p. 68 ; as cited in: Albert Lepawsky (1949), Administration, p. 6-7
“

The. manager must never be lacking in knowledge of the special profession which is characteristic of the undertaking: the technical profession in industry, commercial in commerce, political in the State, military in the Army, religious in the Church, medical in the hospital, teaching in the school, etc. The technical function has long been given the degree of importance which is its due, and of which we must not deprive it, but the technical function by itself cannot endure the successful running of a business; it needs the help of the other essential functions and particularly of that of administration. This fact is so important from the point of view of the organization and management of a business that I do not mind how often I repeat it in order that it may be fully realized.

— Henri Fayol

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "The. manager must never be lacking in knowledge of the special profession which is characteristic of the undertaking: the technical profession in industry, commercial in commerce, political in the State, military in the Army, religious in the Church, medical in the hospital, teaching in the school, etc. The technical function has long been given the degree of importance which is its due, and of which we must not deprive it, but the technical function by itself cannot endure the successful running of a business; it needs the help of the other essential functions and particularly of that of administration. This fact is so important from the point of view of the organization and management of a business that I do not mind how often I repeat it in order that it may be fully realized." in the context of "p. 68 ; as cited in: Albert Lepawsky (1949), Administration, p. 6-7" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "Henri Fayol" (Quotes, Industrial and General Administration, 1916: Henri Fayol. Industrial and General Administration, Translated by J. A. Coubrough for the International Management Institute. Originally published in Bulletin de la societe de l'industrie minerale, 1916) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Henri Fayol

About Henri Fayol

Henri Fayol (29 July 1841, Istanbul – 19 November 1925, Paris) was a French mining engineer and director of mines who developed a general theory of business administration.