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The workplace activities of the multinational enterprises responsible for supplying consumers in the developed North with goods produced in the developing South have come under growing scrutiny in the past decade. In response, growing number of MNEs have embraced the concept of “corporate social responsibility”, producing codes of conduct by which they claim to do business. This article describes the intent and content of such codes, as well as the Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development’s own MNE code of conduct, and illustrates how they perform in upholding the core labour rights enshrined by the International Labour Organisation, in particular the rights of freedom of association and collective bargaining.

The aim is to identify Henri Fayol's motivations as an accomplished business manager to publish his management theory at the age of 75.

The authors retrace Henri Fayol's private life using primary sources from various French public archives including civil registry records, military and diplomatic archives, schooling records, publications from learned associations and inheritance declarations. They then use a psychological theory, namely equity theory, to interpret this new information about Fayol's private life and construct an explanation of his efforts to theorise his management experience.

Henri Fayol's schooling and his father's military career respectively influenced his perception of mathematics teaching in management training and the functioning of the army. His motivation to found a science of management was not financial but instead most probably a response to the obstacles his father encountered during his career.

It is rarely known what motivates a manager to collaborate with specialists in management science. This research into Henri Fayol's motivations can be replicated for other managers.

The paper dentifies one major practical implication for managers who wish to contribute to management theory as Fayol did. Before they begin such an undertaking, it is important for them to reflect upon their motivations. Their motivations as managers, based on financial and business success are insufficient. Deeper motivations are needed, that are anchored in their own personal history to drive the considerable intellectual investment that is necessary for them to be successful contributors.

The results encourage managers to contribute to building and improving management science. They can theorize their experiences in dealing with the management of contemporary issues such as sustainable development and social responsibility. They must do so as Fayol did: using scientific method and strongly motivated by personal beliefs.

The research question is original: “What motivated Fayol to build his management doctrine?”. Scholars rarely ask why individuals decide to build and organize knowledge. This question is relevant for managers today as they too can bring original contributions to management thought. The paper reports previously unpublished details about Fayol's life to answer the research question, and in doing so completes and corrects the works of Sasaki Tsuneo and Henri Verney.

Traces seven generations of Henri Fayol′s family through family records and public documents found in France. These previously unpublished records document the financial situation of the Fayol family, further details of Fayol′s career, and other information concerning his descendants. For many years the Fayol family members and their in‐laws had close ties with Commentry‐Fourchambault and Decazeville. Suggests the circumstances which led to the estrangement of Henri Fayol from his only son, as well as the role the Fayols played in the international management movement.

Successful corporate turnarounds occur, thus avoiding liquidation, but historical examples are few. In late nineteenth century France Henri Fayol became managing director (CEO) of a vertically integrated iron and steel firm and made various decisions that retrieved the firm from the brink of liquidation. In examining his career, the competitive nature of the industry, and his decisions, it is suggested that he employed a deliberate and comprehensive corporate strategy to guide the firm toward its objectives. While he developed his theory of management from these experiences and claimed that its application was the primary cause of the turnaround, this paper suggests that there were several other factors at work.