Discuss the fundamental principles of organization that are essential for effective functioning of the organization.

  PRINCIPLES OF ORGANIZING

Principles are guidelines that are formulated with the findings of a series of tests and practices. Management experts have propounded a number of principle guidelines for designing the organizational structure. Some basic principles of organizing are described below:

1. Principle of unity of objectives: 

This principle states that the goals and objectives of the entire organization must be clearly defined and be the same for all the departments and units. This means that the objectives of departments and units should not contradict the goals and objectives of the organization. Objectives of all the departments and units must be directed to achieve organizational goals. This helps utilize the organizational resources to the maximum extent in the direction of attaining organizational goals.

2 Principle of specialization:

 This principle states that responsibility to the employee should be assigned on the basis of their interest, qualification, knowledge, skills, and experience. When an employee gets the opportunity to perform any specific job of interest and experience, then the job will be accomplished with perfection as per the predetermined standard. This helps increase the economic scale of production, productivity, and effectiveness.

3. Principle of the span of control: 

The principle of the span of control explains that there must be an appropriate number of subordinates to be supervised or controlled under a supervisor or a manager. If the number of employees under a supervisor becomes large, supervision becomes less effective. A small number of employees under one manager or supervisor can be easier to supervise but it will be more costly (as many supervisors need to appoint). Thus, it is very important to estimate the appropriate number of supervisors i.e. span of control. It depends upon the nature and size of the job and organization. In many cases, 15 is supposed to be an appropriate number of employees under one supervisor i.e. size of the span of control.

4. Principle of exception: 

This principle states that all managers must make decisions as per their authority level. They should not skip this responsibility to their superiors except in some crucial issues. Managers should not hesitate to make decisions within the scope of their delegated authority to them. Only in some complex matters, they may refer to the higher authority for the decision.

5. Principle of scalar chain: 

According to this principle, there must be a clear and formal relationship of responsibility levels in the organization. A scalar chain is an unbroken line of authority from top level to the bottom level which clearly defines who will act under whom. This chain links employees of different levels in a line which helps follow commands and transform messages from one level to another. It fixes the responsibility to the person to command others. This also helps maintain the accountability of each employee working under different levels of responsibilities.

6. Principle of unity of command: 

According to this principle, there must be a command from only one manager to an employee at a time. This principle describes that an employee should have only one boss to whom s/he has to obey (it does not mean that each employee should have a separate boss). If there are many commands from different supervisors at a time, employees cannot perform the job effectively because of dilemmas about the priority of obeying commands or being confused about the procedures. Thus, each employee should have only one commander at a time and uniformity in commanding to accomplish the job effectively and efficiently.

7. Principle of delegation of authority: 

According to this principle, the authority must be delegated according to the need for responsibility. Without authority, employees cannot make decisions at their job because of which their performance cannot be at par. The authority should be on the basis of the degree of responsibility. This makes the employees more responsible and accountable in carrying out their respective tasks without delay. Delegation of authority motivates the employees as it serves personal growth opportunities and joy in making self-decision.

8. Principle of efficiency: 

This principle states that there must be efficient management so that the organization can achieve efficiency. Those organizations are regarded as the best which can perform duties and achieve their goals at minimum cost. The organizational structure should ensure the efficiency of the organization. Organizational structure should be designed in such a way that the available resources can be used optimally; wastage of resources can be minimized at the best possible level, and productivity can be maintained at the top level. For all of these things, organizational structure should be enough to maintain coordination and cooperation. 

9. Principle of simplicity: 

This principle says that the organizational structure must be as simple as possible so that each and every member can understand their duties and authority relationship clearly. This helps in the formulation and execution of plans and policies more effectively with coordination. A simple organizational structure reduces the ambiguity in the role, responsibility, and authority of each personality in the organization.

10. Principle of flexibility: 

The structure of an organization must be flexible having the provision for changes or adjustments in responsibility and authority in case of necessity. As the business environment keeps on changing it demands changes or adjustments in policies and strategies. Rigidity with hard and fast rules as well as the organizational structure may create complexities in the implementation of strategic plans. So, the structure must be flexible enough per the need of the organization.

11. Principle of balance: 

The principle of balance states that while designing the organizational structure, there must be a balance between centralization and decentralization. This helps carry out the organizational activities smoothly with the strong participation of all people involved in the concerned task. Centralization is the concept of making decisions from top-level management while decentralization allows decision-making authority at the level of execution of decisions. Decentralization is the philosophy of providing decision-making rights to the people who need to execute that decision. The principle of balance, thus, advocates that total authority (especially authority for increasing or decreasing capital, organizational structure, purchasing machinery, hiring managerial executives, etc.) should not be given to middle and lower-level managers and supervisors. But, the authority for making departmental, as well as unit level for day-to-day plans, should be delegated to the corresponding level. All the authority neither be centralized nor decentralized.

12. Principle of direction: 

According to this principle, there should be one objective and one plan for a group of activities having the same objective. This means that there should be unity of direction. The organizational structure should be designed in such a way that there should be one official direction for each set of similar activities.

13. Principle of continuity: 

This principle states that organizing should be continued till the existence of the organization. Organizational structure can be changed or amended according to necessity. This may be important in several situations like the fulfillment of predetermined objectives, modification of objectives, change in resources, change in business environmental factors, etc. Thus, organization should be continuous in designing a responsibility-authority relationship.