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Business Studies · 2026 · 6 marks
CBSE 2026 · Region 3 · Set 3 · Q33
(a) Explain the following principles of management: (i) Authority and Responsibility (ii) Initiative (iii) Subordination of individual interest to…
(a)
Explain the following principles of management :
(i)
Authority and Responsibility
(ii)
Initiative
(iii)
Subordination of individual interest to common good
OR
(b)
Explain the following characteristics of the principles of
management :
(i)
Primarily practical
(ii)
Cause and effect relationship
(iii)
Uncertain/Accidental
Marking-scheme solution
Principles of Management:
(i)
Authority and Responsibility:
▪ Managers require authority commensurate with their
responsibility and there should be a balance between authority
and responsibility. According to Fayol, “Authority is the right to
give orders and obtain obedience, and responsibility is the
corollary of authority.
▪ An organisation should build safeguards against abuse of
managerial power and a manager should have necessary authority
to carry out his responsibility.
(ii)
Initiative:
▪ Initiative means taking the first step with self-motivation wherein
workers should be encouraged to develop and carry out their
plans for improvement but it does not mean going against the
established practices of the company for the sake of being
different.
▪ A good company should have an employee suggestion system
whereby initiative/suggestions which result in substantial
cost/time reduction should be rewarded.
(iii)
Subordination of individual interest to common good/
Subordination of individual interest to general interest:
▪ The interests of an organisation should take priority over the
interests of any one individual employee as larger interests of the
workers and stakeholders are more important than the interest of
any one person.
▪ A manager can ensure this by her/his exemplary behaviour,
which will raise her/his stature in the eyes of the workers and
ensure same behaviour by them.
Or
Q (b). Explain the following characteristics of the principles of
management:
(i)
Primarily practical
(ii)
Cause and effect relationship
(iii)
Uncertain/Accidental
Characteristics of Principles of Management:
NOTE:
for (i) Primarily practical and (iii) Uncertain/Accidental and
separately.
characteristics in part (i) and part (iii)
1. Universal applicability:
▪ The principles of management are intended to apply to all types
of organisations, business as well as non-business, small as well
large, public sector as well as private sector, manufacturing as
well as the services sectors.
▪ However, the extent of their applicability would vary with the
nature of the organisation, business activity, scale of operations
and the like.
2. General guidelines:
▪ The principles are guidelines to action but do not provide
readymade, straitjacket solutions to all managerial problem
because real business situations are very complex and dynamic
and are a result of many factors.
▪ However, the importance of principles cannot be underestimated
because even a small guideline helps to solve a given problem.
3. Formed by practice and experimentation:
▪ The principles of management are formed by practice as well as
experience
▪ They are also formed by collective wisdom of managers as well
as experimentation.
4. Flexible:
▪ The principles of management are flexible and not rigid
prescriptions, that can be modified by the manager when the
situation so demands.
▪ Individual principles are like different tools serving different
purposes, the manager has to decide which tool to use under what
circumstances.
5. Mainly behavioural:
▪ Management principles aim at influencing behaviour of human
beings and therefore mainly behavioural in nature.
▪ These principles enable a better understanding of the relationship
between human and material resources in achieving
organisational goals.
6. Contingent:
▪ The application of principles of management is dependent upon
the prevailing situation at a particular point of time.
▪ The application of principles has to be changed as per
requirements.
(ii)
Cause and effect relationships:
▪ The principles of management are intended to establish
relationship between cause and effect so that they can be used in
similar situations in a large number of cases.
▪ In real life, situations are not identical and therefore accurate
cause and effect relationships may be difficult to establish;
however, principles of management assist managers in
establishing these relationships to some extent and are therefore
useful.
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CBSE Class 12 Business Studies past-paper question from the 2026 board exam, with the answer as CBSE’s own marking scheme gives it. Where our answers come from.