledge workers solve the complex problems that come to them for decision making, design and development of products, services and systems.

This collection of articles facilitate review of knowledge gained in the MBA course. The core curriculum of the course is being covered in this blog. For specialization streams separate blogs will be opened.

"Sharpen the Saw" said Covey in The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Knowledge workers have to keep their knowledge fresh always as 'quick recall knowledge' and 'quick assisted recall knowledge' to do their job right as knowledge workers. This can be ensured by periodic review or revision of the knowledge learned during the education years. Articles in the blog are prepared using reputed and popular textbooks on various subjects. Readers can read one or two articles per day and keep their knowledge sharp. The articles also help persons now pursuing their MBA to grasp the main ideas presented in a chapter.

Steven Covey on Seven Habits. He mentions the role of knowledge

Steven Covey left for the heavenly abode on 16 July 2012.

Revision Schedule




January  - February  - March  - April  - May   -   June

July       - August     - September  - October  - November  - December

Revision Articles -  Subjects Covered 

(See the labels list also)

Auditing  -   Business ethics - Cost accounting - Cost management - Corporate Social Responsibility

Economics - Effectiveness -  Efficiency - Engineering economics - Financial accounting

Financial management - Human resource management - Industrial engineering -

Knowledge management -

Marketing Management - Operations ManagementOrganizational Behavior - Principles of Management

Supply chain management -

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New Project of the Blog

30 Day MBA Self Study Course - Free Notes and Texts


Developed by
Professor K.V.S.S. Narayana Rao, Ph.D.
Professor, NITIE, India
Professor, SP Jain Institute of Management and Research, India
Senior Professor, ICFAI Business School, India

Developer of Graham - Rao Method of Analysis of Indian Stocks.

Developer of Markowitz Portfolio Analysis Method for Equity Stocks using Target Prices, Past Price Data, and Excel Software Developed by Associates of Markowitz

Provided Definition for Industrial Engineering: "Industrial Engineering is Human Effort Engineering and System Efficiency Engineering."

Organized First All India Student Equity Research Competition "Khoj" in India.

Organized First Student Presented Investor Conference in which Top 5 Indian equity share
purchases were recommended under 5 different equity research methods and each analytical method was explained in detail to the participants.

Global Number Individual English Author on Knol, which was a platform of Google.

Recipient  of the Innovation Award from Association of Indian Management Schools (AIMS) for Development of Web Based MBA Materials.

Recipient  of the  Award from Higher Education Forum of India (HEF) for Development of Web Based MBA Materials.

Labels of this blog



LABELS





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Online Management Books of Readings

Books of Collections of Online Articles by Professors of Global Top Business Schools


Advertising - Knol Book of Readings 

Auditing - Knol Book of Readings   (Completely new links added 9 July 2020)

Business, Corporate and Managerial Ethics - Knol Book of Readings

Communication Skills - Knol Book of Readings 

Corporate Governance - Knol Book of Readings 

Cost Accounting - Knol Book of Readings

Economics - An Introductory Knol Book of Readings 

Entrepreneurial Spirit - Knol Book of Readings 

Environmental Management - Knol Book of Readings 

Equity Research - Knol Book of Readings
http://nraombakc.blogspot.com/2012/03/equity-research-knol-book-of-readings.html

Ergonomics - Knol Book of Readings 


Financial Accounting - Knol Book of Readings - India version

Improvement Management of Tasks, Processes and Systems - Knol Book of Readings 

Inventory Control and Management - Knol Book of Readings 

Manufacturing Management - Knol Book of Readings 

Marketing Management - Online Book on Blog
http://bbmktgmgmt.blogspot.com/2011/12/marketing-management-contents.html


Mergers and Acquisitions - Knol Book of Readings
http://nraobbs.blogspot.com/2012/03/mergers-and-acquisitions-knol-book-of.html

Principles of Management - Book of Readings

Organizational Behavior - Knol Book of Readings 

Social Media Marketing - Book of Readings

Supply Chain Management - Knol Book of Readings
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Research in Management


Management Theory Review - Research Perspective
Will have research paper collections and literature review type treatment of various topics

Management Research Papers Review
Will have summaries some research papers in various topics and areas. If a paper has given propositions, the propositions are listed under the paper.

