Currently, the administration plays an important role in achieving the success of organizations, however, since ancient times, the administration existed as such, but not recognized as a discipline, knowing the path it traveled until it became what it is. Today in is of utmost importance.
DEFINITION OF ADMINISTRATION
In order to understand this topic, it is relevant to know the meaning of the word administration, nowadays when hearing this term our mind associates it directly with a company, however this concept is broad and universal and can be applied in any social organism, including in our daily life.
Let's see then the different meanings proposed by these authors.
Etymologically, the word administration comes from the Latin administratio formed from the prefix ad, towards, and from ministratio. This last word comes in turn from minister, a word made up of minus, comparative of inferiority, and the suffix ter, which serves as a term of comparison. The etymology of minister is entirely opposite to that of magister: magis, comparative superiority, and ter. Thus magister, indicates a function of authority, minister expresses precisely the opposite; Subordination, therefore, the following concept of administration can be concluded: one that performs a function under the command of another.
However, the administration can be conceptualized in various ways for easy understanding.
Koontz & O'Donnell. (1960) The direction of a social organism, and its effectiveness in achieving its objectives, based on the ability to lead its members.
- P. Terry. (1956) Administration consists of achieving a predetermined objective, through the effort of others.
Henry Fayol (1916). To administer is to foresee, organize, command, coordinate and control.
- FL Brench. (1946) It is a social process that carries with it the responsibility of planning and efficiently regulating the operations of a company, to achieve a given purpose.
Chiavenato (2004). The process of planning, organizing, directing, and controlling the use of resources to achieve organizational objectives
Wilburg Jiménez Castro defines: "Administration as a social science made up of principles, techniques and practices and whose application to human groups allows the establishment of rational systems of cooperative effort", through which common purposes can be achieved that individually cannot be achieved ». (Wilburg, 1990)
EVOLUTION OF THE ADMINISTRATION
Old Administration
Administrative thought was generated from the beginning of humanity, it could even be interpreted that the human being was provided with that gift, in the first chapters of the holy scriptures it is related how God authorized and gave free will to Adam to administer the earth and everything in it. His job was to manage all the resources that were in the garden of Eden so that his "company" would grow and expand, to achieve this included planning, organizing, directing and controlling, taking into account this, Adam can be considered. as the first administrator on earth.
In the same context in chapters 7 and 8 of the bible after the flood, a new administration system was developed, the patriarchal system, in which power was centralized in a single person, head of the family, this was in charge of maintaining the security, wealth and stability to his family (subordinates), through the delegation of activities. Other examples of the Bible adherents of this system were Abraham, Isaac, Moses.
The new testament describes a change in corporate culture, the model introduced by Jesus founded on optimal management of resources, see his next thought, “On the other hand, nobody puts new wine in old wineskins; but if it does, then the new wine bursts the wineskins, and is poured, and the wineskins are spoiled. But the new wine has to be put into new wineskins ». (Luke 5: 37,38). Likewise, his teachings broke paradigms since through parables he preached the virtues of an administrator, such as leadership, planning, empathy, supervision to name a few, thus establishing a system of mutual cooperation.
China
The Chinese used principles of administration in his reign, testimony to this is the Chow constitution, a manual that details the activities and functions of the emperor's servants, this laid the foundations for what we know today as public administration.
Greece
The contributions were made by its main philosophers.
Socrates used administrative aspects in the organization and separated technical knowledge from experience. Plato spoke of the natural abilities of men and gave rise to specialization. Aristotle spoke of how to achieve a perfect state. Pericles gave one of the basic principles of administration, the selection of personnel.
Rome
The Roman people had administrators who were in charge of them, they were called managers or agents.
Middle Ages
At this time centralism began to lose strength, it was a transitional stage the vassal began to gain power to rule his land.
Feudalism
Feudalism represented one more factor for decentralization, it involved similar problems and conditions suffered by government and business organizations.
Modern age
A classic work written in this age was "the art of war" by Sun Tzu, Chinese philosopher, the work was modified and used by Mao Tse Tung who founded the People's Republic of China, some postulates are as follows:
- When the enemy advances, you have to retreat When the enemy stops, you have to harass him When the enemy tries to avoid combat, you have to attack When the enemy retreats, you have to chase him
Principles that speak about the power that must be exercised in subordinates.
The industrial Revolution
In this period artisan workshops disappeared to give places to factories, with this came serial production, due to the nature of this system this time was characterized by labor exploitation, the complexity of work created the need for managers to propose Some currents favoring workers, this precedent marked the beginning of scientific administration.
Contemporary age
The contemporary age allowed the administration to consolidate itself as a science, described below as the emergence of the pioneering ideas of the administration and its various approaches.
ADMINISTRATIVE THEORIES AND THEIR APPROACHES
Classical school
Also called mechanist or mechanic, its main exponent Henry Fayol (1841 - 1925) according to this school, there is a way of organizing work in the company and is based on the following principles
- Division of labour. Fayol applies this principle to all kinds of jobs, both administrative and technical.
