Business-wise, there are four main stages that underlie the main tasks of any Administrator or Manager, being Planning; The Organization, Management and Control.
In an integral way, these four stages are called “The Administrative Process”
The administrative process represents the common sense of the Administration, it represents a logical process, whose design and implementation responds to the main management criteria that every Administrator or Manager must know and must apply.
To clarify the concepts:
Managing means "Doing through others"; in other words, it is doing through others; Take advantage of the skills, talent and potential of others ”
For his part; Process is understood as the “Series of activities or tasks that together and executed sequentially and chronologically facilitate the achievement of objectives”.
It is important to highlight that the heart of this definition are the words sequential and chronological, which in simple terms means that after activity number 3 number 4 is executed and before task number 2 number 1 must be performed.
The chronological sequence refers to the execution time of each of the activities or tasks. The temporality to which it refers is not circumstantial, nor is it optional, the sequence of the stages of the administrative process must not change.
It is also important to highlight that within the definition the word "Jointly" stands out; which means that the stages complement each other, are not mutually exclusive, and performing them separately does not guarantee any success.
We can complement the concepts, with the definition of Administrative Process; The one that relating the previous definitions is described like this:
" Series of activities or tasks that together and executed sequentially and chronologically facilitate the fulfillment of objectives, using for it the competence, talent and potential of others ".
Under this premise, it is important to define each of the stages of the Administrative process;
PLANNING: Stage of the administrative process where the objectives to be achieved are detailed; the activities that must be carried out and the resources that must be acquired to achieve it.
ORGANIZATION: Stage of the administrative process that orders the activities and resources, to facilitate the achievement of the objectives.
MANAGEMENT: Stage of the administrative process that aligns individual efforts towards the achievement of objectives, making the most of resources and efficiently executing activities or tasks.
CONTROL: Stage of the administrative process where deviations between what is planned and what is executed are detected.
The stages of the administrative process are not exclusive, they are complementary, none of them separately generate value, none of them separately generate successful results.
The importance of each of the stages lies in:
to). Planning is the stage that tells us, what we want to do, the route we must follow. Due to its scope, it can be strategic or operational.
• Strategic planning is medium and long term, it is developed for future purposes, it is what helps us define the organizational vision.
• The operative planning is of short term, it is related to the activities or routine tasks, they have to do with the day to day of the organization.
b) The organization stage refers to the order that must exist within the company, includes the organizational structure (organizational chart), the design of processes and description of procedures, as well as the functional description of the different jobs.
c) The management stage is the one related to leadership, it is the function of guiding the organization (through people) towards the fulfillment of the objectives.
• The stages of organization and management become the stages that set the pace of execution.
d). The control stage generates a lot of value when there is clarity of what is planned. The reality is that you cannot control what is not planned.
Under these premises it is understandable that understanding and respecting the chronological sequence of activities facilitates the fulfillment of organizational objectives; This understanding is called common sense.
Administrative manager common sense is a mix of the knowledge, experience, and skills that enable you to make decisions.
• Knowledge refers to the information it handles. They are the intellectual foundations of thought.
• The experience refers to the practice that has developed in a specific topic, it is the representation of the execution.
• Skills refer to personal skills that have become individual strengths. Skills (motor skills) can also be included here.
The comprehensive application of these three elements makes decision-making effective and helps us to be certain of the results expected, according to the investments to be made.
The evolution of the Administrative Process in history is very subtle, in reality the evolution has been more in FORM and not in FUND, the stages remain the same, the tools and techniques used to apply the different stages of " Planning, Organization, Management and Control ”are those that have evolved, there is a transition from manual tools and techniques to automated systems and procedures for this purpose, with which greater efficiency and control are achieved.
However, it should be noted that although the stages of the Administrative process remain the same, the logical and sequential order of the process described above if it is having changes in its design, since for the levels of importance the order of the stages must be.
• Management (Leadership)
• Planning
• Organization
• Control
To support this approach, it should be noted that Leadership includes:
a) Define the Organizational Vision (Planning)
b) Organization of Activities and Resources, as well as the Management and Direction of Human Talent (Organization)
c) Design Performance Indicators to evaluate and guarantee the Planned (Control)
The conclusion is simple; It is very difficult to think that the first two stages of the Administrative Process will be efficient, if LEADERSHIP (Management stage) is developed as its third stage.
In this logic, it seems that Leadership is going to be used for Control purposes. However, within the Strategic Administration, Planning and Organization are the stages that need Leadership the most, Control is a simple consequence.
"Get it right from the start."