Updated  7.7.2025, 12.9.2024,  1 January 2021
9 July 2020,   19 January 2016, 26 August 2016, 31 Mar 2015

Management Innovations - New Principles and Practices

 

Scientific Management

It takes fortitude and perseverance, as well as imagination, to solve big problems. These qualities are most abundant when a problem is not only important but also inspiring. Frederick Winslow Taylor, one of  the  important management innovators of the twentieth century, and also a pioneer,  is usually portrayed as an engineer, intent on mechanizing work and pushing employees to work at the maximum speed humanly possible and healthy. But Taylor’s single-minded devotion to efficiency stemmed from his conviction that it was iniquitous to waste an hour of human labor when a task could be redesigned to be performed in less time with less effort.


This passion for multiplying the impact of human endeavor shines through in Taylor’s introduction to his 1911 treatise, The Principles of Scientific Management: “We can see and feel the waste of material things. Awkward, inefficient, or ill-directed movements of men, however, leave nothing visible or tangible behind them. Their appreciation calls for an act of memory, an effort of the imagination. And for this reason, even though our daily loss from this source is greater than from our waste of material things, the one has stirred us deeply, while the other has moved us but little.”

In Taylor's time, the contribution os human labor is much more than the contribution of machines to output of the societies. Hence Taylor said, the waste of material things is less, waste of human effort and time is more.

To maximize the chances of a management breakthrough, you need to start with a problem that is both consequential and soul stirring. 

Here are three leading questions that will stimulate your imagination to find important problems.


First, what are the tough trade-offs that your company never seems to get right? Management innovation is often driven by the desire to transcend such trade-offs, which can appear to be irreconcilable. Open source development, for example, encompasses two antithetical ideas: radical decentralization and disciplined, large-scale project management. 

Perhaps you feel that the obsessive pursuit of short-term earnings undermines your company’s willingness to invest in new ideas. Maybe you believe that your organization has become less and less agile as it has pursued the advantages of size and scale. Your challenge is to find an opportunity to turn an “either/or” into an “and.”

Second, what are big organizations bad at? This question should produce a long list of incompetencies. Big companies aren’t very good at changing before they have to or responding to nimble upstarts. Most fail miserably when it comes to unleashing the imagination of first-line employees, creating an inspiring work environment, or ensuring that the blanket of bureaucracy doesn’t smother the flames of innovation. Push yourself to imagine a company can’t-do that you and your colleagues could turn into a can-do.


Third, what are the emerging challenges the future has in store for your company? Try to imagine them: An ever-accelerating pace of change. Rapidly escalating customer power. Near instant commoditization of products and services. Ultra-low-cost competitors. A new generation of consumers that is hype resistant and deeply cynical about big business. These discontinuities will demand management innovation as well as business model innovation. If you scan the horizon, you’re sure to see a tomorrow problem that your company should start tackling today.


Search for new principles.

Any problem that is pervasive, persistent, or unprecedented is unlikely to be solved with hand-me-down principles. The pursuit of human liberty required America’s founders to embrace a new principle: representational democracy. More recently, scientists eager to understand the subatomic world have been forced to abandon the certainties of Newtonian physics for the more ambiguous principles of quantum mechanics. It’s no different with management innovation: Novel problems demand novel principles.



The Why, What, and How of Management Innovation

by Gary Hamel

From the  HBR Magazine (February 2006)

https://hbr.org/2006/02/the-why-what-and-how-of-management-innovation



Ud. 7.7.2025

Pub. 31.1.2025








Principles of Management – Koontz and O’Donnell



April 2017

By studying and writing on Principles of Management, I became the original author of Principles of Industrial Engineering, a Management Subject with foundation in engineering. It is a very popular online article on industrial engineering.

Basic and Detailed Principles of Industrial Engineering


Cost of Ignorance is Square of Cost Quality. - Narayana Rao.

July 2025 - IEKC Industrial Engineering Self-study Online Course Lessons

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Principles of Management Revision Article Series

Planning, Organizing, Staffing, Leading and Controlling - Functions of Management.
Harold Koontz and Cyril O’Donnell, in their book, Principles of Management: An Analysis of Managerial Functions, clearly described the principles to be used in performing various functions of management.

