Henri Fayol (Istanbul, 29 July 1841 – Paris, 19 November 1925) and his management theory have been in the greatest debate over time for its relevance for both the classic and contemporary management. To begin our exploration profoundly into the debate, we may borrow Fayol’s conclusion “without principles we are working in dark and chaos, without experience and judgment we are still working under great difficulties, even with the best principles. The principles is the lighthouse, which enable us to get our bearings, but it can only help those who know the way into port. Fayol (1949, p.42))” and other judgments of others theorists such as Forlett, Mintzbaerg, Taylor, and Porter to reveal our view of Fayol’s theory’s relevance in today’s management. Although there are limitations, disadvantages and improvements in need, Fayol’s theory has stood the test of time to be the foundation of all later theories in management. We will elaborately go through the exploration by profoundly going into Fayol’s theory of management, comparing and contrasting it with other theories under the provision of other theorists, identifying limitations and disadvantages associated, then claim our judgment that Fayol’s theory is still relevance for today’s business management. First and foremost, we will briefly go over Fayol’s life, work, achievements and his theory to know more about the foundation for the birth of the theory and its details. Henry Fayol was born in 1841 in Istanbul, Ottoman Empire. His father is an engineer, and after returning to France in 1847, he got his academic degree in mining in Saint-Etienne in 1860. He joined the company "Compagnie de Commentry-Fourchambeau-Decazeville" as a nineteen-year-old engineer and, became the manager director in 1888, and held this position for more than 30 years. In 1916, he gave born for the book "Administration Industrielle et Générale", which became
Henri Fayol (Istanbul, 29 July 1841 – Paris, 19 November 1925) and his management theory have been in the greatest debate over time for its relevance for both the classic and contemporary management. To begin our exploration profoundly into the debate, we may borrow Fayol’s conclusion “without principles we are working in dark and chaos, without experience and judgment we are still working under great difficulties, even with the best principles. The principles is the lighthouse, which enable us to get our bearings, but it can only help those who know the way into port. Fayol (1949, p.42))” and other judgments of others theorists such as Forlett, Mintzbaerg, Taylor, and Porter to reveal our view of Fayol’s theory’s relevance in today’s management. Although there are limitations, disadvantages and improvements in need, Fayol’s theory has stood the test of time to be the foundation of all later theories in management. We will elaborately go through the exploration by profoundly going into Fayol’s theory of management, comparing and contrasting it with other theories under the provision of other theorists, identifying limitations and disadvantages associated, then claim our judgment that Fayol’s theory is still relevance for today’s business management. First and foremost, we will briefly go over Fayol’s life, work, achievements and his theory to know more about the foundation for the birth of the theory and its details. Henry Fayol was born in 1841 in Istanbul, Ottoman Empire. His father is an engineer, and after returning to France in 1847, he got his academic degree in mining in Saint-Etienne in 1860. He joined the company "Compagnie de Commentry-Fourchambeau-Decazeville" as a nineteen-year-old engineer and, became the manager director in 1888, and held this position for more than 30 years. In 1916, he gave born for the book "Administration Industrielle et Générale", which became