Since the origin of the universe, the administration has been present in every evolutionary process in each of the species on this planet; unconsciously, in each of the systems that allow us to explore and inhabit this universe, there is some process of empirical administration. Leaving aside for a moment theorists who have taken on the task of searching for concepts to define what “administration” is and creating administrative tools, the planet we inhabit, by itself, is a system that has managed to manage itself. same without the human being being aware of each of the “natural” administrative processes that take place around him.
And a doubt arises, as a conscious being, I wonder how I have managed my life? I start by analyzing how I came to be writing this article today, and I begin to analyze the way, time, moment when I woke up today and then I want to know more, and I think about what I did on the day yesterday before going to bed, I want to know more, and I think about my birth, the birth of my parents, my grandparents, each generation of people up to the first human being who was previously an unconscious being and thus to the origin of our planet. And all this may not have as much sense or relationship with the administration, but I do see it in the sense that each of those moments had administrative processes involved; good or bad management, each of those moments was managed by someone or something.
Our planet, is a complex system that gives us life, is spinning around the sun, which nourishes us with light and heat. We have systems of rivers, mountains, seas, forests, jungles, deserts, volcanoes… that have a particular function, an end; And they were strategically placed there for our planet to continue its functions and provide us with a place to live, but none of these systems has a structured standard that tells you what to do and what not to do. It is a task that corresponds to each of the species that inhabit this planet.
An anthill, from the point of view of the administration. I would dare to define it as: a system that is responsible for sheltering and reproducing ants; store food and is made up of a large number of cameras connected to each other. It has an end, to shelter, reproduce and store; then it is necessary for someone to go out to collect food, someone to supply and someone to take care of the other ants etc…. that is why there are soldier ants, workers etc. and in turn this anthill will have the function of feeding other species such as birds, frogs etc. And in this simple analogy I can realize the importance of administration, what is it? and what interests us in this article. Instinctively or unconsciously, ants carry out multiple administrative processes,well performed or poorly performed, they are achievable and have an end and just like ants, each species on the planet develops multiple administrative processes that allow it to continue evolving.
Some historians have been given the task of investigating and describing what were the conditions in which the first humans lived. They have created a concept where they suppose a world where people were primitive beings who sought to satisfy multiple needs in order to take care of all the dangers that lurked at the time. We have been told that we were nomadic beings, that we went from one place to another seeking refuge depending on the weather conditions, if there was food, where to protect the herd, defenseless beings. From that moment, the human being needed to administer each resource that he obtained in order to feed and protect himself; manage the time to get to a place where the harsh winters did not end their lives and the work team with which they were going to carry out hunting activities,caring for the herd and the food they required. Unconsciously he used empirical administrative techniques.
Little by little, the human being became more aware of the tasks he performed, acquired skills, learned to organize and manage his resources. I stop living in caves therefore the man left hunting aside now he planted his food. I create a shelter to protect myself from inclement weather; he used skins to protect his body The man began to develop empirical administrative methods that began to make life easier for him. As Alvin Toffer (1980) says, the first wave arrived:
… emerged with the agricultural revolution (from 8000 BC to the 17th century). The stage of hunting and fishing is overcome, and agriculture is born. Consequently:
New structures such as commerce and the first villages emerge.
Then primitive man became a being that lives in community.
Administration definition
Before continuing, it is important to know the definitions of some theorists who have tried to create a concept of the term administration:
The Bible defines administration in some verses as:
Effective management includes sharing the workload (Exodus 18: 2); effective management includes supervision and confirmation. (Exodus 39: 42-43); Stewardship is one of the gifts of God (Romans 12: 6-8); Effective administrators recognize its limitations, (Deuteronomy 1: 9); good administrators plan ahead (Luke 14: 28-30).
The Royal Spanish Academy (2017) defines administration as:
The action and effect of administering; position or activity of the administrator; The set of government agencies of a nation or a lower political entity; Group of organisms destined to the management and operation of a certain part of social life; In the United States of America, Mexico and some other countries, a government team that acts under a president; Office or establishment dedicated to the management of certain activities that have State intervention.
Henry Fayol (1916) considered the father of the classical theory of administration defines it as:
Plan: Visualize the future and outline the action program. Organize: Build the material and social structures of the company. Coordinate: link, unite and harmonize all collective acts.
Taylor, who is also considered a classical management theorist and known as the founder of the scientific theory of work, defines management as follows.
Work can be carried out better and more economically through the subdivision of functions; The work of each person in the organization should be limited to a single predominant task or function.
Lyndall Urwick (1943) integrated the theoretical ideas of Henry Fayol into a comprehensive theory of administration. He also wrote a book called The Public Administration Business Effects of 1943. And Administration defines the four principles of Urwick:
- Specialization: each person must have a single functionAuthority: there must be a single girl of authority, clearly defined and recognized by all members of the organization.Administrative scope, superior must have a certain number of subordinates in charge, this number will depend on the level of the position the nature of the same. Differentiation: the duties, authority and responsibility of each position and its relations with the other positions must be defined in writing and communicated.
