Administrative process is the continuous and interrelated flow of planning, organization, direction and control activities, developed to achieve a common objective: to take advantage of the human, technical, material and any other type of resources that the organization has to make it effective., for its stakeholders and society.
Concept
First of all, it is worth asking what is process?
Process: Set of the successive phases of a natural phenomenon or an artificial operation. (Dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy)
And what is meant by administration?
Administration: Social science that pursues the satisfaction of institutional objectives through a structure and through a coordinated human effort. (Fernández, p.3)
Understanding this, it follows that:
The administrative process is the tool that is applied in organizations to achieve their objectives and satisfy their lucrative and social needs. If the administrators or managers of an organization carry out their work properly through efficient and effective management, the organization is much more likely to achieve its goals; Therefore, it can be said that the performance of managers or administrators can be measured according to the degree to which they comply with the administrative process. (Hurtado, p.47)
The following figure summarizes in a basic way what the administrative process is, note the interrelation and continuity of activities:
The administrative process: planning, organization, direction and control
Origin
The administrative process and functional areas paradigm was developed by Henri Fayol (1916). Although it is still debated whether management is a science or, on the contrary, it is art, from a functionalist perspective it is affirmed that the basic function of management, as a practice, is to select appropriate objectives and direct the organization towards their achievement.. This implies defining the administration as a process that, as such, requires the execution of a series of functions. Fayol described administrative activities as composed of the functions of planning, organizing, directing, coordinating and controlling. (Zapata and others, p.64)
Phases
There are two phases in the administrative process, one mechanical and the other dynamic.
In the first, mechanical phase, it is sought to establish what to do and the necessary structure to do it is prepared, including planning and organization activities.
The second, dynamic phase, refers to how that social organism that has been structured is managed and comprises the activities of direction and control.
Activities that compose it
As already mentioned, the administrative process consists of 4 stages or basic functions: planning, organization, direction and control. Here is a brief introduction to each one.
1. Planning
It consists of knowing what is going to be done in advance, what is going to be the direction that is going to be taken to achieve the objectives in the most efficient way. What do you want to achieve (objectives)? What is going to be done to achieve it? Who and when is going to do it? How are you going to do it (resources)? Planning is about creating a desired future.
Robbins and De Cenzo (p.6) state that planning encompasses the definition of the organization's goals, the establishment of an overall strategy to achieve those goals, and the development of a detailed hierarchy of plans to integrate and coordinate activities. Setting goals helps you keep track of the work to be done and helps your organization focus on the things that matter most.
2. Organization
The organization is a system that allows a balanced use of resources whose purpose is to establish a relationship between the work and the personnel who must perform it. It is a process where it is determined what must be done to achieve an established or planned purpose, dividing and coordinating activities and supplying resources.
Robbins (p.9) explains that organizing is arranging work to achieve the goals of the organization. Organizing includes determining what tasks need to be done, who does them, how they are grouped, who is accountable to whom, and where decisions are made.
3. Address
Management is the function that tries, through interpersonal influence, to ensure that all those involved in the organization contribute to the achievement of its objectives. It is exercised through three sub-functions: leadership, motivation and communication.
Finch, Freeman and Gilbert (p.13) say that the direction is the process to direct and influence the activities of the members of a group or an entire organization, with respect to a task. Management gets to the bottom of managers' relationships with each of the people who work with them.
4. Control
Control is the function that measures the results obtained by comparing them with those expected (planned) in order to seek continuous improvement.
Alegre, Berné and Galve (p.42) argue that control is the follow-up activity aimed at correcting deviations that may occur with respect to the objectives. The control is exercised with reference to the plans, by means of the regular and systematic comparison of the forecasts and the consequent achievements and the valuation of the deviations made with respect to the objectives. The control, therefore, contrasts what was planned and what was achieved to trigger corrective actions, which keep the system regulated, that is, oriented to its objectives.
There are some other activities or functions that have been added by various authors, among them are:
5. Integration
Integrating, with what and who is going to be done, consists of selecting and obtaining the financial, material, technical and human resources considered necessary for the proper functioning of a social organism. Integration groups together communication and the harmonious meeting of the elements. human and material, selection training and compensation of personnel.
6. Forecast
Anticipating, what can be done, consists of diagnosing the information and available data, in such a way that anticipation or construction of the context in which the organization will be found is made possible.
Through the following video tutorial you will learn more about what the administrative process is, what its phases are and what its stages are: planning, organization, direction and control. (5 videos, 28 minutes, Educatina)
Bibliography
- Alegre, Luis; Berné Manero, Carmen; Galve Górriz, Carmen. Fundamentals of business economics: functional perspective, Editorial Ariel, 2000.Dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy Fernández Arena, José Antonio. The Administrative Process, Editorial DIANA, 1991 Finch Stoner, James Arthur; Freeman, R. Edward and Gilbert, Daniel R. Administration, Pearson Education, 1996. Hurtado, Darío. Principles of Management, ITM, 2008, p.47 Robbins, Stephen P. Management, Pearson Education, 2005. Robbins, Stephen P. and De Cenzo, David A. Fundamentals of Management: Essential Concepts and Applications, Pearson Education, 2009. Zapata Domínguez, Alvaro; Murillo Vargas, Guillermo and Martínez Crespo, Jenny. Organization and Management, Universidad del Valle, 2006, p.64
