In this work the stages that make up the administrative cycle are presented based on the need for professional bases to lead and the field in which the administration is carried out. For its preparation, a detailed bibliographic study of updated sources and recognized authors on this increasingly important topic was carried out to ensure the coordination of individual efforts to achieve business objectives.
INTRODUCTION:
The changes that have occurred at the international level in the environment where organizations move in recent decades have been changing the focus of business management. In the 1950s and 1960s, the priority of business leaders was in production and productive technologies. With increased competition in the markets, in the late 1960s it shifted to marketing problems, in the 1980s and 1990s, as financial crises deepened, the focus was on finance. Since the mid-1990s, the prevailing trend has been Human Resources management, strategy formulation, conflict management and negotiations.
It is virtually impossible for a manager to master all the technical and organizational aspects that are required to achieve the company's objectives. Therefore, your main skill should be: getting your team and the members of your company to put knowledge, experiences and energy in order to obtain the proposed objectives and the expected results of their management.
Administration is essential to ensure coordination of individual efforts. Administrators must establish an environment in which people can achieve objectives and goals with the resources available to obtain a final result. Management is a combination of science and art; science provides knowledge of experiences, regularities, and principles, and art is the creative application of this knowledge to specific situations.
DEVELOPING:
1. NEED FOR PROFESSIONAL BASES TO DIRECT.
In order to professionally understand administration, the first thing is to understand what administration consists of, so universally and fruitfully applied today in all kinds of organizations (institutions, companies, etc.). Otherwise, there is the risk of presenting only debatable "recommendations" for validity, or pretending that we are in the presence of something absolutely new: a panacea of infallible efficiency, never before known.
Both concepts are not only false but harmful.
We can define the Administration as "The technique that seeks to obtain maximum efficiency results, through the coordination of the people, things and systems that make up an organization."
Peter F. Durker quotes the words that the great manager Andrés Carnegie sent to his grave as an epitaph: “Here lies a man whose ability was to know how to take advantage of the capabilities of other men better than him…” This phrase could serve to clarify the idea Administration: the cadre, leader, administrator, manager, is not precisely because he is more capable than the people he directs, in the specific techniques of each one; in reality, the modern administration is demanding more and more specialization every day and with this, it is implying that it is impossible for the head of a company to know more accounting than the head of department, who knows more law than the legal adviser, etc. Its capacity is different: it is capable of coordinating a series of human and technical elements,channeling all of them in an effective and efficient way so that the intended results are achieved.
In this way, it is explained how in several countries, such as the United States, people who do not have a military career, but administrators, theoretically or practically learned, begin to be placed as defense ministers. Thus, in several countries and in our own environment, several leaders have emerged who go from the management of an industrial company to that of a bank, or to a hotel, with equal efficiency and success in all of them: their capacity is not banking, not industrial, but administrative.
This criterion extends today as that of professional managers in science, technique and the art of directing.
2. FIELD IN WHICH THE ADMINISTRATION IS CARRIED OUT.
We express the concept of Company simply as: "the unit of production of goods and / or services for a market".
Above all, it implies that it is an economic unit, since it must “produce something”. This means that all the machines, all the systems, all the people who work in it, whatever the nature of their work, are necessarily aimed at achieving that production (raison d'être). It does not matter if this production unit is public or private, for profit or charity, manufacturing, agricultural products or services (tourism, hospital, banking, etc.); in any case, the entire set of material, human and administrative elements (resources) are aimed at achieving a "finished production".
The concept of administration, in fact, is not only limited to the company, an organization so typical of our society, but to every institution, that is, to every human group that in some way is organized to achieve an end.
Administration refers and applies not only to the company, but to any type of institution, as long as it is considered a way of managing.
The administration always seeks an eminently practical purpose: to obtain results. The entire set of its principles, its rules and auxiliary instruments, are precisely aimed at achieving results.
This is why, although there are theorists in administration, the principles and rules that they formulate have not been based only on theoretical speculations, but based on practice, on the experience that they or other leaders have had in various companies and institutions; This is how Taylor, Farol, Gantt, Gilbreth, Drueker, McGregor and others, applied the scientific method to those experiences, including the failures they have suffered, to search, isolate and enunciate the common principles, methods, techniques, etc., where the elements that explain the progress and success of organizations (companies and institutions) rest. But administration, itself, is essentially practical. If a person with great knowledge were not capable of obtaining results, he could not call himself a good leader,at most it would be a mere "administration theorist" in the popular sense of the term.
