adThe word Administration comes from the Latin ad-ministrare, which means “to be under the command of the other, to render a service ”. It is the set of functions whose purpose is to administer. It is considered the technique that seeks to obtain maximum efficiency results, through the coordination of the people, things and systems that make up an organization or entity, it also aims to study the techniques used in planning, integration, control of the resources and the unification of an organization in order to obtain various benefits, whether of a social or economic nature, the latter will depend on the purposes that said organization has as its objective.
Administration History
Table of Contents
Administration is a process by which the resources of a social group are coordinated to achieve maximum efficiency, quality and productivity in achieving its objectives.
It can be said then that the administration is the process that plans, organizes, controls and directs the activities and work resources, in order that the objectives set by a given organization are successfully fulfilled.
Since his appearance on earth, man has been in a constant struggle to survive, trying to make his activities as productive as possible, for this, to a certain degree he has used administration.
In primitive times, man felt the need to work in a group and administration emerged as an association of efforts to achieve a specific objective that requires the participation of several people. Population growth forced humanity to better coordinate its efforts in social groups and, consequently, to improve the application of administration.
With the appearance of the State, which marks the beginning of civilization, science, literature, religion, political organization, writing and urban planning emerged. In Mesopotamia and Egypt (representative states of the agricultural era), society was divided into social classes. The control of collective work and the payment of taxes in kind were the bases on which these civilizations relied, which obviously required greater complexity in administration. In Greco-Roman antiquity, slavery arose, during which the administration was guided towards strict supervision of work through physical punishment.
The twentieth century is marked by a great development in what refers to the technological and industrial, this brings as a consequence the consolidation of the administration. At the beginning of this century, Frederick Winslow Taylor emerged as the great initiator of scientific administration, due to how important and indispensable this discipline is to achieve greater competitiveness and success in organizations, a large number of authors have dedicated themselves to its study and development.
Administration Features
Due to its characteristics, it is possible to differentiate the administration of other discilins, among these characteristics we can mention:
Universality
Since they exist in any social group; represents an instrumental value, since its purpose is eminently practical, therefore, the administration turns out to be a means to an end. Likewise, it is universal because it can be applied in any type of social organization, as well as in political systems.
Specificity
That is, it cannot be confused with other related disciplines.
Flexibility
It is considered flexible, because the administrative principles are adapted to the specific needs of each social group where they are applied.
Hierarchical Unit
In all organizations there are individuals with hierarchies of bosses and these are part of all the modalities and degrees of administration. The companies are made up of a single administrative body, from the general manager to the last assistant.
Instrumental Value
Administration is an instrument used by social organizations, private or public, to achieve a goal or objectives set in an efficient way.
Interdisciplinarity
The administration uses the processes, principles and methods of other sciences that are related to efficiency at work, such as: law, statistics, mathematics, economics and psychology among others.
Range of exercises
Administration applies to all levels of formal organizations, that is, to presidents, managers, supervisors and even housewives, etc.
Administration occurs wherever there is a social organism; its success will depend on its good administration. For large companies, technical or scientific administration is indisputable and essential; its proper use will lead to increased productivity, which is an important and worrying factor in today's economic-social field.
A business administrator is the person who is responsible for controlling, executing, analyzing, managing, linking, leading, planning and making decisions, in addition to other functions within a company or organization. When referring to the departments in which a business administrator can work, mention should be made of areas related to economics, such as finance, industrial administration expenses, accounting or treasury, areas related to business activity, such as marketing and sales, and also others, such as human, logistical or production resources.
Importance of Administration
Administration is important because with the use of its management methods through its principles and techniques, many companies achieve their economic purpose and / or other organizations achieve their objectives.
This is of great importance because it constitutes a necessary process for these collective efforts, whether public, private, civil or military, large or small. However, in each case the scientific process may vary in methodologies, purposes and according to the circumstances that arise. In this way, depending on the different changing situations, it is where administrative principles have their scientific proof and their universality.
For these reasons, administration is one of the most important means available to human beings, allowing them to satisfy their multiple needs, given the dynamics and characteristics of time and the work requirements that distinguish humanity.
