Administration and Management: An Art and Science

Administration
- is typically refers to the management and organization of tasks, resources, and processes
within an organization or a system.
It involves planning, coordinating, and overseeing various activities to ensure efficiency,
effectiveness, and compliance with established policies and procedures.
Administrators are responsible for decision-making, communication, problem-solving, and
maintaining order within their respective domains, whether it's in business, government,
education, healthcare, or other sectors.

The nature of administration encompasses several key aspects:

1. Purpose: Administration aims to achieve the goals and objectives of an organization or system.
It involves coordinating resources, activities, and processes to fulfill the organization's mission
effectively and efficiently.
2. Hierarchy and Structure: Administration typically operates within a hierarchical structure, with
clearly defined roles, responsibilities, and reporting relationships. This structure provides the
framework for decision-making, communication, and coordination within the organization.
3. Authority and Power: Administrators are granted authority and power to make decisions,
allocate resources, and implement policies and procedures. Authority may be derived from formal
positions of leadership or expertise within specific domains.
4. Decision-Making: Administration involves making decisions at various levels of the organization,
ranging from strategic planning to day-to-day operations. Decision-making processes may be
centralized or decentralized, depending on the organization's size, complexity, and culture.
5. Planning and Control: Administrators engage in strategic planning to set long-term goals and
objectives, as well as operational planning to guide daily activities. Control mechanisms such as
performance monitoring, evaluation, and feedback are used to ensure that organizational goals are
being met.
6. Coordination and Communication: Effective administration requires coordinating the efforts of
different individuals, departments, and functions within the organization. Clear and timely
communication is essential for aligning activities, resolving conflicts, and fostering collaboration.

7. Adaptability and Flexibility: Administrators must be able to adapt to changing circumstances,

environments, and stakeholder needs. Flexibility in decision-making, resource allocation, and
organizational structure is crucial for responding to internal and external challenges.
8. Ethical Considerations: Administrators are expected to uphold ethical standards and principles in
their decision-making and behavior. This includes transparency, fairness, integrity, and
accountability in managing resources and interacting with stakeholders.

Functions

 PLANNING
 According to KOONTZ, "Planning is deciding in advance
 what to do, when to do & how to do. It bridges the gap
 from where we are & where we want to be". A plan is a
 future course of actions.

 Planning is a process of determining the objectives effort
 and devising the means calculated to achieve them.
  Essentials of Good Planning:
 Yields reasonable organizational objectives
 Reduces future uncertainty
 Gains economical operations
 Foundation for organizing
 Facilitates coordination & control

 Organizing is the form of every human association for the attainment of common
purpose and the process of relating specific duties or functions in a whole.

 Staffing
 According to Koontz & O'Donell, “Managerial function of staffing involves managing the
organization structure through proper and effective selection, appraisal & development of
personnel to fill the roles designed and the structure”.
 Staffing involves:
 Manpower planning
 Recruitment, selection & placement.
 Training & development.
 Remuneration.
 Performance appraisal.
 Promotions & transfer.

Directing is influencing people's behaviour through motivation, communication,

group dynamics, leadership and discipline.

 Directing includes the following activities:

o Giving orders
o Making supervision
o Leading
o Motivating
o Communicating
 CO-ORDINATING
o It is the act of synchronising people and activities so that they function
smoothly in the attainment of organization objectives.
 ★ Co-ordination is the integrating process in an orderly pattern of group
efforts in an organization towards the accomplishment of a common objective.
 CONTROLLING
o Controlling is the process of checking whether or not proper progress is
being made towards the objectives and goals and acting if necessary,
to correct any deviation.
o Theo Haimann
 Steps of control:
o Establishments of standards performance
o Measuring performance
o Correcting deviations from standards
o Comparing the actual results with the standard
  REPORTING & RECORDING

o Reports are oral or written exchanges of information shared between

caregivers or workers in a number of ways.

o A report summarizes the services of the person, personnel and of the

agency.

o Reports are written usually daily, weekly, monthly or yearly.

 BUDGETING

It is expressed in financial terms and based on expected income and expenditure. It

is the form of fiscal planning, accounting and controlling of financial resources. It
served as a powerful tool of coordination and negatively an effective device of
eliminating duplicating and waste.

 Features of budget:
o Flexible.
o Synthesis of past, present and future.
o Statistical standard
o Support of top management

What is Management?
Management may be defined as the art of work done through people, with the satisfaction of the
employer, employees, and the public.
To do this, it is necessary to guide, direct, control human effort towards the fulfilment of the goal of
the enterprise.

Concept of management :
• Management is an executive act that actively directs the human effort to a common goal.
• The main role of the management is to apply the knowledge and
analytical approaches developed by numerous other disciplines.
• Management is the follower of the administration, it gets a salary or a part of the profit in lieu of
its services.
• Management does not frame politics, it only implements the politics laid down by the
administrator.
Planning, organizing, staffing, motivation, directing coordination, and
control are all the functions of the management.
• Management is considered as an art as well as a science.

What are the characteristics of management :

• Management is goal-oriented. It fulfils the organizational goal through
coordination of the efforts of the personal.
• If labor, materials and capital are input and goods, services are output
then management works as a catalyst medium.
• Management represents a system of authority a hierarchy of command.
Managers at different levels possess varying degrees of authority.
• From management definition, we know management harmonized the goal
 of the worker to the goal of the organization to avoid conflicts in the
organization.
• The principles and techniques of management are equally applicable in
the fields of business, industry, education, government, army, etc.

Importance of management:
• No enterprise can survive without management, even if it possesses huge
money, the best machinery, expert manpower. Because without
management, it will be all confusion, nobody will know what to do.
• Management guides and controls the activities of manpower for
maximum utilization of the company's resources.
• Managers provide new ideas and vision to the organization to do better.
• The manager provides stability to the company by changing and
modifying the resources in accordance with the changing environment of
the society.
• Management helps personality development thereby raising efficiency
and productivity.

 DIFFERENCES IN ADMINISTRATION & MANAGEMENT

 BASES | MANAGEMENT | ADMINISTRATION

 Main focus | Getting the work done | Formulation of policies, objectives, plans,
programmes

 Function | Execution of decisions | Decision making

 Concern | Implementation of policies laid down by administration | Determination of

major policies

 Level in the organization | Applicable at the lower level of management | Refers to

higher levels of management

 Directive | Concerned with direction of human activities at the operational level | Not
directly concerned with operational level officials

Is Management and administration a Science?

Administration and management involve the application of systematic approaches,
principles, and methodologies derived from various disciplines such as economics, sociology,
psychology, and organizational behavior. Scientific methods, data analysis, and empirical research
play significant roles in understanding organizational dynamics, decision-making processes, and
human behavior within a managerial context. Management theories, models, and frameworks
provide a structured understanding of how organizations operate and how they can be optimized for
performance and efficiency.

Is Management and administration an art?

 administration and management also require creativity, intuition, and subjective
judgment. Managers often face complex and ambiguous situations that cannot be fully addressed
through scientific analysis alone. The art of management involves the ability to inspire and
motivate individuals, foster innovation, build relationships, and adapt strategies to unique
circumstances and contexts. Leadership, communication skills, and emotional intelligence are
essential components of this artistic aspect of management.

In summary, while administration and management are rooted in scientific principles and
methodologies, they also involve subjective elements that require creativity, intuition, and
interpersonal skills, thus making it both a science and an art.