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Harold Koontz and Cyril O’Donnell, in their book,  Principles of Management: An Analysis of Managerial Functions, clearly described the principles to be used in performing various functions of management.

Managers have to set in a procedure to revise these principles periodically so that they can recollect the relevant principles when performing the managerial tasks and explicitly consider the relevance and application of these principles in their practice.


Many of us use them implicitly. But a professionally educated and trained manager must use them explicitly. He has to ensure that these principles are applied and if any exceptional situation is there, managers should ignore the principles consciously and be clear in their mind they chose not to use them due to the exceptional nature of the situation.

 

The need for Principles of Management


To Increase Efficiency
To Crystallize the Nature of Management
To Improve Research
To Attain Social Goals


Video - Principles of Management - Koontz and O'Donnell - Quick Review

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Principles of Planning


Related to Purpose and nature

Principle of contribution to objectives
          Every plan has to contribute positively toward the accomplishment of enterprise objectives.

Principle of efficiency of plans
          Efficiency is measured by the contribution of the plan to objectives of the enterprise minus the costs and unsought for consequences in formulating and implementing the plan.

Principle of primacy of planning
          Planning is the primary prerequisite for all other functions of management. Every action of the manager follows a planning step.

Principles Applicable to Structure of plans

Principle of planning premises
          If more people in an organization use common and consistent planning premises, the enterprise planning will be more coordinated.

Principle of policy framework
          If more policies, appropriate to the organization, are expressed in clear terms and form and if managers understand them, the plans of the enterprise will be more consistent.

Principle of timing
          If plans are structured to provide a network of derivatives plans in sequence, there will be more effectiveness in attainment of enterprise objectives.


Principles Applicable to Process of Planning

Principle of alternatives
          Select the plan which is the most effective and the most efficient to the attainment of a desired goal.

Principle of limiting factor
          Consider limiting factor in generating alternatives and selection from alternatives.

The commitment Principle
          Planning can cover a period over which commitment of resources can be clearly visualized.

The flexibility Principle
          Building flexibility in planning is beneficial, but cost of building flexibility needs to be evaluated against the benefits.

The Principle of navigational change
          Manager needs to periodically check events of the plan and redraw plans to maintain the move toward a desired goal.

Principle of competitive strategies
          In a competitive arena, it is important to choose plans in the light of what competitor will or will not do and navigate based on what competitors are doing or not doing.



Principles of Organizing


Principles in Relation to Purpose

Principle of unity of objectives
          An organization structure is effective if it as a whole, and every part of it, make possible accomplishment of individuals in contributing toward the attainment of enterprise objectives.

Principle of efficiency
          An organization or organization structure is efficient if it is structured to make possible accomplishment of enterprise objectives by people with minimum unsought consequences or costs.
         

Principles  Related to the Cause of Organizing

Span of management Principle
          There is a limit at each managerial position on the number of persons an individual can effectively manage. But this number is not a fixed number and it will vary in accordance with underlying variables of the situation.



Principles in Developing the Structure of Organization



The scalar Principle

          The more clear the line of authority from the ultimate authority for management in an enterprise (CEO)  to every subordinate position, the more effective will be decision making and organization communication at various levels in the organization.



Principle of delegation

          Authority is a tool for managing to contribute to enterprise objectives. Hence authority delegated to an individual manager should be adequate to assure his ability to accomplish results expected of him.





Principle of responsibility

          The responsibility of the subordinate to his superior for authority received by delegation is absolute, and no superior can escape responsibility for the activities of his subordinate to whom he in turn has delegated authority.


Principle of parity of authority and responsibility
The responsibility exacted for actions taken under authority delegated cannot be greater than that implied by the authority delegated, nor should it be less.

Principle of unity of command
          The more completely an individual has a reporting relationship to a single superior, the less the problem of conflict in instructions and the greater the feeling of personal responsibility.
         
The authority level Principle
          Maintenance of authority delegation requires that decisions within the authority competence of an individual manager be made by him and not be referred upward in the organization.