Management fundamentals
Some authors define administration as a process in which the necessary resources are planned, organized, executed and controlled to achieve the goals and objectives set in an organization.
For this reason, the main fundamentals of administration are:
To plan
It is the procedure by which decisions are made to achieve the goals set for the future of the organization, the situation at that time and internal and external factors must be taken into account, which may intervene in the achievement of the goals or objectives.
Organize
It refers to establishing the structure of an organization, determining the functions that each individual must perform. When organizing, the assignment of the tasks necessary for the fulfillment of the objectives to the best qualified people for said tasks must be guaranteed. That is, integrate and coordinate the financial, material and human resources essential for the maximum fulfillment of an objective.
Run
In the administration, executing is the action of carrying out the activities resulting from planning and organization, and for this it is necessary to take measures to encourage the members in charge of carrying out the activities, among them we have: to encourage, instruct, help team members, among others.
Control
It refers to the administrative function through which performance is evaluated, which includes all the activities that are carried out to ensure that actual operations coincide with planned operations and can be considered as one of the most important for a optimal managerial work.
Management principles
The engineering technician and theorist in administration, managerial and business matter Henry Fayol, in his quest to achieve a universal, global and systematic approach in companies, designed fourteen principles of administration, which when applied in organizations or institutions, it would lead to a high degree of efficiency in its task.
The principles of administration are as follows:
Division of work
In the organization, responsibilities and functions must be distributed and specific for each sector, division or department. The separation of the tasks to each employee or member of the work group, guarantees the use of energy in the tasks and the effectiveness in the final result of the work.
Authority
In companies or organizations there must be a chain of command, for this reason the presence of the authority is necessary, who will have the responsibility and the right to give orders.
Discipline
The chain of command must be respected by all members of an organization, for this reason, all orders issued by the highest authority figures must be respected and respected.
Unity of command
The members of a company or organization must have a supervisor or immediate boss, this will be the one who gives the orders directly.
Steering unit
The administration of the organization as such, must respond to a single action plan, taken by the administrator in charge, and must move as a whole in the same direction, without contradictions, deviations or disorientation. If all members pursue the same overall goal, they will move more quickly and efficiently in it. This is known as the unit of address. For example, all marketing activities such as marketing, sales promotion, pricing, etc., must be managed by a single manager. Only one plan should be used for all marketing activities.
The General interest must be superior to the individual
This principle is the most important when it comes to the formation of an organizational unit, whatever its nature, since all its members must put the interests of companies or organizations before their own, in this way consequences such as corruption and its total collapse.
Remuneration
It refers to the right that all individuals have to receive fair compensation for their effort and work, contributing to the development and achievement of the silver objectives in an organization. The remuneration must be according to the position held and the activities carried out, as well as, the experience, time in the company and the knowledge of said employee must be taken into account.
Centralization
It refers to the degree to which subordinates can participate in decision making. Centralization allows the chain of command to operate efficiently and without bureaucracies, therefore, it must be carried out in an optimal way and appropriate to the needs of the organization in each situation that arises.
Hierarchy
Hierarchy is a line of authority or chain of command. On top of that, it unites all members (managers and employees) from top to bottom. Each member must know who his superior is, likewise, he must be clear about who his subordinate is. Hierarchy is essential to maintain good communication and should not be broken.
Ordering
This principle refers to the fact that each thing and person must be in the right place. In the case of people it is called the social order and for things it is called the material order. In companies or organizations everything must be in a suitable place and available when it is necessary.
Equity
This is a mixture of equality, justice and goodness. Managers should use this principle in dealing with their employees or subordinates.
Staff stability
Employees need time to be efficient, for this reason, they must be given the time to achieve it. When an employee becomes effective in his work, he must be permanent and have job security.
Initiative
In the administration , the initiative is encouraged to the employees to carry out their own plans and put them into practice, for the benefit of the company. This creates satisfaction for the workers and successes for the organization.
Esprit de corps
To have a good work environment, team conscience must be cultivated and all its members must be considered indispensable. Coordinated work between both parties is always more motivating than authoritative.
