Organizing can be defined as a systematic process of arranging something. Organizing is an important part of the job role of a manager and organizing work has great importance. You can also read this article on the importance of organizing.
In this article, you will learn about the principles of organizing which will provide guidelines to a manager to organize his work efficiently.
Table of Contents
Here are the 12 Principles of Organizing
1. Principle of work specialization
One of the most important principles of organization is the principle of work specialization. While organizing a work a manager is required to allocate work among his subordinates. Distribution of work should be done on the basis of the qualification, skills, abilities, and job role of employees.
For example, you can’t ask an account to prepare a list of materials required for the production. If the principle of work specialization is followed properly then the work can be completed in less time and the quality of work will also be good. In addition to this, your subordinates will also enjoy working for you when they are given the work that they enjoy doing.
To follow the principle of specialization, a manager should be aware of the skills of the employees and sometimes he should take a risk by allocating work to the less experienced employee in order to unveil the hidden talents of an employee or to provide him or her an opportunity to grow.
2. Principle of unity of command
The principle of unity of command is concerned with the hierarchy of communication in the organization. Hierarchy of communication tells about the relationship between a subordinate and a superior. Every subordinate is required to report to his immediate boss for his day-to-day activities.
The unity of command creates a proper flow of information in the organization. for example, a managing director will give the instructions to the marketing manager and the marketing manager is answerable to only managing director. The marketing manager has the authority over the sales manager and the sales manager has authority over the salesperson.
The salesperson of an organization takes instructions from the sales manager and his day-to-day activities are controlled by the sales manager. He will report to the sales manager and the sales manager will present the same information to the marketing manager.
Similarly, in every organization, the authority in the organization flows from the top level to the lower level and this removes the communication gaps and makes the feedback prompt.
This fashion is followed in all the departments of the organization. The unity of command in the organization helps in establishing coordination among the employees and the coordinated actions of employees will result in an optimized use of resources.
3. Principle of delegation
Another important principle of organizing is delegation. The meaning of delegation is to give the power to somebody or to give the work to others. Without delegation, a manager will end up doing all the work on his own and the skills and time of subordinates will remain underutilized.
A successful manager is the one who can distribute work efficiently among his subordinates. A manager can only delegate the authorities which he has and can’t delegate authority which is out of his own power.
The proper delegation of authority improves the quality of work and also reduces the time of the work.
4. Principle of control or supervision
The next principle of organizing is control or supervision. While organizing it is important to control the work. The meaning of the principle of control or supervision is how many employees a single manager can handle effectively.
A manager is given the number of employees which he can handle effectively and not an unlimited number of employees. However, a manager should be able to control all the employees whose authority is given to him.
The number of subordinates given to a manager depends on the type of work, abilities of subordinates, and also the competence of the manager. for example, a sales manager can handle more number of salesperson working in his team if the employees are good at selling and can perform without constant supervision, whereas, a manager with new team of employees can handle limited number of employees as he is required to provide them training and help them with closing the sales deal successfully.
The span of control of a manager can be chosen from two types of the span of control:
Wide Span of control
In a wide span of control, a manager can control a large group of employees effectively and efficiently. The wide span of control is good in the environment where the following features are present:
- Work done by the subordinates is repetitive.
- Better communication between the supervisor and the subordinates.
- better coordination among the employees.
- Employees are skilled require less help from the manager.
- Employees are prompt at responding.
Narrow span of control
In a narrow span of control, a manager manages a small group of employees at one time. The employees are given responsibilities and authority to handle the work. Following are the features of a narrow span of control.
- narrow span of control can be used for work which requires constant control and supervision.
- less coordination among the employees.
- good for specialization works.
- miscommunication among the subordinates.
5. Principle of simplicity
Simplicity is one of the most important factors while organizing work in the organization. a complex structure of communication of authority can make work more difficult and employees will always be in confusion to whom to report or approach when they face any difficulty at work.
The simplicity of organizing means delegating the authority in a clear and simple structure. For example, a superior employee can control employees of lower rank and not vice versa. There should be a small chain of management, a long chain of management can create confusion and can also delay in the decision making and also can cause difficulty of coordination and communication in the organization.
therefore, organize work in such a way so that there is the least scope of confusion.
6. Principle of Flexibility
The principle of flexibility stands for the easy adaption of change in the organization. the organization structure should be flexible enough so that changing circumstances can be adapted easily by making any major changes in the organizational structure. For example, work should not halt if due to some reason the immediate manager is on leave.
Employees should know whom to report in the absence of their manager. Flexible organizations grow at a fast rate as compared to the organizations which are not flexible and ready for change.
7. Principle of the functional definition
The principle of functional definition stands for the clear definition of authority and responsibility of employees. if the responsibility of a particular task is not clearly defined then there are chances that nobody will do that work and it will remain undone.
Let us take a small example of turning off all electrical appliances after the working hours are over. If the responsibility of checking all the appliances and after the working hour is not given to one person, then you can’t hold anyone employee responsible.
Same happens with all other works all employees should be clearly told about their job responsibilities as well as authorities so that they can perform their work without delay.
8. Principle of Balance
Another principle of organizing is the principle of balance, which means while organizing work a manager should take care that all employees are given an equal amount of work.
Balancing is important as this will reduces the chances of conflicts among the employees and the time and skills of all employees will be utilized properly. In this way, all employees will be provided with equal opportunities to perform and pave their path to the top.
9. Principle of coordination
Principle of coordination is an important principle of organizing. Because in an organization, there are different types of work which takes place in different departments simultaneously.
It is important to coordinate different activities taking place in the organization so that all departments are on the same page. Coordination is essential to achieve the common goal of the organization.
10. Principle of accountability and Responsibility
The principle of accountability and responsibility stands for the responsibility of the subordinate to report to his superior. Accountability flows upward in the organization.
For example, a subordinate will report to his immediate manager and the manager will report to his manager. Principle of accountability and responsibility is important for smooth communication in the organization.
11. Principle of objectives
Principle of objective means all the employees of the organization should work towards the common goal of the organization. Therefore, while organizing the manager of the organization make sure that the efforts, time, and skills of all employees of the organization are used towards the common goal.
It will require thorough planning to implement the principle of objective in organizing successfully.
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