Principles in Departmentizing Activities


Principle of division of work


        The better an organization structure reflects a classification of the tasks and activities required for achievement of objectives and assists their coordination through creating a system of interrelated roles; and the more these roles are designed to fit the capabilities and motivations of people available to fill them, the more effective and efficient an organization structure will be.



Principle of functional definition


        The more a position or a department has clear definition of results expected, activities to be undertaken, organization authority delegated, and authority and informational relationships with other positions, the more adequately individual responsible can contribute toward accomplishing enterprise objectives.



Principle of separation


        If an activity is designed to be a check on the activities of another department, the individual charged with such activity cannot adequately discharge his responsibility if he reports to the department who activity he is expected to evaluate.

Principles in the Process of organizing


Principle of balance

    the application of principles or techniques must be balanced in the light of the over-all effectiveness of the structure in meeting enterprise objectives.

Principle of flexibility
    The task of managers is to provide for attaining objectives in the face of changing environments. The more provisions are made for building organization flexibility, the more adequately organization structure can fulfill its purpose.

Principle of leadership facilitation
    The more an organization structure an authority delegations within it make possible for various managers to design and maintain an environment for performance, the more it will facilitate leadership abilities of managers.


Staffing Principles



Related to the Purpose of Staffing



Principle of staffing objectives

    

    The positions provided by the organization structure must be staffed with personnel able and willing to carry out the assigned functions.



Principle of staffing


    The quality of management personnel can be ensured through proper definition of the job and its appraisal in terms of human requirements, evaluation of candidates and incumbents, and appropriate training.


The process of staffing



Principle of job definition


    Specifications for the job rest on organization requirements and on provision for incentives to induce effective and efficient performance of the tasks involved.



Principle of managerial appraisal


    Performance must be appraised against the management action required by superiors and against the standard of adherence in practice to managerial principles.



Principle of open competition in promotion


    Managers should be selected from among the best available candidates for the job, whether they are inside or outside the enterprise.



Principle of management development
    The objective of management development is to strengthen existing managers. The most effective means of developing managers is to have the task performed primarily by a manager's superior.

Principle of universal development
    The enterprise can tolerate only those managers who are interested in their continuous development.

Principles of Directing

Related to the Purpose of Directing

Principle of harmony of objectives
    Effective directing depends on the extent to which individual objectives in cooperative activity are harmonized with group objectives.


Principles  Applicable to Process of directing

Principle of unity of command
    The more completely an individual has a reporting relationship to a single superior, the less the problem of conflict in instructions and the greater the feeling of personal responsibility for results.

Principle of direct supervision
    Effective direction requires that management supplement objective methods of supervision with direct personal contact.

Principle of supervisory techniques
    Since people, tasks, and organizational environment vary, techniques of supervision will be most effective if appropriately varied.

Principles of Delegation


Principle of functional delegation
    The more a position or department has clear definitions of results expected, activities to be undertaken, organization authority delegated, and authority and informational relationships with other positions, the more adequately individuals responsible can contribute toward accomplishing enterprise objectives.

Principle of delegation by results expected
    The authority delegated to an individual managers should be adequate to assure his ability to accomplish the results expected of him.

Principle of absoluteness of responsibility
    No superior can escape, through delegation, responsibility for the activities of subordinates, for it is he who delegated authority and assigned duties.

Principle of parity of authority and responsibility
    The authority delegated has to be consistent with the responsibility assigned to a subordinate.




Principles of Control


Related to the purpose of control

Principle of assurance of objective
    The task of control is to assure accomplishment of objectives by detecting potential or actual deviation from plans early enough to permit effective corrective action.

Principle of efficiency of controls
    The more control approaches and techniques detect and illuminate the causes of potential or actual deviations from plans with the minimum of costs or other unsought consequences, the more efficient these controls will be.

Principle of control responsibility
    The primary responsibility for the exercise of control rests in the manager charged with the execution of plans.

Principle of direct control
    The higher the quality of managers and their subordinates, the less will be the need for indirect controls.
(The principle may termed as principle of reduced controls. A superior can spend less time in control activities if he has more higher quality managers and their subordinates in his department.)