Types of administration (main)
Below are the main types of administration:
Public administration
This is the name given to the system that is characterized by presenting imprecise limits and that includes the set of public organizations that carry out the administrative function and also state management, as well as public entities whose personality is legal., being able to be in the local or regional scope.
According to its function, the public administration is in charge of serving as a direct bridge between citizens and political power, allowing to satisfy the interests of the group quickly. As its name indicates, since it is public, its function is also to meet all the demands that citizens may make and try to satisfy them.
This branch of the Administration also includes a series of areas of the public sector whose objective is to manage and execute resources of various types, such as financial, human, as well as socio-economic activities and also Public Works. You can also carry out budgets and programs that meet state goals.
The Organic Law of Federal Public Administration of Mexico establishes:
Article 1. This Law establishes the organization bases of the Federal, centralized and parastatal Public Administration. The Presidency of the Republic, the Secretariats of State, the Administrative Departments and the Legal Counsel of the Federal Executive, make up the Centralized Public Administration. Decentralized organizations, state-owned companies, national credit institutions, auxiliary national credit organizations, national insurance and surety institutions, and trusts make up the parastatal public administration.
Article 2. In the fulfillment of its attributions and for the dispatch of the business of the administrative order entrusted to the Executive Power of the Union, there will be the following dependencies of the Centralized Public Administration:
- Secretaries of State.
- Administrative Departments.
- Legal Counseling.
Article 3. The Executive Power of the Union shall rely on the terms of the corresponding legal provisions, from the following entities of the parastatal public administration: Decentralized organizations; State-owned companies, national credit institutions, auxiliary national credit organizations and institutions national insurance and surety bonds, and Trusts.
Article 4. The function of legal counsel, provided for in Section A of article 102 of the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States, will be in charge of the Legal Counsel of the Federal Executive. The Legal Counsel will be headed by a Counselor who will report directly to the President of the Republic, and will be freely appointed and removed by him.
To be a Legal Counsel, the same requirements must be met as to be the Attorney General of the Republic.
The provisions on federal budget, accounting and public spending will be applicable to the Legal Counsel of the Federal Executive, as well as the others that govern the dependencies of the Federal Executive. The internal regulations of the Ministry will determine the attributions of the administrative units, as well as how to cover absences and delegate powers.
Article 5. (It is repealed).
Article 6. For the purposes of Article 29 of the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States, the President of the Republic will agree with all the Secretaries of State, the Heads of the Administrative Departments and the Attorney General of the Republic.
Article 7. The President of the Republic may call meetings of Secretaries of State, Heads of Administrative Departments and other competent officials, when it comes to defining or evaluating the Federal Government's policy in matters that are under the concurrent competence of various agencies, or entities of the Federal Public Administration. These assemblies will be chaired by the Head of the Federal Executive and their Technical Secretariat will be attached to the Presidency of the Republic.
Article 8. The President of the United Mexican States will have the advisory, technical support and coordination units that the Executive itself determines, in accordance with the budget assigned to the Presidency of the Republic.
Article 9. The offices and entities of the Centralized and Parastatal Public Administration will conduct their activities on a scheduled basis, based on the policies established by the Federal Executive for achieving the objectives and priorities of national development planning.
Private administration
This stands out in what is the socioeconomic development of a nation, therefore it can be said what is the branch of the administration in charge of developing through profits that are given by individuals, the increase in the production of goods and services, obtaining as a result a benefit for the organism in which it exercises its work.
Closed corporation or a private company are organizations dedicated almost exclusively to business and, in general, the owners are usually organizational and non-governmental, this means that it is made up of a defined number of partners or owners who do not exercise economic activity. publicly; as far as the actions of the bag are concerned.
Private companies represent the private sector within an economy, specifically these function as one of the fundamental bases within what economic systems are, that is why they need a high quality administration so that they can emerge and develop their product or service.
In organizations, the management direction is responsible for a large number of activities, which are generally related to the deals and businesses carried out by these companies. For example, dealing with the most important documentation of said company, as well as carrying out organizational activities, where a line of action that has been previously established prevails.
