MANAGEMENT VS.

ADMINISTRATION
The terms ‘management’ and ‘administration’ are often used synonymously.
According to Dalton E. McFarland, ‘In business firms, administration refers to
higher, policy-determining level. One seldom regards the first-line supervisor as an
administrator, instead he is a manager. In the health care fields and in many service
organization, problems (such as individual’s chronic disease) are managed but
programmes (such as flu vaccine distribution) are administered’.
Administration may be defined as ‘the guidance, leadership and control of
the efforts of a group of individuals towards some common goals’. Often the
terms administration and management are used together as administrative
management. Administrative management is different from ‘operative management’,
which is concerned with the operational aspects of a business. Some experts like
Oliver and Sheldon distinguished administration from management by suggesting
definitions of their own.
The definition
Administration is defined as a function of an organization that is concerned with
policy determination, coordination of finances, production, distribution and control
of the executives that are required for establishing an organization. Contrary to
this, management is the process that is concerned with the execution of the policies
within certain limits set by the administration and employment of the organization
for the purpose of accomplishing objectives laid down by the administration.
Essence of administration
Ordway Tead has analysed the process of administration into distinct elements
that are as follows:
 Establishing the objectives
 Formulating broad policies
 Stimulating the organization
 Evaluating the performance
 Looking ahead
Thus, management actions are directed towards attaining aims and objectives that
are laid down by the administration.
It is, therefore, clear that administration is more important at higher levels
whereas management is more important at lower levels in the firm’s organizational
pyramid.
Thus, administration is a top-level function while management is a bottomlevel
function. The fundamental point of distinction between these two aspects is
that the former is the process of formulating policies and goals of the organization
Introduction to
Management
NOTES
Self-Instructional
Material 17
while the latter directs and guides the operational or functional aspects of the
organization towards achieving the objectives set by the former.
A closer look reveals that the scope of management is broader than that of
administration. It is true that planning is more important and broader at higher
levels of organization. Yet it is equally valid that every level of management,
irrespective of its hierarchy in the organizational setup, has to do some sort of
planning and policymaking along with their execution. Therefore, management
includes both administrative management and operative management.