American Magnately Association (2012) defines the concept of administration as:
Administration is the activity by which certain results are given through the effort and cooperation of others.
To conclude, my definition of administration is the efficient management of resources (whether human, material, financial, etc.) that is made up of endless techniques, processes, and tools that are interrelated with each other to achieve an end.
Administration theories.
Throughout the time the empirical knowledge of the administration has taken a way, the tendencies have modified the different concepts and theories of the administration depending on the time in which they were created. The different concepts, theories, schools or administrative approaches have their origin in the last 100 years, most of the theories keep the same approach and change their content very little; They are related, each theory has been formulated in consequence of what was experienced in the technological development of that time.
The main theories of administration are numbered as they appeared:
Scientific theory of administration
Classical administration theory
Bureaucracy theory
Scientific theory of behavior
Total quality theory
Theory Z
Theory of organizations as social systems
New theory of human relations
Contingency theory
Organizational development theory
The scientific theory of administration
It emerged in the nineteenth century in the United States, born out of the need to increase productivity, since at that time the efficiency of workers was poor. The main exponent of this theory is Taylor Frederick Winslow who had multiple followers who also made contributions to this theory.
The main focus of this theory is on tasks and basically consisted of including the scientific method such as observation and measurement, in tasks, in order to achieve good industrial efficiency. Due to the slow development in industry (industrial revolution) of that time, social conflicts caused a disorganized growth of companies; He considered the person as a being interested only in financial remuneration, ignoring the personal needs and objectives of the people. It is a rigid theory where human motivational factors were not interested, therefore workers were exploited.
Taylor stated that organizational efficiency depended on three fundamental factors:
1.- I analyze each movement that was necessary to carry out within the organization, times, functions, work methods and activities; He described each of the tasks in a series of simplified movements and fixed times. Thus, he managed to design simple and specific tasks for each task and the relationship that existed with the other activities.
- In order to ensure that the worker fulfilled his functions, he developed an idea thought of remuneration. For each task completed, the worker had financial remuneration. I design each one of the rates that each worker corresponded to and in this way whoever produced more earned more.
3.- He realized that efficiency not only depended on what the worker was going to do and how much he was going to earn, but it also depended on the conditions that the worker would generate, physical well-being, therefore, he developed four fundamental principles that allowed a higher performance from the hand of work and saving of materials:
Principle of the approach: I needed to analyze the activity to be carried out, and plan a method; there was no room for improvisation.
Principle of preparation: scientifically select each worker according to their skills; He trained them to produce more and better according to the planned method, he also prepared equipment and they were strategically distributed so that he was always at the disposal of the tools and materials to avoid waste of time.
Control principle: I needed to assess that the work was indeed being carried out in accordance with the provisions of the regulations and according to the plan.
Principle of execution differentiated each one of the responsibilities so that it could be distributed and they will be executed as a disciplined work.
Taylor realized that to be successful, he needed a "mental revolution." This resolution sought that there were no confrontations between each of the workers, between who earned more, who did more etc. He needed the workers to see the administration as a benefit for everyone and that each one could satisfy their economic needs. And so the interests of each of the workers will be unified in a set to achieve the objective of the organization.
Taylor had some supporters, Henrry L. Gantt and the Gilbert spouses made great contributions on the basis of the theory of Taylor's theory.
Gantt had an interest in the human aspect of the organization and analyzed the tariff system and developed a new idea where he stimulated the workers, emphasizing the training of the workers. Supervisors also had to be encouraged to teach their workers. The results of all evaluations were public, recorded on a graph that was called the Gantt graph.
The Gilberth spouses did studies related to fatigue and movement within the organization. Eliminating unnecessary movements and reducing fatigue sought to promote worker well-being and reach their full potential as human beings. They must be prepared to get promoted and to train their successor at the same time to take advantage of every opportunity.
The classical theory of administration
Unlike the scientific theory of administration, the classical theory seeks, in the same way, the efficiency of the organization, but develops an approach where it analyzes each of the components of administration, structure, location and of each of the departments. It is an inverse approach to scientific theory where the administration works towards the workers and not the workers towards the administration.
Henry Fayol was the main exponent of this theory and carried out different studies where I conclude that administration is a skill and that administrative principles should be known by those who head high administrative positions. Any administrative operation in groups of activities related to each other and the main functions that Fayol describes are: commercial, financial, security, accounting and management techniques.
Bureaucracy theory.
Bureaucracy refers to the characteristics of organizational design, an efficient and rational way to meet the needs of the time, since society was governed by the industrial development of large organizations, therefore the degree of efficiency had to have effective control over the personnel.. The rules had to be clear, guidelines of authority were created and the organizational structure gave rise to the formation of closed groups.
