ADMINISTRATION 1

In business, administration consists of the performance or management

of business operations and thus the making or implementing of a major
decision.

What is administration?

Administration can be defined as the universal process of organizing

people and resources efficiently so as to direct activities towards common
goals and objectives. It could also be defined as the arrangements and
tasks needed to control the operation of a plan or organization.
Administrators engage in a common set of functions to meet the
organizations goals.

ADMINISTRATIVE FUNCTIONS

There are five (5) functions of administration which are majorly described
by Henri Fayol as ‘‘the 5 elements of administration’’ : Planning,
Organizing, Staffing, directing and controlling.

1. PLANNING: Is deciding in advance what to do, how to do it, when to

do it, and who should do it. It maps the path from where the
organization is to where it wants to be. The planning function
involves establishing goals and arranging them in a logical order.
Administrators engage in both short-range and long-range planning.

2. ORGANIZING: Involves identifying responsibilities to be performed,

grouping responsibilities into departments or divisions, and
specifying organizational relationships. The purpose is to achieve
coordinated effort among all the elements in the organization
(Coordinating). Organizing must take into account delegation of
authority and responsibility and span of control within supervisory
units.
3. STAFFING: Means filling job positions with the right people at the
right time. It involves determining staffing needs, writing job
descriptions, recruiting and screening people to fill the positions.

4. DIRECTING: Is leading people in a manner that achieves the goals of

the organization. This involves proper allocation of resources and
providing an effective support system. Directing requires exceptional
interpersonal skills and the ability to motivate people. One of the
crucial issues in directing is to find the correct balance between
emphasis on staff needs and emphasis on economic production.

5. CONTROLLING: Is a function that evaluates quality in all areas and

detects potential or actual deviations from the organization's plan.
This ensures high-quality performance and satisfactory results while
maintaining an orderly and problem-free environment. Controlling
includes information management, measurement of performance,
and institution of corrective actions.

MANAGING PRINCIPLE:

1. Formation of definite rules and regulations, procedures, methods

and systems to carry out the work successfully.

2. Establishing and developing suitable standards to all functions to

serve as a means for measuring efficiency and economy of
performance.

3. Establishing and developing a system of supervision and inspection

to ensure desired achievement and find out all leakage wastage,
Spoilage of work.

4. Maintaining a system of prompt accurate and serviceable records

and instituting methods of securing reliable analytical data and
internal reporting for each activity.

5. Introducing new ideas, new equipment, new methods, new designs.

6. Developing marketing and publicity methods.

7. Developing and maintaining co-operative spirit between all personnel

so as to ensure their faithful and willing attachment to duty.

8. Establishing most desirable and comfortable working conditions and

seeking for internal peace discipline and harmony.

9. Maintaining a well-balanced and fair-minded attitude to all.