Henri Fayol (Istanbul, 29 July 1841 – Paris, 19 November 1925) was a French mining engineer and director of mines who developed a general theory of business administration.[1] He and his colleagues developed this theory independently of scientific management but roughly contemporaneously. He was one of the most influential contributors to modern concepts of management, and is often referred to as the true father of Strategic management.
Biography[edit]
Fayol was born in 1841 in a suburb of Istanbul, Ottoman Empire. His father, an engineer, was appointed superintendent of works to build the Galata Bridge, which bridged theGolden Horn.[1] The family returned to France in 1847, where Fayol graduated from the mining academy "École Nationale Supérieure des Mines" in Saint-Étienne in 1860.
The nineteen-year old engineer started at the mining company "Compagnie de Commentry-Fourchambault-Decazeville" in Commentry. By 1900 the company was one of the largest producers of iron and steel in France and was regarded as a vital industry.[1] Fayol became managing director in 1888, when the mine company employed over 10,000 people, and held that position over 30 years until 1918.
Work
Fayol's work became more generally known with the 1949 publication of General and industrial administration, the English translation of the 1916 article "Administration industrielle et générale". In this work Fayol presented his theory of management, known as Fayolism. Before that Fayol had written several articles on mining engineering, starting in the 1870s, and some preliminary papers on administration.
Based largely on his own management experience, he developed his concept of administration. In 1916 he published these experience in the book "Administration Industrielle et Générale", at about the same time as Frederick Winslow Taylor published his Principles of Scientific Management