Theory of human relations
Human behavior will always be an important element in organizations. The theory of human relations sought to include this behavior from the approach of classical theory in conjunction with the terms of effectiveness and efficiency of the organization. Human beings by nature always seek to work in groups in work groups. From the perspective of scientific theory, these problems could be solved, allowing the worker to contribute solutions to solve the problems in high administrative positions.
For an organization to be efficient it needs to achieve its goals, and for it to be effective it needs to meet the individual needs of employees. There were two concepts that Chester Bernad contributed in his theory of organizational life. Bernard recognized the universality of informal organization and managed to direct current administrative thinking with working groups.
It is when in need of correcting strong tendency of dehumanization at work in classical theory. and this is how the humanistic approach focuses on two basic aspects:
- the analysis of the work and the recruitment of the worker to this: where the human characteristics that each task demanded was identified is a fundamental aspect in the selection of the personnel. Doing the work the worker: where the personality of the worker and the bosses was studied, motivation, communication and work incentives.
Subsequently, Elton Mayo carried out experiments in companies that led him to formulate the so-called "Mawthome Effect" that says: "Individuals react positively to the fact that they take care of them to improve their situation, especially when they have a weak position in the company ”(Stoner, 1995).
The humanistic approach brought a new vision of administration where: the lower levels participated in solving the organization's problems; the incentive generated better relationships between individuals; an attitude directed towards research and towards a deeper knowledge of human nature (Chiavenato, 1995)
Scientific theory of behavior
Following queue in search of man's motivation, following the idea of E. Mayo. The needs of man were hierarchized where in the upper part it includes the needs of self-realization and in the lower part it has to do with those of survival, this order indicates the order in which these needs must be satisfied, with survival being the first they have to be satisfied.
Another approach that was taken at that time was that of Douglas Mc Gregor had an idea where he divided into two parts called "Theory X and Theory Y.
Theory X raises work as something necessary for people, even if it is something that they try to avoid, in contrast, theory Y raises that people seek to develop if given the opportunity.
These theories are the most outstanding of this time and are forerunners of the theories that we currently put into practice, although there are still many more. Currently the Z theory, the total quality approach, the contingency theory, the systems approach, a new approach to human relations and organizational development stand out.
The theory of total quality
At first in the United States it was a simple strategy that allowed us to eliminate the products that met the minimum requirements. While in Japan the same activity was carried out, but the products were arranged at the beginning of the production since they believed that a poorly developed product caused a cascading effect and created more waste.
Many theorists were the ones who participated emphasizing different approaches; from the point of view of the client and from the point of view of the organization. The total quality approach consists of two fundamental philosophical components and statistical tools for problem solving. The former are in charge of managing the work groups and are used to identify the potential of the workers, while the latter allow visualizing various factors, locating where problems occur, assigning tasks and whether the resolved problems have had the desired impact..
Theory Z
Theory is based on the fundamental aspects of total quality theory, but includes the factor of both individual and group human relations. It seeks, in broad strokes, the satisfaction of self-esteem and self-realization needs of the staff.
Theory of organizations as social systems
Of the theories with the greatest impact on administrative theory. Contrary to the classical theory that the organization was considered as a closed system, this theory considers the organization as an open system that is in an active and constant exchange with its environment. It has a constant exchange of information that becomes an essential element for the creation of products and services. They receive feedback which is a key activity for the quality controls of work systems.
The new theory of human relations
It is intended to constantly train employees to perform more complex tasks, to automate work so that routine tasks are reduced, and to promote flexibility and creativity in workers. It caters to the individual needs of workers.
Contingency theory
Due to the accelerated changes of the current era in organizational design, it tries to find alternatives that allow organizations to adapt to these changes by restructuring methods, routines, procedures, etc. It focuses on the human and social aspect of the organization. They begin to implement leadership techniques, seeking to learn from the problems of modifying policy methods and being concerned with analyzing the internal and external environment that affect the organization.
Administrative theories have evolved with increasing importance given to social circles, people, and human resources as a creative and fundamental element in any organization. At first, the only concern was that the organization produce what it had programmed at cost, sacrificing the worker, exploiting him, giving him remuneration that managed to satisfy his basic needs. Now it is sought to satisfy other needs that go more towards the psychological and social satisfactions of each person. It is a somewhat contradictory approach in some of the cases because we get into the role of what is measurable and what is not measurable and how we could measure people's emotions.
References
Arianne Medina Macias; Adalverto Avila Vidal; Faculty of Psychology, University of Havana. (2002). Evolution of administrative theory a vision of organizational psychology. Cuban Journal of Psychology, 19 (3), 272.
Toffer, A. (1992). The third wave (Vol. 7). Plaza & Janes.
Chiavenato, I. (1994). Human resources management. Mexico: McGraw Hill. Valdés Herrera Clemente. (2009, June 19). Administration theories. Recovered from
Stoner James (1995) Administration (Vol.5)
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