Principles related to Structure of control

Principle of reflection of plans
    The more controls are designed to deal with and reflect the specific nature and structure of plans, the more effective they will serve the interests of the enterprises and its managers.

Principle of organizational suitability
The more controls are designed to reflect the place in the organization structure where responsibility for action lies, the more they will facilitate correction of deviation of events from plans.

Principle of individuality of controls
    Controls have to be consistent with the position, operational responsibility, competence, and needs of the individuals who have to interpret the control measures and exercise control. 

Process of control

Principle of standards
    Effective control requires objective, accurate, and suitable controls.

Principle of critical-point control
    Effective control requires attention to those factors critical to appraising performance against an individual plan.

The exception Principle
    The more a manager concentrates his control on exceptions, the more efficient will be the results of this control.

Principle of flexibility of controls
    If controls are to remain effective despite failure or unforeseen changes in plans, flexibility is required in the design of controls.

Principle of action
Principle of Action
    Control is justified only if indicated or experienced deviations from plans are corrected through appropriate planning, organizing, staffing and directing.


References



Harold Koontz and Cyril O’Donnell, Principles of Management: An Analysis of Managerial Functions,  4th Ed., McGraw-Hill, New York, 1968


Harold Koontz and Cyril O’Donnell, Principles of Management: An Analysis of Managerial Functions, 2nd  Ed., McGraw-Hill, New York, 1959

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Material Organization and Resourcing


Fayol included both material organization and people organization in organizing function. But he developed in his book only people organization. Koontz also elaborated people organization only. There is need for principles of material organization and also as a follow up principles of resourcing.

Principles of Material Organization

Resourcing - A Function of Management

Lean Leadership Principles  -  Lean Management according to Narayana Rao K.V.S.S. -
Lean management gives importance to both effectiveness and efficiency. Lean Managers simultaneously take care of customer satisfaction and productivity/ cost reduction responsibilities. Hence in a theoretical sense, no new principles are required. Koontz and O'Donnell stressed efficiency in number of principles.

Principle of efficiency of plans
          Efficiency is measured by the contribution of the plan to objectives of the enterprise minus the costs and unsought for consequences in formulating and implementing the plan.

Principle of efficiency of organization

          An organization or organization structure is efficient if it is structured to make possible accomplishment of enterprise objectives by people with minimum unsought consequences or costs.


Principle of efficiency of controls
    The more control approaches and techniques detect and illuminate the causes of potential or actual deviations from plans with the minimum of costs or other unsought consequences, the more efficient these controls will be.

But still in management practice, efficiency was neglected by managers in trying to achieve sales, markets share or higher production quantity or meeting deadlines. Toyota became a glorious example of a company which has given efficiency due importance in management. It involved line managers in efficiency improvement through process improvement for cost reduction and it has taken the necessary staff help as recommended by F.W. Taylor and Harrington Emerson at their time. Hence, lean leadership principles are necessary now to explicitly state some more principles that force managers to focus on efficiency issues also adequately.




Basic Principles of Industrial Engineering (Productivity Management in Engineering Organizations) - Narayana Rao


1. Develop science for each element of a man - machine system's work related to efficiency and productivity.
2. Engineer methods, processes and operations to use the laws related to the work of machines, man, materials and other resources.
3. Select or assign workmen based on predefined aptitudes for various types of man - machine work.
4. Train workmen, supervisors, and engineers in the new methods, install various modifications related to the machines that include productivity improvement devices and ensure that the expected productivity is realized.
5. Incorporate suggestions of operators, supervisors and engineers in the methods redesign on a continuous basis.
6. Plan and manage productivity at system level.

The principles were presented at the Annual Conference of IISE 2017 at Pittsburgh, USA. The paper is in the proceedings of the conference. The presentation made at the conference is given below.

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14 Principles of Management - Henri Fayol
Principles of Management - Revision Articles - Based on Koontz and O'Donnells Book updated by Weirich and Kannice

2018 - 25 January,
8 April 2017,  12 March 2015 7.3.2014, 25.12.2013
Last updated 12.12.2011 (First posted to the blog from Knol)


Revision of chapters of principles of management is in January Revision Plan