Administrative processes – Elements of the Administrative Process

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INTRODUCTION.

The administration is focused on achieving all the established objectives and to achieve this it does so through a structure through coordinated human effort and other resources. Administration processes have been established that are made up of planning, organization, direction and control which simplify the work by establishing principles, methods and procedures to achieve greater speed and effectiveness of the company.

  • Planning It is an initial process of business or an organization plan where business planning and strategies are been prepared.
  • Organization To distribute the work among members of the group and to establish and recognize the necessary relationships.
  • Control Physical activities to conform with the business plans.
  • Execution By the group to carry out the tasks required will and enthusiasm.

PLANNING.

Planning consists of setting the specific course of action that must arise, establishing the principles that will guide it, the sequence of operation for its realization.

Planning: it is the determination of the objectives and choice of the courses of action to achieve, based on the investigation and elaboration of a detailed scheme that will be carried out in the future.

IMPORTANCE OF PLANNING.

Planning is necessary to achieve specific goals or objectives obtained. It is necessary to plan to exercise control over the steps and resources to be used in the development of the company’s own operations. It is planned to weigh the results in the short, medium and long term, also to minimize risks, reduce costs and achieve a character of permanence of the company, that is, a character of durability over time.

STEPS OF PLANNING

  • Definition of the opportunity.
  • Establishment of objectives.
  • Development of premises.
  • identification of alternatives.
  • alternative comparison in light of desired goals.
  • Choice of an alternative.
  • Preparation of support plans.
  • Numerical expression of the plans through the budget.

TYPES OF PLANS

Objectives: are the ends towards which an activity is directed. Represents not only the final objective of planning but also towards which the organization is headed, the integration of personnel, direction and control.

Policies: policies are also plans in the sense that they constitute general statements or interpellations that guide or cause thought for decision-making, this is essential because it leads activities towards the ends and objectives.

Procedures: procedures are plans that establish a mandatory method to carry out future activities, they are time series of required action.

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF PLANNING

Advantage:

  • It requires activities with order and purpose.
  • It points out the need for future changes.
  • Answer questions.
  • Provide a basis for control.
  • Encourage fulfillment.
  • It forces the visualization of the whole.

Disadvantages:

  • Planning is limited by the accuracy of information and future events.
  • Planning costs a lot of money.
  • Planning has a psychological barrier.
  • Planning stifles initiative.
  • Planning delays actions.

ORGANIZATION.

It is the structure of the relationships that must exist between the functions, levels and activities of the material and human elements of a social organism, in order to achieve maximum efficiency within the stated plans and objectives.

Organization: is to group the activities necessary to achieve certain objectives, assign each group an administrator with the necessary authority to supervise and coordinate both horizontally and vertically the entire structure of the company.

IMPORTANCE OF THE ORGANIZATION.

It is of a continuous nature; It can never be said that it is over, since the company and its resources are subject to constant change, which obviously results in the need for changes in the organization.

  • It is a means through which the best way to achieve the objectives of the social group is established.
  • Provides the methods so that activities can be performed efficiently with minimal effort.
  • Avoid slowness and efficiency in activities, reducing costs and increasing productivity.
  • Reduce or eliminate duplication of efforts. defines roles and responsibilities.

ORGANIZATION PROCESSES

First, the structure has to reflect objectives and plans, because activities are derived from them. Second, it must reflect the authority available to the management of a company. Authority in an organization is the socially determined right to exercise judgment; as such it is subject to change.

Third, the structure of the organization, like any plan, must reflect its environment.

Fourth, since the organization is composed of a person, the groupings of activities and the authority relationships of an organizational structure must consider the limitations and customs of the people.

The organizing process consists of the following six steps:

  1. Establish the objectives of the company.
  2. Formulate objectives, policies and support plans.
  3. Identify and classify the activities necessary to achieve them.
  4. Group this activity according to the human and material resources available, and the best way to
    use them, according to the circumstances.
  5. Delegate to the head of each group the necessary authority to carry out the activities.
  6. Link groups horizontally and vertically, through authority relationships and
    information flows .

DIRECTION.

It is the interpersonal aspect of the administration that implies guides to the individuals that make up the organization so that they join their efforts so that they work effectively to achieve the objectives.

Direction: Process of influencing people to make them contribute to the organization’s objectives.