On the other hand, when a person gets results in his job of running an organization (not only, of course, in the mere aspect of profits, but also in others such as staff satisfaction, cost reduction and harmonization of the work of organization with that of others in society), even supposing that he had not done theoretical studies, can and should be called a good leader. In reality, this means that, on the basis of an aptitude for administrative problems, of knowing how to take advantage of their experience and, more often than is believed, of having read or copied principles, methods and styles of other leaders or technicians in Management has known how to “get results”.
Today, management knowledge, as it is available, can improve practice, and leaders who try to manage without the science of leadership, must rely on luck, intuition, or what they did in the past. In administration, as in any other field, there is no other place in accumulated knowledge. That is why the world trend is to increase the training and development of leaders in science and management techniques, looking for management professionals, capable of obtaining maximum effectiveness and efficiency.
Maximum efficiency, in this case, means the best possible use and exploitation of all the elements and resources that an organization has. Efficiency (of efficere: doing, creating), is synonymous with performance or productivity, only it has a markedly active character (machines "perform"; only man "does or creates") and is always measured against a theoretical standard, which constitutes 100% of it.
It is necessary to emphasize that here it is a question of achieving maximum efficiency, not on the basis of better machines, which would be the engineering function, or prices, etc., but precisely by the use of more efficient administrative methods.
The basic function and it is essentially administrative, the essence of management, is coordination. A leader, when acting as such, when performing administrative tasks (which often, in small and medium-sized organizations, combine with technical tasks); is when you coordinate.
The efficiency produced by his management work is precisely that which results from the coordination of all other factors; of men, in their various functions and levels; of the teams so that, in the most appropriate way, they influence the creation of the product or service; of the systems, so that they all form a great harmony that achieves the best results and, of these three factors among themselves.
Precisely administrative efficiency is achieved, when bottlenecks are avoided, when equipment is adequate to the process, when staff motivation knows how to make the most of the machines and resources available, when plans are daring but realistic.
Knowledge about administration is today of a scientific and technical nature, since we must understand by technique a harmonious set of rules and instruments that serve to achieve a useful end. They can be as simple as a mechanic's rules and instruments, or as complex as the rules and instruments for directing a space rocket or spaceship. The rules, forms and instruments of the administration also comply with the above.
There is a theoretical discussion of whether management is science or not, to reach a conclusion on the problem, it would be necessary first to agree on the concept of science that is professed: if the Aristotelian, the Baconian, the modern or another. But, what is worth noting is that, if the administration is not science, it is indisputably scientific, that is, if it did not have its own principles, at least if it uses principles of mathematics, psychology and sociology, which are indisputable sciences, to obtain results with efficiency.
3. STAGES FOR ALL ADMINISTRATIVE SYSTEM.
Since the administration develops precisely within a specific process, it is essential to give a brief idea of its stages. Although the number and the name of these vary, according to the authors, the important thing is that they include all the essentially administrative acts and that the way of ordering them allows in an easier and more practical way, both their understanding and their application.
It is really a mere problem of methodology, so it does not matter if the administration is divided into three, four or six different stages, but to see if this helps a specific person to better understand, separate and apply the principles., rules and techniques used by the administration, which in reality, in any case, forms a continuous unit, which we divide and separate for the aforementioned purposes.
We must also point out that it is not obligatory to take the steps in the order that we present, nor does an administrative act necessarily have the characteristics of a single element, but frequently brings together those of several; this occurs above all, in the case of those related elements, in the bordering points of both; It will be easily understood that on many occasions it is difficult to divide a specific problem into its different aspects, or determine whether it belongs to one of them, to the one that follows it, or to both at the same time.
According to Urwick's theories, there are two fundamental aspects of administration, which he called: "administrative mechanics" and "administrative dynamics". "Mechanics" refers to investigating, analyzing and determining how an organization should be, and how it should operate. It refers to the theoretical coordination of the relationships that must exist; to the formulation of plans and programs. The "dynamic" refers to how these relationships will be managed, or actually managed, in such a way that they produce and put into action, effectively and efficiently, the plans, programs and structures studied and planned in the first part.
There will necessarily be a double interaction: that of theory influencing practice; and that of the practice forcing to return to the theory to modify it, adjust it and complement it, according to the results obtained.
This division has application and utility in the Administration; The first part of the typical Administration process is the entire procedure to set goals and objectives, means to achieve them and plans to reach them. In fact, this first part involves coordination and feedback -feed back-, until what is to be done or sought in the next part is specified. On the other hand, the second part studies how the revisions, corrections, suppressions or increases that must be made are going to be put into practice, how they are going to operate, within the time dedicated to the achievement or realization of the objectives.
