We explain what a procedure is and its relationship with the processes. In addition, procedure in administration, law and in a company.
What is a procedure?
In general terms, the word procedure means the method through which certain specific actions are carried out, which are part of the same process. That is, it is about the way we proceed to do something, the specific step-by-step way through which we perform an action.
The origin of this word dates back to Latin, since it is the result of the union of the voices pro- (“Forward” or “in favor”) and I will yield (“Walk”, “march” or “fall”).
So, in a strict historical sense, the term has to do with the way in which something is advanced, that is, the steps that must be taken to reach a destination. That is why when we tell someone that they can proceed, we are telling them that they can continue with what they had planned or with the actions that a certain method imposes.
However, and as we will see later, the meaning of procedure acquires new nuances depending on the specific area of knowledge in which we use this word.
Process and procedure
The difference between process and procedure can be subtle, since it is about two words that have the same etymological origin, but that with the passing of history ended up designating two very different things.
Like we have already said, by procedure we understand the method, the step by step that we must follow to do something properly; while by process we understand the entire operation of realization, in general, without emphasizing each stage Of the same.
This can be better understood with a simple example: imagine that someone is about to bake a fish to offer a dinner to his friends. That action itself is a culinary process: it takes a set amount of time, involves the chemical transformation of food, etc.
For this process to occur in the most appropriate way possible, without ruining the ingredients, it is best to follow a specific recipe, which details step by step what should be done, in what order and in what quantity. This recipe is precisely a culinary procedure.
A) Yes, Every procedure is necessarily part of a process, but there are processes for which there are no specific procedures. This is the case of someone who wants to bake the fish but does not have the recipe and does not even think of looking for one, but instead goes on the fly and improvises everything. In the end, in this way, you will have created your own procedure for the same culinary process.
Administrative Procedure
In public administration, the administrative procedure is called set of actions that must take place for an administrative act to take place.
These actions serve to increase the efficiency of public administration, since their purpose is to gather the relevant facts and legal bases necessary to make an informed decision, and at the same time they guarantee the citizen that the public administration will not act arbitrarily, but will do so by adhering to a procedure of public knowledge.
In other words, an administrative procedure consists of a series of steps through which the State bureaucracy resolves an issue or addresses an urgent matter, in accordance with the provisions of the rules governing public action. Logically, the steps of the administrative procedure serve to materialize a specific administrative process.
Procedure in law
For their part, law and legal sciences understand as a procedure the set of formalities that dictates the necessary protocol to appear before a judge. This means that to guarantee the correct and fair resolution of a dispute, specific and objective steps must be followed that constitute due procedure, and that are detailed in the laws and codes in this regard.
These procedures are respected both by the parties involved and by the judiciary itself, both in the areas of criminal, civil and contentious-administrative law, in each of which specific procedures are identified to deal with specific matters.
Procedure of a company
Companies may have their own procedures for dealing with internal situations that deserve it. In general, they are detailed in company policies and are regulated by labor laws. They contain the steps to specify certain processes, such as the sanction and dismissal of a worker, the hiring of a new one, the purchase of new productive inputs, and so on.
This is usually done by the different departments of the company (finance, sales, HR, etc.) and in turn generate their own forms of paperwork and bureaucracy.