1. Introduction
Man is by nature, a completely changing being, since ancient times there has been a need to adapt to the environment that surrounds him, knowledge has not been the exception, the intellectual requirements that society demands are more and more, for this reason In order to be considered in this globalized world, we must have the required skills.
As the years have passed, we find ourselves in the need of acquiring new knowledge, such that it is very useful to face the changes that are taking place. All the theories that we are aware of today have undergone a series of modifications over time, this because the needs that we have today are different from those that existed years ago.
One of these theories is administration, which is a science that has been used since the appearance of man himself and that has evolved with him; During all this time, the administration approach has been adapting to the ideologies that the human being is acquiring.
The article that is presented on this occasion, has the purpose of compiling and reporting all those aspects that have been of great relevance in the administration, from the appearance of it as a discipline, to the present day; Also shown on the following pages are a series of management definitions that have been given by some of the leading specialists on the subject.
Thus, with the information contained in this article, we will be able to understand that knowledge is not static at all and that the changes that occur in it are essential for business and social development.
2. Defining the administration
(Rodríguez Núñez, Escorcia Rojas, Leal Barcenas, & Quintero Torres, 2010)
Before going into the path that the administration has traveled during all these years, it is important to clarify the meaning of this word; To achieve this, we rely on some expert authors who have given great contributions in administration; Thus, we find the following definitions:
Definition of administration.
Illustration 1. Definition of administration.
As we can see, in these administration definitions the achievement of objectives and goals is found as a key piece, as well as the efficient use of existing resources; on the other hand, we find certain key terms in some of these definitions, which are very important for the administration process, these terms are the following:
- Planning: Planning consists of setting the goals and objectives that the organization wants to achieve, once this is done, it proceeds with the definition of policies, methods, procedures, programs, strategies, norms, financing and everything that is needed to achieve the goals. objectives and goals established initially. In short, planning is to define what it is that you want to achieve and how it will be achieved. Organize: Refers to the appropriate allocation of activities to be carried out, it is necessary to determine what tasks are going to be carried out, who is going to do them, To whom is accountable, who makes decisions, etc. Direct: It is the action of adequately influencing people so that they carry out the activities as indicated,The main objective of the management is to ensure that individuals contribute to the fulfillment of the organizational objectives. Control: It consists of verifying that what is being carried out within the organization is in accordance with the established plans, for this the performance measurement is used. based on goals and plans; In the event that irregularities are detected, the appropriate corrective actions must be taken.
Thus, the conjunction of these four factors and the efficient use of the company's resources will guide us to achieve the objectives and goals established within the organization.
By reading each of the above definitions, we can see that administration is a fundamental tool within the organization, but that it is present day by day in our daily life, in many of the decisions we make we use it without realizing it.
2.1. Importance of administration
(Reyes Ponce, 1992)
The importance of the administration is such that all the efforts we make to achieve something are not effective if we do not apply it correctly.
For Reyes Ponce, administration is important because:
Importance of administration.
Illustration 2. Importance of administration.
Reyes Ponce makes mention of these five points in which the administration is indispensable, in them it can be seen that it is used in all social organizations regardless of their objectives. For all this, it can be concluded that the administration is totally multidisciplinary.
3. Evolution of the administration
In the following pages a chronological advance of the development of the administration will be shown, also mention will be made of those people who gave us great contributions in this science.
3.1. Early times.
When a large number of animals began to disappear on earth, man found himself in need of looking for other forms of food, so, due to the lack of them, traveling from one place to another in search of food, so they changed their way of life from nomads to sedentary.
This change that they made was of great impact for humanity, since it began to be necessary to form social groups to be able to subsist and face all the obstacles that arise; the joint effort facilitated the achievement of objectives such as getting food, safeguarding against predators, building instruments to work, etc.
Little is known about this time, however, due to what has been found, it can be said that the administration used was not as complex as that of today, its main application was in the distribution of activities regarding to sex and age, this allowed them to coordinate efforts based on their physical possibilities, but all focused on the well-being of the group.
3.2. Ancient time
(Kings)
In ancient times there were various civilizations that had different approaches to thought, these approaches were very useful for enriching the knowledge that was held about the administration.
There is evidence that it is the first civilization in which writing exists, it is said that this arose due to the development of commerce, since people needed a system to record their commercial transactions.
The priests were the highest authority at this time, for this reason, they were in charge of collecting taxes, for this, they used rudimentary methods of administration that allowed them to have control over their operations.
The urban revolution brought with it the emergence of the State and a certain economic and social stratification, leaving the priests and kings as the upper stratum, who lived in the city and were in charge of performing administrative functions. There was a separation between food production and specialized techniques, the villages that were in charge of food production were soon subordinate to the large urban centers.
