Biography
Fayol was born in 1841 in a suburb of Istanbul, Ottoman Empire. His father, an engineer, was appointed superintendent of works to build the Galata Bridge, which bridged the Golden Horn. The family returned to France in 1847, where Fayol graduated from the mining academy "École Nationale Supérieure des Mines" in Saint-Étienne in 1860.
The nineteen-year old engineer started at the mining company "Compagnie de Commentry-Fourchambeau-Decazeville" in Commentry. By 1900 the company was one of the largest producers of iron and steel in France and was regarded as a vital industry. Fayol became managing director in 1888, when the mine company employed over 10,000 people, and held that position over 30 years until 1918.
Based largely on his own management experience, he developed his concept of administration. In 1916 he published these experience in the book "Administration Industrielle et Générale", at about the same time as Frederick Winslow Taylor published his Principles of Scientific Management.
Read more about this topic: Henri Fayol
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