Ch-2; Principles of Management

Class 12th (2025-26), Ch-2, Principles of Management, Business Studies

Meaning of Principles of Management

General guidelines. Principles of management are broad and general guidelines for decision making and behavior of managers.

List the Nature / Features / Characteristics of Principles of Management

The seven characteristics of principles of management are:<br>1. <b>Universal applicability</b><br>2. <b>General guidelines</b><br>3. <b>Found by practice and experimentation</b><br>4. <b>Flexible</b><br>5. <b>Mainly behavioral</b><br>6. <b>Cause and effect relationship</b><br>7. <b>Contingent</b>

1. Universal applicability (1st characteristic of management)

The principles of management can be applied to <b>all kinds of organizations</b>, irrespective of size and nature. Irrespective of size, small or large, and nature, business, government or primary organization

however, extent of application varies, depends on that.

2. General guidelines (2nd characteristic of management)

Management principles are not guidelines to actions and cannot be used as <b>tailor-made tools</b>. This is so because real-life situations are very much <b>complex and dynamic</b>. So they cannot be applied strictly.

3. Found by practice and experimentation (3rd characteristic of management)

Management principles are <b>evolutionary in nature</b>, i.e., they have been developed through <b>observations, experimentation and experience</b> of the management thinkers.

4. Flexible (4th characteristic of management)

They are <b>flexible</b> and can be modified by the manager as per the situation. These principles cannot be applied blindly even in an identical situation. Individual principles are like <b>tools serving different purposes</b>, and manager has to decide which principle to use under which situation.

5. Mainly behavioral (5th characteristic of management)

They aim at <b>influencing human behavior</b> because all work is done by human beings. Human behavior is very <b>complex and dynamic in nature</b>. That is, they aim to influence such <b>unpredictable behavior</b> in order to achieve organizational goals. Therefore, they are mainly behavioral in nature.

6. Cause and effect relationship (6th characteristic of management)

They are intended to establish <b>relationship between cause and effect</b> so that they can be used in similar situations in a large number of cases, helping <b>predict the outcome of managerial actions</b>.

7. Contingent (7th characteristic of management)

Application is <b>dependent or contingent upon the prevailing conditions</b> at a particular point of time. They have to be suitably amended as per the situations.