The private administration has several advantages, one of them is that it does not present regulation by governmental entities or other organizations related to the government, with the exceptions of certain violations that are carried out to the law, or in cases in which some procedures must be followed according to certain issues. In addition to this, it has an egalitarian character, since all those who involve it have the same rights and duties. Finally, it is very possible that they have a common objective and that is that they generally seek to obtain financial rewards.
Another type of private company is SMEs (small and medium-sized companies) in Mexico, these are classified as the backbone of the economy of that country. According to data obtained in recent years, SMEs have a great impact on job creation and national production. Some of the advantages of this type of administration are:
- They have a great importance in the development of the country.
- Because they are highly mobile, they have great potential to expand or reduce the size of their plants.
- They have the potential to become large companies.
- They create many jobs.
- They contribute to regional or local development.
Mixed administration
Named in this way to the activity carried out by those organizations that are under the orders of both the private sector and the public power and those entities correspond to the institutions in which the state participates. Decentralized, failing that, autonomous by the scope they occupy, this type of administration can be both national and institutional, and according to the structure of the body it serves, it can be semi-official, autonomous, participatory, among others.
Among the main characteristics that distinguish it, it stands out the coexistence within the private society, the private interest with the public interest, which is not an easy task and which is generally the source of various problems. According to its function, the public administration makes contact between the political power and the citizenry possible, always trying to satisfy the interests of the community quickly and effectively, in contrast to the legislative and judicial powers that do it more slowly..
Other types of Administration
Project management
It is the method used to plan and organize work, pursuing essential objectives in a company and in a given time. In this type of administration, the knowledge, tools and techniques necessary to achieve the projects in an effective and efficient way are put into practice.
The main objectives of project management are:
- Increase in productivity.
- Control of expenses.
- Effectiveness in the results directed to the demands of the client.
- Management of costs and expenses.
There are many more advantages to working through project management. From adapting work in an agile way to the current market, in the most versatile way in which it is, to increasing the quality of the product and taking advantage of the lessons learned in each project.
Time management
It is the way, ability or capacity to make the use of this resource serve their own benefit and the social environment. Considered as self-administration, the exercise of order and the proper planning of tasks and activities, in accordance with the goals and objectives.
In general, good time management must be subject to good coordination of company personnel. It is necessary to take advantage of the individual qualities of the employees, ensure that tasks are not repeated and that there is good communication between the different departments within the company.
Strategic management
It is a process made up of the set of commitments, decisions and actions required by a company to achieve strategic competitiveness and obtain a performance above average.
In this process, the first step of the company is to analyze its external and internal environment to determine what its resources, capacities and basic competencies are, that is, the sources of strategic inputs. With this information you define your vision and mission and formulate your strategy. To implement it itself, the company takes steps to achieve strategic competitiveness and obtain above-average returns.
Government administration
It is the one in charge of managing the government in turn, its objective is to offer a public service that is quite necessary by citizens. In other words, this is the action that the government exercises when dictating and applying the distortions that are required to be able to comply with the laws and at the same time, for the conservation and promotion of the interests of the community, as well as to resolve the claims that the mandate may generate. This also includes the group of organizations that are in charge of fulfilling the functions described above.
This is therefore, the administration that is carried out in those companies, positions and organizations that contribute to the objectives of the state, despite this, they are not included within what is public administration.
The government administration in turn can be divided into what is the parastatal public administration, which refers to companies that are created by decree with the aim of solving state problems and that other organizations cannot solve, this type of company is They stand out because they have their own assets, the functions they perform are in the public interest, in addition to having a legal personality that differs from that of the state.
In second place, there is the municipal public administration, this administration is carried out in a social and political entity that represents a portion of the social, administrative and territorial organization of a state, it is from it that the activities are carried out. social, economic and cultural development programs, in which the people can work together and in an organized manner, with the aim of maintaining the good state of the municipality.
Due to the growth and economic and commercial development of Mexico, the careers associated with this branch have expanded a wide range of possibilities for graduates of different schools of administration or accounting and administration faculty. The opportunities for professional growth, as well as the salaries of these professionals have become the main attractions to study this career.