Great organizations also arose, such as temples and palaces in the cities, the temples were destined for worship since they were the houses of the gods, while the palaces were inhabited by kings and their court, the latter were considered administrative centers.
People who worked in temples and palaces lived directly from the state or received land to work as a form of payment for their services. The payment of work depended on the capacity of the worker or the position they held, so here are the first vestiges of labor stratification.
These two large organizations mentioned above were in charge of economic activities, such as production, distribution, and trade; in the case of the temples, they focused on the exploitation of agricultural and livestock resources, at this time, they were already starting to work as a company, since to carry out all these activities there were specialized personnel, such as farmers, shepherds, weavers, carpenters, etc., all of them under the command of a priest, who, with the support of an inspector and sometimes the scribes, carried out the administration of all the assets obtained.
The personnel who worked inside the temples were the slaves, they were at the disposal of the priests, but there were also free men, who in exchange for a salary or land to work offered their services.
Regarding the palace, the highest authority was the king, who served as a judge, and since he was considered a representative of God on earth, he was in charge of administering all the assets and cities under his power.
Contributions to the administration in ancient times.
The administration played a fundamental role for the development of this civilization, during this time, the leaders were in charge of planning, organizing and controlling thousands of men for the construction of their monuments; up to now it is really impressive to see the great pyramids that were built at that time, for that it required an excellent administration of human resources and many, many years of effort.
Egypt had a planned economy, the means of communication was maritime and there was a collective use of land, so it was necessary that the administration of goods and the use of communication services be in charge of the great power of the government central.
Contributions to the administration in ancient times.
Illustration 4. Contributions to the administration in ancient times (Egypt)
In this period of time a very important factor was religion and the nucleus of society was the family, so the highest authority was the father; the way of life was very simple, they lived in small shops that allowed them to move to find food for their animals. Over time, they traded their stores for stone houses, thus forming small towns or tribes, which united and accepted the existence of a single chief only when they were attacked by enemies. By the eleventh century BC, these small tribes united to form a kingdom, so the form of government changed from paternalistic to monarchy, whose first governor was King Saul. On the other hand, one of the most representative leaders of this time was Moses, who sought to follow certain rules and laws by society.
Contributions to the administration in ancient times.
During this period of time, there were different scholars who made great contributions in a matter of administration, and who revolutionized the thinking that was held regarding the way of managing resources to achieve objectives.
So each of these great philosophers is listed below, as well as their most representative contributions:
First, we find Socrates (469-399 BC)
Make a separation between technical knowledge and experience within the organization, he had the idea that only if we know each other, we will be able to appreciate and understand life situations.
He was considered the first man to theorize about ethics, on the other hand, he emphasized that in order to do things well, it was necessary to know everything that the activity to be carried out involved.
Plato (427-374 BC)
Philosopher interested in the study of man's natural abilities, he is the first to refer to specialization, in his book "The Republic" he gives his opinion on this subject, as well as on the administration of public business. Among his main contributions we find the following:
The classification of forms of government:
- Aristocracy: Government of the nobility or upper class.Oligarchy: Government of a single social class.Timarquía: Government of those who collect rents.Democracy: Government of the people.Tiranía: Government of a single person.
The classification of social classes:
- Gold: They were the rulers. Silver: They were the warriors. Bronze: The artisans and merchants.
Aristotle (384-322 BC)
One of the most outstanding contributions in the area of administration is the one found in his book "The Politics", in which he distinguishes three types of public administration: Executive, Legislative and Judicial.
He also affirmed that "The last end of man was happiness", this referred to the fact that everything we do pursues an end, everyone who does something expects something in return. With this we can realize that Aristotle already mentioned the existence of incentives that moved man, of course, he was not referring only to the monetary incentive, but to everything that man could wish for.
Pericles.
It is the first to give importance to the selection of personnel to achieve the established objectives in an efficient way.
The China
The main contributions in administration that the Chinese culture left us in 500 BC was regarding the way in which a good government is built, for this, the philosopher Confucius created the following bases:
- It is the obligation of the rulers to study the problem in order to give the best solution. The solution to a problem should be seen in an objective way and without exceeding the rules of professional ethics. It works towards a people, for which the ruler He must have a broad criterion of problem solving and impartiality among officials. The basic concern is the economic, but with collective effort it will overcome. The mind of a ruler must always be working, to somehow improve his government without preferences of any The administrator must be of blameless and selfless conduct towards his colleagues.
All these bases that were mentioned, refer to the capacities that a governor must have to be able to administer resources in the most efficient way.
