A century old and still visionary: Fayol's innovative theory of management

Abstract

Based on historical data and a seminal text never translated into English, we present an original interpretation of Henri Fayol's (1841Fayol's ( -1925 administrative theory. This interpretation, which is consistent with the comments that Fayol later presented about his 'General and industrial administration' treatise, brings out his pioneering contribution to management studies. Fayol made the 'unknown' introduced by science into industry the central tenet of modern administration. He foreshadowed major aspects of today's innovation management. More fundamentally, Fayol laid new foundations for the field of management sciences. He drew from the political and philosophical works of the Enlightenment to develop a series of original concepts (in French: prévoyance, perfectionnement, programme, inconnu, corps social) that were difficult to interpret and to translate. We maintain that Fayol's administrative science is a theory of a 'creative/political' rationality that still, today, offers better theoretical and explanatory support for management science than economic and bureaucratic theory.

Creative heritage: Overcoming tensions between innovation and tradition in the luxury industry

“…This would help teams identify the future of tradition and where to concentrate research efforts. A language of the unknown is a means to build action programs—to plan by knowing not only what is possible, but also what is wanted (Hatchuel & Segrestin, 2018). A language of the unknown can be ambiguous, a source of interpretative viability (Benders & Van Veen, 2001).…”

Food tracking and blockchain-induced knowledge: a corporate social responsibility tool for sustainable decision-making

“…In contrast, informed context (Lefebvre et al , 2015) would require better standards in structuring traceability systems, especially in this sector. In this sense, Moe (1998) was able to prophetically anticipate (Hatchuel and Segrestin, 2019) the need for higher certainty of knowledge in a food information system that would affect the future of supply chain management and the society as a whole.…”

Instrumentality and influence of Fayol’s doctrine: history, politics and emotions in two post-war settings

“…That is, at a conscious level Fayol's work could be argued to be straightforwardly related to how it fitted into a culture of dynamic innovation and development we see in late nineteenth-century France (e.g. Hatchuel & Segrestin, 2019), particularly alongside the prospective need to rebuild industry at the end of WWI. It may have been particularly powerful because, in pointing towards the future, it also echoed something of France's more traditional heritage.…”