"A sales person is asked to clinch a deal with a buyer and is allowed to be given a $10\\%$ discount by the marketing manager. But the finance department tells her/ him not to offer more than a $5\\%$ discount". Identify the principle of management violated in the aforesaid statement.

Option 1 -> Unity of Command: This principle states that an employee should receive orders from only one superior to avoid confusion and conflict. Here, the salesperson receives conflicting instructions from two sources (marketing manager and finance department).

Option 2 -> Order: This principle relates to systematic arrangement of resources and people in the right place. It doesn't address the issue of receiving contradictory orders from multiple authorities.

Option 3 -> Scalar Chain: This principle refers to the formal line of authority from top to bottom in an organization. The issue here is not about the chain of command but about conflicting instructions.

Option 4 -> Unity of Direction: This principle states that activities with the same objective should be under one manager and one plan. This relates to organizational structure, not about dual command over employees.

Hence, Option 1: Unity of Command -> The salesperson is receiving conflicting orders from two different authorities (marketing manager allowing 10% discount while finance department restricting it to 5%). This violates Unity of Command, which requires each employee to report to and receive orders from only one superior to prevent confusion and conflicting instructions -> correct