Unity of Direction

Unity of Direction

Fayol advocates "One head and one plan" which means that group efforts on a particular plan be led and directed by a single person. This enables effective co-ordination of individual efforts and energy. This fulfils the principles of unity of command and brings uniformity in the work of same nature. In this way the principle of direction create dedication to purpose and loyalty. It emphasizes the attainment of common goal under one head.

Unity of Direction can be explained in this example, all marketing activities such as advertising, sales promotion, pricing policy, etc., must be directed by only one manager.

He must use only one plan for all the marketing activities. Unity of direction means activities aimed at the same objective should be organized so that there is one plan and one person in charge. Boss, subordinates, members; all in a same organization might have different responsibility and position but the motive behind only all their activities have to be single, which is to attain organizational goals. 

The principle of unity of command should not be confused with the principle of unity of direction as both do not mean the same thing. The principle of unity of command is concerned with functioning of people while unity of direction is related to the activities.

There are different divisions in the organization for different activities and thus the efforts of the employees of one division having the common objective must be directed towards the achievement of these objectives, taking into account the threats, opportunities for that division.

The application of this principle helps in establishing co-ordination and uniformity in the activities as well as in the organization. It also reduces the duplication of activities in the organization and thus helps in minimizing the wastage of resources.