Management as a process

Much has been written of management as a process of 'getting things done through people', but the seminal work was that of the French engineer and industrialist, Henri Fayol. His monograph, Administration Industrielle et Generale, was not translated into English until 1930. In it, Fayol identified six elements of the management process:

1. Forecasting,

2. Planning,

3. Organising,

4. Commanding,

5. Coordinating and

6. Controlling.

His successors both added to, and subtracted from this list, but the elements common to all, and of particular relevance to this treatment of operations management are illustrated here.