4. THE ADMINISTRATIVE MECHANICS.
The three elements that make up the "administrative mechanics" are:
- FORECASTING. PLANNING. ORGANIZATION.
The first element is PREVISION (pre: before, and vision): it refers to everything that has to be fixed until determining what we can do, according to Steward Thompson, "forecasting identifies a range of possibilities and prepares us for them".
Within the forecast we consider three main aspects: the objectives, the investigations and the alternatives.
The objectives: the importance of this aspect is maximum in the Administration, because the rest of the elements will have to be oriented by the objectives.
The investigations: there is no modern organization that does not carry them out to know what elements it has, and which ones hinder it from achieving its objectives. Thus, markets, credits, new products, scientific-technical advances, the personnel they will take on, etc. are investigated.
The alternatives: every leader, in all his acts, is necessarily linked to decision making. And every decision necessarily implies choosing between two or more alternatives.
We must point out that modern Administration systems seek to stimulate and help the creativity of the leader and his subordinates, so that he does not feel limited to choose between a "done, or not done", since, in most cases, There are many other and varied possibilities, not only intermediate but different, so it is very important to train and stimulate creativity in the staff, especially in the leaders.
According to the studies carried out and the criteria of successful managers and prestigious authors, the success of the modern leader lies in large part in his ability to present various alternatives, pointing out to each its advantages and limitations. This is much more important when you have all the modern techniques that, based on quantitative methods, study, through mathematical models, simulations, etc., the many different possible alternatives, to choose the most appropriate one. In addition, group work techniques and others that stimulate creative development have been developed to find possible solutions to unstructured problems.
The second element is PLANNING (plan derived from plane). Thus, the etymology indicates that what we do is to set "planes" to guide our action. Administrative plans are very diverse. Everyone can have a relationship with the Administration, we will mention to better understand those most related to the Administration, which are: programs, budgets, procedures and policies.
The programs: their essence is to determine (fix) the time factor, that is, to set precise times for each specific activity, and to make sure after these times are exactly met. Hence, programs are one of the essential activities in the administration.
One of the most common mistakes, and at the same time the most serious, that are usually made in the direction is that of leaving the time in which each activity must be carried out “open”. "As fast as possible", "as soon as possible", "as soon as possible"; They are very frequently used expressions and, although they seem to indicate urgency, they leave a subjective interpretation of what should be understood by "soon, fast, brief", more effective would be to say: "for today", "for eight days from now" ”,“ For the next day ten ”.
The programs also establish, for each time, the list of functions and activities that must be carried out. This is why well-formulated programs are essentially for the Administration.
Budgets: they are plans estimated in quantities, whether these are set in number, as is often done in the production departments, for example: a thousand units a day, a hundred kilos a month, etc., or that are estimated in their monetary aspect and financial for example: one hundred and fifty thousand pesos in investments per year, reducing ten percent of costs.
Budgets represent one of the most useful aspects in the Administration, these can be determined generally or by any precision and technique.
The procedures: are essentially characterized by the setting of steps and sequences, that is, by the specific "how" of each activity.
Policies: are general courses of action. They are as R. Terry calls them, "Goals in Action." This means that the policy contains, not only the order to achieve the objective, but even marks the changes or criteria to achieve it, so that there can be an adequate delegation of authority.
Since proper delegation is one of the Administration's requirements, the role of policy setting is easily understood, since delegation of authority cannot be done effectively without well-established policies.
The third element is ORGANIZATION, there are three major fields of organization linked to Administration, these are:
- the determination and division of functions, the establishment of hierarchical levels, the analysis of positions.
The determination and division of functions will often have to be changed or suppressed when establishing an Administration system.
The setting of hierarchical levels is equivalent to the determination of the authority and authority corresponding to each level, which is essential for the Administration.
Finally, the job analysis determines the specific tasks and tasks assigned to each leader, specialist and each worker.
Contrary to what some specialized authors point out, confusing in our opinion the job analysis, which arose from the valuation of the jobs, with its comprehensive concept, the analysis is a key aspect in the Administration. We understand this of course, from the analysis that is carried out, not to value posts, but for the operation of the Administration.
5. THE ADMINISTRATIVE DYNAMICS.
Within the administrative dynamics there are three functions:
- INTEGRATION COMMAND CONTROL.
INTEGRATION comprises the following basic aspects: the recruitment and selection of suitable personnel, the introduction and development of personnel.