- Authority and responsibility. Fayol found that authority and responsibility are related, the latter being the consequence of the former. Authority is conceived as a combination derived from the position of the administrator.
- Contemplating the discipline as "respect for regulations and conventions aimed at achieving obedience, applying energy and other distinctive signs of respect."
- Unity of command. Employees should only receive orders from a supervisor.
- steering unit. According to this principle, each group of activities with the same objective must have a director and a plan. Unlike the fourth principle, it refers to the organization of the “governing body”, rather than the staff.
- Subordination of individual interest to the general. When two types of interest differ, the administrator must be reconciled.
- Remuneration. Remuneration and methods of remuneration must be fair and provide the maximum possible satisfaction for workers and the employer.
- Centralization. Fayol referred to the degree to which the authority is centralized or decentralized.
- Authority hierarchy. Fayol conceives of this as a chain of authority, which goes from the highest ranks to the lowest.
- Colloquially, it adapts to the simple saying "a place for everything and everything in its place", a fundamental organizing principle for new companies.
- Loyalty, justice, empathy, benevolence for the worker and for the administrator.
- Stability in holding a position or position. In this regard, Fayol spoke about staff turnover as a disease that afflicts organizations, generating unnecessary expenses.
- Fayol encourages managers to sacrifice personal vanity, to allow subordinates to carry out activities that can generate satisfaction and promotion.
- Group spirit. Emphasizing that the union is the force, for the achievement of objectives together.
While Taylor stood at the base of the pyramid (Maslow) and was concerned with the organization of work in the workshop, Fayol settled at the top of the pyramid and his vision was of CEO, Taylor and Fayol were contemporaries.
Scientific Administration
Its inventors are Frederick Winslow Taylor, Henry L. Gantt and the Gilbreth spouses, it is called scientific administration for its rational explanation of engineering methods applied to administration, its founder was Taylor (1856-1915). Author of important works that left significant contributions to the administration, these were Shop Management and The Principles of Scientific Management.
One of Taylor's most significant contributions was his famous study of times and movements in assembly lines, which, as Fred E. Meyers puts it in summary, allows us to divide the operations carried out in a company into parts, and subsequently design and implement more efficient methods for carry out each activity (Meyers, 2002).
Taylor establishes principles and standards that provide superior workmanship and material savings, implemented the differential work incentive system; Charles Babbage contributed to the trade division; Henry Metcalf outlined a predecessor method for cost and material control; Henry Lawrence Gantt provided a remuneration system for workers with the name of “bonuses and tasks” and defined graphic planning and control techniques. Frank Bunker Gilbreth established a procedure of 17 basic movements called therbligs, with the purpose of reducing unnecessary movements..
Taylor within his philosophy proposes four basic principles (Taylor, 1911) for companies:
- The development of a true science of administration. The scientific selection of workers. The scientific education and development of the worker. Intimate and friendly cooperation between managers and employees.
Among the main contributions of this school we have the fastest assembly lines, the application of the principles of efficiency to all organizations even without being industrial, good job design, among others.
Henry Ford's Administrative Theory
In 1879 Henry Ford made his first observations in the steel industry, followed by analytical studies on runtime and work pay.
His main contributions to the administration are those listed below:
- Decrease of production times through the efficient use of machinery and raw materials Reduction of inventories in process Increase in production due to the specialization of work and the use of the production line Minimum wage per day, hour and maximum working day of 8 hours.Vertical (from raw material to finished product) and horizontal (from manufacturing to distribution) development Own lines of credit for financing vehiclesCed Ford Motor Co. shares to its workers, in order to increase employee income.
Ford's basic principles are as follows:
- Intensification principle: decrease production time with the immediate use of raw material equipment and the rapid placement of the product on the market. Economical principle: minimize the volume of sales undergoing transformation. Productivity principle: increase the man production capacity
Abraham Maslow's theory
Abraham Maslow's theory coined the idea that the individual is governed by the satisfaction of his needs.
This is how he created his now famous “hierarchy of needs”. This pyramidal representation contemplates 5 great blocks: physiological needs, security needs, needs for love and belonging, need for esteem and self-realization needs in this order.
Empirical Administration
The empirical administration seeks to achieve results through administrative tasks that are successfully carried out in the near past, defends the routine and established way of doing things, its objective is to avoid mistakes based on past successful experiences, its main precursors are Peter F. Drucker, Ernest Dale and Lawrence Appley, they carried out studies based on practical methods in which they discarded theoretical principles, this is mainly used in Mexican companies where they prefer to follow experience than theory.
Environmental school
This administrative current arises in the 20th century, it was developed by experimental psychologists.
It is based on the assumption that human beings will perform better if the environmental conditions that surround them, such as light, heat, humidity, are in harmony with their organism.
It proposes to obtain greater productivity by providing the worker with pleasant working conditions, this theory is also called "the school of happy cows".
