Running Head: PRINCIPLE MILESTONES 1 PRINCIPLE MILESTONES 8 Edwin Villa Rivera Prof. Teresa Buehler-Rappold Management Theory and Principle Milestones American Military University 20 JAN 2019 Management Theory and Principle Milestones Introduction The management of people and employees barely existed before the industrial revolution as most tasks were handled by the business owners themselves. Industrial revolution sparked innovation management theories that gave business owners and managers insight into the best managerial practices to manage people and employees. The field of management has evolved over time, with managers now having unlimited resources at their disposal to learn new skills and scale their businesses and companies to greater heights (Rose, Spinks & Canhoto, 2014). This paper provides an overview of the key management theory and principle milestones over time, their significance, their highlights and also their limitations. Fayol’s Principles of management Henry Fayol was the founder of the 14 principles of management. He was at one point the director of a mining company which was facing a deep financial crisis. Fayol had to figure a way to undo the mess and this led him to develop the 14 principles of management to revive the mining company. These principles of management included the successful strategies that put the company back on its feet. The significance of Fayol’s principles of management during that time was to create personal and professional development within companies and business by giving managers the opportunity to develop and work on their management practices. These principles also gave managers the tools they needed to lead, making the management process more efficient. On top of these 14 principles, Fayol also came up with a list of the primary functions of management which complement the 14 principles. The 14 principles of management are the division of work, authority, discipline, remuneration, the unity of command, centralization, order, initiative, team spirit, the stability of tenure of personnel, scalar chain, equity, the unity of direction and lastly subordination of individual interests (Morden, 2017). Fayol identified the primary functions of management to be planning, forecasting, controlling, coordinating, organizing and commanding. The highlight of Fayol's principles of management was that they have defined the true meaning of management. They brought positive change to organizations as they led to excellent decision making. These principles also made managers equipped managers with skills that made them more effective. In as much as the principles brought about efficiency in organizations, they had their own limitations. They were criticized for not being flexible and they could only be applied.