Another very important aspect for the administration is the Chow Constitution:
- Before governing organize the same government: It is important to organize first to later take control of something.Definition of functions: this will facilitate work and save time and carry out activities properly.Cooperation: The conjunction of efforts makes it easier the work.Efficient processes: This will allow us to find the expected results.Formality of the human elements: This is the basis of all organization, so to achieve the objectives it takes all the dedication of the people.
Contributions to the administration in ancient times.
3.3. The Christianity
(Ramírez, 2007)
During Christianity, we find great contributions, but without a doubt the most important is leadership; Christian organizations were in charge of transmitting knowledge to the people, priests were considered wise people and great leaders, on the other hand there were also people who dedicated themselves to preaching from town to town, the greatest example of leadership that we can find is Christ. This is the time when the need to count on people capable of motivating a group of people begins to be given importance, so that it develops in the way that is desired.
Contributions to the administration in ancient times.
3.4. The middle ages
(Vega Sosa, 1999)
During the Middle Ages we found mainly two large organizations, which were the most outstanding in the administration area; The first is the Catholic Church, this great entity was the creator of a variety of principles applicable to companies, regardless of their size and business, these principles are as follows:
- Geographical need for autonomous controls. Training for executives according to their agenda. Freedom of decision for the executive. Security of an individual's capacity for the correct position. Skill and dedication to work. Incentive for ascension from lower levels. Ability to decide according to the problem. Be skillful in all negotiations. Not parietal favoritism in high positions.
In the previous list of principles we can find several philosophies that we currently know, such as the need for controls for the organization, incentives and ascension in the hierarchical structure.
On the other hand, we found the military organizations, which were also very important for the development of the administration, since they were under pressure to maintain an excellent administrative system that would allow them to reduce the degree of error in any activity they carried out. Among the most important contributions are the need for hierarchization, teamwork, creation of work strategies, need to delegate authority, these organizations were also the creators of what we know as staff, which Serb to advise the military command, for On the other hand, they also considered it important to take uncertainty into account for the manager to plan in a way that can minimize it.
Military organizations had a very good administration, for this reason, industries took their principles and adapted them to their turn.
On the other hand, Nicolás Maquiavelo focuses on the need to exercise good leadership over the work groups, for this he said that it was necessary to comply with the following principles:
- Dependence on the approval of the masses (In order to exercise leadership it is essential that you first be accepted as a leader by the working group, so, you totally depend on their approval) Leadership (He says that there are two types of leaders, natural or born and those that are formed over time) Cohesion (A good leader must retain power over his friends or collaborators, that is, he must get them to follow him) Right to survival (All organizations seek to stay current in the market).
Contributions to the administration in ancient times.
3.5. The modern age
(Ramírez, Historical background of the administration, 2007)
The industrial revolution was a period of great technological, commercial, industrial, communication, etc. advance, all these changes that arose made it necessary to modify the working methods in organizations, on the other hand, these changes brought with them a variant in the behavior and desires of society, so it was also necessary to design other strategies or philosophies to meet their new needs.
The demand for the products increased markedly and the companies were not able to satisfy it, so they were forced to increase the productivity of the factories, for this it was necessary:
- Create rigid work rules. Routine and mechanized forms of behavior within organizations to avoid making mistakes. Increased dependency among members of the organization. A need for permanent coordination.
In the industrial revolution is the beginning of the scientific theory of administration, at this time we found various changes in organizational thinking, various studies were conducted such as administrative research, administrative principles, concepts of administration, functions of administration, etc..
As for the administration of the human factor within organizations, we found that there was a division of labor in such a way that the activities to be carried out were simpler, the working hours were from 12 to 13 hours, the environmental conditions were dangerous, wages they were quite low etc.
As the years passed, the workers began to become aware that the way of life they led was really precarious and that the working conditions in which they found themselves left much to be desired, reason why certain tensions arose between the working classes and the owners of the industries; This led to the need to create some labor laws that defended the rights of workers.
Contributions to the administration in the Industrial Revolution.
Illustration 9. Contributions to the administration in the Industrial Revolution.
By reading each of the previous stages and up to the Industrial revolution, we can see that in all of them a fundamental resource for the achievement of the objectives was man, however, the expected results were not achieved even when the working days they were prolonged, not even if it had the best technology of the moment; Due to this problem, the great thinkers began to pay more attention to human resources and focused on studying it, in order to find ways to work in the most efficient way possible.
Thus, in the modern age, we can find various scholars who chose to go beyond the search for productivity, since they understood that it was obtained in addition if they solved other questions regarding the organization's most sensitive resource (Man).; thus, among the most representative we have the following:
Philosophers of the modern age.
Illustration 10. Philosophers of the modern age.
Today, organizations are in a great struggle to preserve their place in this globalized world, many of them have achieved it by applying certain techniques or philosophies that allow the organization to be managed, the resources that make it up, and those factors. indirect involved in its activities.
