Henri Fayol: biography of the father of Positive Management

Summary of the life of this mining engineer who researched on management models.

Who was Henri Fayol (1841-1925)? He is a very relevant author in the field of business administration; engineer and theoretician of this sector, born in Istanbul, Fayol developed an administrative model called Fayolism, as well as the Classical Theory of Administration.

In this article, in addition to commenting on his most relevant theoretical contributions, we will make a brief review of his life and his work. a brief review of his life through a biography of Henri Fayol..

Abridged biography of Henri Fayol

Henri Fayol (1841-1925) was an engineer and management theorist, who was born on July 29, 1841 in Constantinople (Istanbul), and died on November 19, 1925 in Paris, at the age of 84.

Fayol is considered one of the main contributors to the classical approach to management, due to the fact that he developed the so-called "theory of management".Fayol is considered one of the main contributors to the classical approach to management, because he developed the so-called classical theory of management, which we will see below.

This researcher was born on July 29, 1841 in Constantinople, Istanbul, into a bourgeois family. The Industrial Revolution had just ended a year earlier (1840), so both Fayol and his family experienced its consequences.

As for his academic life, Henri Fayol graduated as a civil mining engineer in 1860, when he was only 19 years old. Soon He soon began working as a mining engineer, specifically at the Société Anonyme Commentry Fourchambault, a mining company.a large group in the mining and metallurgical sector. It was in this company that he spent his whole life working.

Little by little, Fayol rose through the ranks within the company. When he was 25 years old, he was appointed manager of the mines. Twenty-two years later, at the age of 47, Fayol was appointed general manager (general manager), and held that position for thirty years until he retired, between 1888 and 1918. At that time, Henri Fayol left the company to his successor, under quite favorable and stable conditions.

Contributions to the mining company

It is worth mentioning that the company went through difficult stages, especially during these years. However, during the years that Henri Fayol was as director of the company, his management was really good.

At that time, Fayol also dedicated himself to writing different articles related to the management of the company.. In 1916, two years before his retirement, the bulletin of the Société de l'Industrie Minérale published one of his works, entitled Administration Industrielle et Générale - Prévoyance organisation, direction, coordination, contrôle.

A few years later, in 1949, this work ("General and Industrial Administration by Constance Soorrs") was translated into English.

In 1978, on the occasion of the Universal Exposition, the Congress of the Industrial Mining Society was held in Paris in 1978 on the occasion of the Universal Exposition.. At that event, Henri Fayol presented one of his works, in the form of a report on the following subject: the alteration and spontaneous combustion of coal exposed to air.

His work was very well received and from that moment on, Fayol began to stand out in the scientific field. Next, we will learn about his two great contributions: Fayolism and the classical theory of management.

Fayolism

Henri Fayol developed an administrative model that he called Fayolism. Other synonyms that this model has received are: Positive Management, Administrative Process Approach or Anatomical Approach..

Through Fayolism, Henri Fayol analyzed problems not addressed by Frederick Taylor, then considered the father of Scientific Management. In his case, Taylor had developed Taylorism, a method of industrial organization based on dividing tasks in the production process, within the organization of work.

Taylor did his research mainly at the factory or workshop level; Fayol, on the other hand, investigated the management of organizations. investigated the management of organizations. In addition, Fayol created "Schools of Bosses", and contributed great ideas related to the different administrative levels that we find within an organization.

In his work "Administration industrielle et générale" we can find the ideas of Fayolism, through his philosophy, and also his most relevant contributions in this field.

Definition and characteristics

We have briefly placed Fayolism in context, but what exactly does it consist of? What are its main characteristics? Fayolism consists of an administrative model based on three essential aspectswhich are:

• The division of labor
• The application of a certain administrative process
• The formulation of technical criteria that guide the administrative function.

As we will see below, Fayolism describes several functions within an organization, where the administrative function is the most important. the administrative function is the most important. In fact, this function refers to the social part of the company (i.e., its workers), while the others are related to raw materials and machinery. What does each of these functions consist of? Let's find out:

Functions in the organization

As we were saying, beyond the three essential aspects of Fayolism listed above, through this management model, Henri Fayol specifies a series of functions that any industrial enterprise must take into account, which are the following:

1. Technical functions

These are those that fulfill the function of These are those that fulfill the function of providing certain goods and services..

2. Commercial functions

The commercial functions are those that have to do with the efficient production and with the purchases and sales of the company.

3. Financial functions

Financial functions have to do with money management and obtaining the highest return on money.

4. Safety functions

In this case, security functions have the mission of protecting people and their property from theft or other disturbances (e.g. flooding) within an organization. (e.g. flooding), within an organization.

5. Accounting functions

These are the functions related to inventories, balance sheets, costs, costs, expenses and other items.balance sheets, costs, statistics...

6. Administrative functions

Finally, the administrative functions proposed by Henri Fayol in his Fayolism model refer to the coordination and synchronization of the other five functions already explained.

In fact, the administrative functions are, for Fayol, his main object of study (still in full development at that time).

The Classical Theory of management

Through his Classical Theory, Henri Fayol develops a series of ideas in the administrative context, focused on increasing the efficiency of the company..

These ideas are along the lines of optimizing the form and arrangement of the organs that make up the organization in question (i.e., its departments), as well as their structural interrelationships. In this line, in his classical theory, Fayol emphasizes the importance of the anatomy of the firm (i.e., its structure) and its physiology (i.e., its functioning).

Thus, Fayol Thus, Fayol attaches particular importance to attending to the structure of the organization (this is the fundamental characteristic of the classical theory); that is, its elements, principles, departments, etc.

However, Fayol does not neglect either the synthesis of these elements and their interrelationships, which end up generating a global vision of the company, which in turn allows a better subdivision of it under the centralization of a main boss.

Bibliographical references:

• Heames, J., Pryor, M.G. & Taneja, S. (2010). Henri Fayol, practitioner and theoretician–revered and reviled. Journal of Management History.
• Peaucelle, J.L. & Guthrie, C. (2012). The private life of Henri Fayol and his motivation to build a management science. Journal of Management History.
• Sasaki, T. (1995). Henri Fayol′ s family relationships. Journal of Management History.
• Taylor, F. W. (1911). The Principles of Scientific Management. Harper & Brothers. p. 144.