Who rejected the principle of 'unity of command'? 

The correct answer is 'F. W. Taylor'

Key Points

• F. W. Taylor:
  • Frederick Winslow Taylor is known as the father of scientific management.
  • He introduced the concept of scientific management, which focused on improving economic efficiency and labor productivity.
  • Taylor rejected the principle of 'unity of command', which states that each worker should receive orders from only one superior, as he believed in functional foremanship where workers could receive instructions from multiple supervisors.

Additional Information

• Henri Fayol:
  • Henri Fayol was a French mining engineer and management theorist.
  • He is best known for his 14 principles of management, one of which is the 'unity of command'.
  • Fayol emphasized that each employee should receive orders from only one superior to avoid confusion and conflict.
• Peter Drucker:
  • Peter Drucker was an Austrian-American management consultant, educator, and author.
  • He is known for his contributions to modern management theory but did not specifically address the principle of 'unity of command' in the context of rejecting it.
• Elton Mayo:
  • Elton Mayo was an Australian-born psychologist and organizational theorist.
  • He is best known for the Hawthorne Studies and his contributions to the human relations movement in management.
  • Mayo did not focus on the principle of 'unity of command' in his work.