Its main precursor was George Elton May, and other psychologists.
School of human behavior
This current is also called "school of human relations", it is based on an idea to explain a more human idea of the administration, untying the concept rooted solely in the company, its main objective is to understand the psychological needs of the worker, such as motivation, security among others and cover them to achieve a benefit with them.
The main pioneers were Robert Owen and George Elton May.
School of the social system
This school is closely related to the school of human behavior, its primary focus is the recognition of the importance of the informal organization of the levels, status and symbols of its members and its effect on the functioning of the formal organization.
Management focuses on intercultural relations and tries to combine the formal structure of the organization with the human aspect.
Through the experimental method of Durkheim and Watson, an attempt is made to build a scientifically organized society and a science of personnel management in which the administration would include the relationships between:
- The organization The internal and external environments The forces that produce the changes and adjustments
Its main pioneers were Max Weber, Chester Barnard, Fran Oliver Sheldon and, Chris Argyris.
Systems Administration School
This school focuses its philosophy that systems are the primary point of administration.
A system is a set formed by interconnected parts with a common purpose, however this school has a systemic approach based on the whole, sometimes it is too specialized and neglects the human factor, its precursors were Norbet Wiener, March and Simon Murdick, Joel Ross and West Churchman.
Decision theory school
Also known as a “rational school”, it conceives man as an independent being with his own discernment that is not something that can be manipulated, it can only be adapted to different circumstances and factors such as economic, social, and technical factors are what determine this behavior.
Its predecessors were Von Newman, Bowman and Hutchinson.
School of quantitative measurement
Closely related to the school of decisions, its orientation is purely mathematical; actions are represented by means of symbols and logical thinking; it provides suitable techniques for conflict resolution; its predecessors were A.
Kauffman, Norbet Wiener and Irving DJ Bross.
Neo-human
It begins in 1940, it grants the main role to the human factor and conceives it as a determining element in the company, it establishes that the administration must adapt to the physical, emotional and psychological needs of the employees.
It states that the objectives of the company and of the workers must satisfy at the same time and that they must be consistent with each other.
Its main pioneers were Abraham Maslow, Herzberg, Douglas Mcgregor and Rensis Likert.
Eclectic, universal or administrative process school
This philosophy gathers ideas from different periods, including Henry Fayol, Mary Parker Follet, Lyndall F. Urwik, George Terry Harold Koontz, Cyril O'Donnell, Willian P.
Leonard and Vicktor Lazzaro.
CURRENT CURRENTS OF THE ADMINISTRATION
Total quality
This trend emerged in Japan at the end of the Second World War, has had multiple benefits in terms of increased quality and productivity in companies in Japan and the West.
Organizational development
It is based on the following aspects and is based on the continuous change of organizations.
- Each era creates the form of organization that best suits their characteristics and needs. The only way to change organizations is to modify the organizational culture. People must have a new social conscience.
Organizational development involves restructuring the traditional systems of the organization. Some of its characteristics are:
- It is an educational strategy adopted to achieve a planned change in the organization. The changes that are sought are directly linked to the demand or demand that the organization tries to satisfy. It is based on a strategy that emphasizes the importance of the behavior experienced. Change agents are mostly foreign to the client system. DO implies a cooperative relationship between the change agent and the components of the client system. Change agents share a set of values referring to the world in general and organizations based on philosophy organizational development.
Japanese Administration (Theory Z)
Theory Z is part of a group of management theories, which were born in Japan.
This theory suggests that greater productivity is achieved by involving workers in company processes. The foundations on which it is based are:
- Trust: What workers do through their activities, reflects their attitude of dedication and honesty with the company The subtlety: the immediate boss must know each worker well, so that through the features of their different personalities, decide who engages with whom. Intimacy: the worker must seek the interest, support and disciplined generosity of the group, which translates into closer team social relationships.
Value Management
It focuses on offering maximum value to customers, shareholders, company members and the general community.
The administrator divides the company into processes such as: product development, production processes, logistics, customer service, this series of links interact together for the common good and mainly for the customer.
Theory of constraints
The author of this theory is Eliyahu Goldratt, it was developed in order to find attractive solutions in optimizing the profitability of a company. Its main objective is to achieve the goals of the organization, taking into account internal and external factors of the value chain.
Organizations must choose the mix of their products and services to maximize their utility, each mix of products or services generates different degrees of utility and effects on the organization. This theory helps managers understand internal and external constraints to make the best decisions.
Just in time
Just in time it emerged as the production system of the Toyota company, Taiichi Ohno was the one who developed this concept given the need to have an efficient system to produce small quantities of cars of different models.
This administrative philosophy has positive effects on the companies' profits, eliminating everything that does not add value to the process, mainly inventories.
CONCLUSION
Over time the conception of administration has undergone changes and has been influenced by various philosophies, therefore it is difficult to conceive a universal definition, however what is clear is that through time and today this is the spearhead for optimal performance and progress of organizations.
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