The most outstanding philosophers of the classical administration were Frederick W. Taylor (1856-1915) and Henry Fayol (1841-1925).
The first, began his studies by observing what happened inside the factories when he worked as a worker, focused on looking for the factors that influenced the productivity of the operator, thus, observed the activities of the operators and realized that there are activities or movements that do not add value to the operation, in addition to involving useless effort; Realizing this, I set reasonable work standards. I also highlight the importance of working following a method, I promote training and monetary incentives.
In the case of Fayol, he mentioned that management played a very important role in achieving organizational objectives; It determined that the companies were made up of 5 fundamental functions: technical, commercial, financial, accounting and administrative.
When he studied each of these functions that make up a company, he realized that in none of them was there a process of planning, organization, direction, coordination and control, activities that he considered of great importance for the achievement of objectives, so he suggested the establishment of these within companies.
Fayol said that administration is very important, so he proposed that it be taught in universities, he also defined the profile that a good administrator should have, without neglecting that he was the one who wrote the 14 administrative principles.
Philosophers of the modern age.
3.6 Contemporary administration
(Montiel Carbrera, 2011)
The contemporary administration arises from the Second World War, the ideas it manages differ to a certain extent with the neoclassical administration, for which reason it only considered those points in which it coincided and elaborated proposals for new administrative models.
The theories that we find in this last classification are the following:
Structuralist Theory
It supposes that the structure is derived from the internal analysis of the whole, from the elements that make it up.
Consider the objectives and integration of human resources, study the environment and organizational conflicts.
Theory of behavior
Man began to be considered as the basis of organizations and therefore, as the most valuable element of them, for this reason new humanistic ideas emerge.
The main exponents are: Maslow (hierarchy of necessities), Herzberg, Mac Gregor (theory X and Y), Likert and Barnard (Theory of cooperation).
Organizational development theory
It arises in 1960 and is based on the theories mentioned above, only that it considers 4 important factors of administration: Organization, social environment, social groups and development.
Concepts such as organizational culture, change, development and dynamism, feedback emerge.
Systems theory
Developed by Ludwig Von Bertalanffy and makes reference to the fact that every phenomenon that occurs is parate of another greater called system, this system is formed by a set of subsystems that work in coordination to achieve objectives.
Systems classify them as simple, descriptive, and complex.
Decision theory
This is a mathematical theory based on logic and expression by means of symbols, whose outstanding elements are the process and the problem.
Use situation simulation to find the best solution to real problems; some of the most used methods are: game theory, waiting queues, graph theory, etc.
Contingency theory
It is the most current theory, which establishes that the effectiveness of organizations is not achieved with a single administrative model, but rather, according to the situational diagnosis of the internal and external variables of the organization.
4. Conclusion
Without a doubt, the passage of time requires new ideas and new working methods, the situations that are presented to us today are different from those that we will find in the future, the techniques that we use and that currently work will not work in a few years more, for this reason, we must be able to respond to the demands that are presented to us.
This article was more than a review of the changes that the administration has undergone, that is, if we are a little analytical, we will be able to realize that the background of all this is evolution, this because if we want to be really competent we must be able to constantly evolve, always with a view to improvement, evolution is what will allow us to be truly valuable to society.
In the previous pages we mentioned many people who were able to see what no one saw, which allowed them to solve existing problems, however, every change leads to a new reaction, in which we will surely find more factors to focus on; There is a reason why it is said that man is not conformist at all.
So let's open our minds to see what has not yet been explored; Let us focus on improvement, but to do so, we must first improve our habits… if we succeed, perhaps one day we will be remembered as some of the previous philosophers.
Let's start building our legacy today !!
5. References
- Montiel Carbrera, D. (2011). The gurus and their contributions. 18-23. Ramírez, J. (2007). Historical background of the administration. 1-4.Ramírez, J. (2007). Historical Background of the Administration. 5-6 Reyes Ponce, A. (1992). Business Administration. Mexico: Limusa.Reyes, J. (sf). Lacoctelera.net. Retrieved on March 25, 2013, from http: //simental_administración.lacoctelera.net Rodríguez Nuñez, C., Escorcia Rojas, K., Leal Barcenas, R., & Quintero Torres, C. (2010). Historical Evolution of the Administration. 2-4.Vega Sosa, A. (1999). Administration. Mexico: Technological University of Mexico.
6. Thesis proposal:
Elaboration and implementation of a new management theory based on a comparison between decision theory and contingency theory.
Goals:
- Generate a new management theory that addresses the deficiencies of decision theory and contingency theory. Put this new theory into practice in a small company in the region to analyze its operation. Make the appropriate corrections.
