We explain what administrative management is, what its stages and classification are. Also, its principles and why it is important.
What is administrative management?
In business administration, it is known as address (or directly as administrative address), a one of the most important stages of the administrative process, in which the acquired knowledge is applied to carry out relevant decision-making. In simpler terms, administrative leadership is equivalent to captaining a ship.
The administrative direction it is a complicated and highly responsible task, which are generally carried out by managers and other leadership and authority figures within organizations, and which aims to ensure that the objectives set in advance are met, which means dealing with unforeseen events, correcting the operation of the organization on the fly and often make strategic decisions.
For this reason, the address is closely related to control and feedback within the administrative process: only by handling the necessary information and arising from the evaluation of the operation of an organization, will it be possible to make informed and sensible decisions that have a greater probability of success. That is why business management is not too different from the political leadership of a nation, although both things handle very different elements and have different principles.
Stages of administrative management
Broadly speaking, we can outline the stages of administrative management in:
- Decision making. Faced with some type of unforeseen event, challenging situation or evaluation of the organization, the need for efficient decision-making is imposed, which in turn goes through certain stages:
- Define the problem. That is, understand the situation, the challenges that have arisen and / or the objectives that are being pursued and that will provide us with the initial guidance on how to tackle the problem.
- Evaluate the alternatives. Every problem can be approached from different points of view and can be solved or dealt with in different ways, more aggressive, more patient, more sagacious, etc. Before deciding on one, all the options should be reviewed.
- Make a decision. Finally, we will have to opt for an option and apply it in a specific way, taking into account a panorama of possible consequences and some type of anticipated forecasts.
- Integration. This stage implies the provision of the elements and resources necessary to execute the decision previously made, also through various strategies, such as:
- Recruitment. Enlargement or replacement of human capital with the necessary personnel to carry out the tasks that the decision entails.
- Training. Provide the existing staff with the theoretical, conceptual or practical tools to carry out the tasks that the decision entails.
- Renewal. Acquisition of new materials, new equipment, new tools, etc., to be able to carry out the decision.
- Motivation. Entrepreneurship and team morale are also essential to achieve the objectives and materialize the decided plan, so the management must carry out a review of the motivational dynamics of the organization and employ new ones, reinforce existing ones or eliminate counterproductive ones.
- Communication. Closely related to motivation, communication both internally and externally must always be in accordance with the initial decisions that were made, so that each segment of the organization is clear about what is expected of it and that each client knows what changes to expect from the organization.
- Leadership and supervision. Not only must decisions be made and ensure that they are implemented correctly, but a channel of feedback and control must be kept open that allows us to perceive the effectiveness of the changes introduced, to identify complications, to perceive threats and opportunities derived from the change, in In order to provide the management with the necessary information to be able to make decisions again and thus keep the circuit going.
Types of administrative address
There are various forms, types or styles of administrative management, which have to do directly with the type of leadership exercised, and which should be considered guidelines, rather than defined and concrete categories. We talk about:
- Autocratic leadership. One in which the authority imposes its rules, criteria and decisions without consulting his subordinates at all, which is why it tends to generate tense and dictatorial work environments, in which discipline and insecurity can go hand in hand.
- Paternalistic leadership. It is about a relaxation of autocratic leadership, in which hierarchical positions are involved in the work of their subordinates and even in their personal lives, but always from a position of power and authority, as if they were a kind of tutor. It is usually applied for organizations with very young or training staff.
- Laissez-faire address (“let go”). A management model that intervenes very little in the performance of its subordinates, allowing them a high degree of autonomy and decision, which can make them employees with high initiative, or can lead to confusion and disorder.
- Democratic leadership. It is inspired by the principles of equal opportunities and massive consultation to make decisions, without sacrificing the hierarchical structure of the organization. It is usually the best performing company in a diverse or broad organization.
Principles of administrative management
The exercise of management is based on a series of fundamental principles, which are:
- Coordination of interests. Since an organization involves an organized group of human beings working around a common objective, the management must keep the focus on the latter, converging individual or sectoral objectives in a common macro-project.
- Impersonality of command. Organizations have structures and hierarchies that should not depend on who exercises them, but should be impersonal, objective, that is, they do not depend on sympathies and considerations, but on the internal logic of the organization.
- Direct and indirect supervision. Management can be exercised, at the same time, in close communication with subordinates, that is, providing them with the guidelines and information they require to be motivated and productive; and in hierarchical communication, through a hierarchical or bureaucratic structure that allows the efficient use of information and timely decision-making, without absolutely everything having to reach management to be approved.
- Use and resolution of conflicts. The management of any organization will face conflictive situations that it must be able to solve or, better still, that it will have to convert into advantageous or profitable situations, through change and variability management, instead of an excessive adherence to the norm. .
Importance of administrative management
The direction it is vital for the correct administrative functioning. She is in charge of executing the guidelines projected in previous phases (planning and organization) to obtain the best possible performance from the organizational structure.
A good address is key not only in business anticipation and anticipation, but also in the motivation of human capital, through efficient communication, sensible leadership and a spirit far removed from tyranny and other human defects.
A good administrative management, in fact, understands the administrative process as an organized and hierarchical whole, and is able to carry out the appropriate changes that make it last or that bring it closer to the fulfillment of its specific objectives. Any administrative process without direction is prone to disorder and disintegration.
Control in administration
As well as management, administrative control it is a function of the administrative process that consists of the evaluation of the performance, that is, in the collation of the results obtained during the process and the expectations that were had of it. This implies the measurement (and the design or selection of measurement strategies) of the variables, the gathering of pertinent information, internal and external research, among other similar methodologies.
Follow in: Control in administration