Recruitment and selection of personnel is responsible for finding out whether workers, especially leaders, are suitable for the tasks entrusted to them under the conditions demanded by modern administration systems.
The introduction consists of all the techniques used to find a new worker, or manager, to be suitable for his new job, and in some way, constantly adapt him to it.
Finally, development, which in this case includes practical training, theoretical training, and the training of workers and leaders, is very important and must receive special modalities and attention within the Administration.
The next function within the dynamic is the CONTROL, in which they are: authority, delegation and communication as essential aspects.
In the philosophy of the Administration, we find above all with authority, and its motivating force. Even though, many think that authority is something merely theoretical, in our opinion, together with the determination of quantities, these constitute pillars of the modern Administration.
In our approach, the current Administration constitutes a new way of conceiving and exercising authority more in keeping with modern times and with the very nature of the human being. We do not intend to exaggerate if we decide that, as long as this change does not exist, an organization is at risk of suffering serious problems in its operation, under current conditions. On the other hand, in this aspect the most modern scientific results of Psychology, Sociology and Administration are applied today.
The delegation consists of making others share in the authority that we have received, without losing the corresponding responsibility, we have already indicated that it is one of the natural fruits, on the one hand, and on the other, of the essential requirements for the Effective Business Management.
Finally, communication, both vertical and horizontal, is for determining objectives, plans, as well as for achieving results, so important that in many organizations (companies and institutions) the Administration does not produce effective results until the communication; by improving it will immediately bear fruit.
The third function of dynamics is CONTROL, which we propose to carry out in three steps:
- its fixation and establishment. its operation. interpretation of the results.
In the first step of fixing and establishing, it will be analyzed which controls should be established, and which will be effective, based on the fact that control is an essential element of the Administration.
Regarding the operation, the control must be carried out by all the leaders, at all levels, and eventually, for very specific aspects, by specialized technicians, for example: cost control, valuation of positions, etc. But the most important thing lies in the interpretation of the results, which is to compare what was expected (objectives, plan, norm), with what was obtained (results), four variants can result:
- a) Exactly what was desired was obtained, in the planned manner and time b) A part of what was expected (desired, planned, etc.) was not obtained c) More was obtained than expected (desired)) in one or several aspects d) Other results were obtained, in addition to those expected, which can be negative, positive or indifferent.
As all the authors point out, this last part of the administrative process is as important as the first stage; because the results are measured. That is why there are discussions, criteria about whether it should be called Administration by objectives or Administration by results and some authors such as Morrisey call it Administration by objectives and results. We understand that basically, and in reality, what it is about is to make the objectives, which are usually theoretical and abstract, translate from the beginning into concrete results.
In this subject we will analyze the concepts, classes and principles of the objectives. In the analysis that we will do, it will be shown how, instead of the APO surpassing and making obsolete the traditional concepts of Administration, it requires all of them and they are only well understood, when studied through them. On the other hand, the APO, as well as the General Administration, can be applied, both in the fields of Senior Management, as well as in the specific areas of production, services, and mainly, in the broadest and most fruitful general of personnel.
CONCLUSIONS
The completion of this work has allowed us to conclude that:
- The modern Administration demands more and more specialization every day and with this implies that the leader is capable of coordinating a series of human and technical elements, which effectively and efficiently achieve the intended results. There is a diversity of criteria on the part of the authors regarding the stages of the administrative cycle, however the number of stages is not so important but rather to see to what extent it helps the leader to understand, separate and better apply the principles, rules and techniques of administration. The last stage of the administrative cycle is as important as the first, since it is in this stage where they achieve the results of the process and they will return to the initial stage to modify, adjust or complement it, according to the results obtained.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1) Aguirre Sádaba, Alfredo A; Castillo Clavelo, Ana María and Tous Zamora, Dolores (1999) La Previsión, in his: Administration of organizations, foundations and applications. Chapter 3 Business planning and forecasting. Mexico: Ediciones Pirámides. Pages 90 - 95.
2) Carnota Lauzán, Orlando (1987) The cycle of administration in its: Theory and practice of socialist leadership. Chapter 6. Havana. Edited by the University of Havana. Pages: III-3 to III-6
1) Koonts, Harold and Weihrich, Heinz () Functions of Administrators, in their: Elements of Administration. Chapter 2. Forms of Analysis in Administration. P. 31-35
2) Reyes Ponce, Agustín (1996) Concept of Administration, in his: Administration by Objectives. Chapter I. Mexico: Editorial LIMUSA, Pages 11 - 26.