IMPORTANCE OF DIRECTION

The direction is transcendental because:

  • It sets in motion all the guidelines established during planning and organization.
  • Through it, the most desirable forms of behavior are achieved in those of the organizational structure.
  • Efficient management is determined by employee morale and consequently,
    productivity.
  • Its quality reflects the achievement of objectives, the implementation of organizational methods and the
    effectiveness of control systems.
  • Through it, a better work environment is sought to achieve better results.

ELEMENTS OF DIRECTION.

Staff motivation: Motivation is the most important work of the management, as well as the most complex, because through it the execution of the work tending to obtain the objectives is achieved, in accordance with the expected standards or patterns. There are multiple theories that exist in relation to motivation, but they can all be grouped into two major trends:

  • Content theories.
  • Learning theories or external focus.

Both types of theories have been of great importance in explaining organizational behavior, since through them the reason why employees are productive is described, or what drives their behavior, while providing valuable data to improve such behavior.

Content theories

They try to specify what drives the behavior; They are also known as theories of internal explanation; they have been the most widely disseminated, for this reason they are also called traditional theories; they explain behavior based on internal processes.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. It establishes that human nature possesses, in order of predominance, four basic needs and one for growth that are inherent to it:

  • Basics
  • Physiological. Those that arise from physical nature, such as the need for food, reproduction, etc.
  • Of security. The need not to feel threatened by the circumstances of the environment. Love or belonging. Desires for affective relationships with other people.
  • Estimation. The need for self-confidence, the desire for strength, achievement, competence and the need for the esteem of others, which manifests itself in the form of reputation, prestige, recognition, attention, importance, etc.

Theories of external focus

Also called learning or organizational behavior modification, they start from the position that observable behavior in organizations, as well as its consequences, are the key to explaining motivation; relate the effects of the environment on the behavior of individuals.

Use effective leadership: Leadership, or supervision, is of great importance for the company, since through it the necessary dynamics is printed on human resources, so that they achieve the objectives.

All the previously studied management stages converge in this function, and its importance lies in the fact that the following will depend on effective supervision:

  • The productivity of the staff to achieve the objectives.
  • The observance of communication.
  • The relationship between boss-subordinate.
  • Bug fixes.
  • The observance of the motivation and the formal framework of discipline.

Therefore, leadership is linked to supervision and, according to the various styles of leadership that exist in the company, the degree of efficiency and productivity within it will vary.

Maintain an excellent communication system: Communication is a key aspect in the management process.

Communication can be defined as the process through which information is transmitted and received in a social group.

The executive to implement his plans, needs effective communication systems; Any distorted information causes confusion and errors, which decrease the performance of the group and are detrimental to the achievement of the objectives.

Communication consists of three basic elements:

  • Issuer , where the information originates.
  • Transmitter , through which communication flows.
  • Receiver , who receives and must understand the information.

Any minimal failure in this communication network implies the misrepresentation of the information. In order to facilitate the understanding of the communication, its simplest classification will be mentioned:

  • Formal. That which originates in the formal structure of the organization and flows through the organizational channels.
  • Informal. It arises from informal groups in the organization and does not follow formal channels, although it can refer to the organization.

This type of communication is of great importance, since due to its non-formal nature it can influence more than formal communication and, even, go against it; the administrator should try to ensure that formal communication channels are supported by informal networks.

These two types of communication in turn can be:

  • Vertical. When it flows from a higher administrative level, to a lower one, or vice versa: complaints, reports, suggestions, orders, instructions.
  • Horizontal. It occurs at similar hierarchical levels: memoranda, circulars, meetings, etc. Verbal. It is transmitted orally.
  • Written Through written or graphic material.

Requirements of effective communication.

Good communication implies the existence of the following requirements:

  • Clarity. Communication must be clear; For this, the language in which it is expressed and the way of transmitting it must be accessible to whoever is addressed.
  • Integrity. Communication should serve as an integrating link between the members of the company, to achieve the maintenance of the cooperation necessary to achieve the objectives.
  • Taking advantage of the informal organization. Communication is more effective when the administration uses the informal organization to supply information channels of the formal organization.
  • Balance. Any administrative action plan must be accompanied by the communication plan for those who are affected.
  • Moderation. Communication must be strictly necessary and as concise as possible, since excess information can trigger bureaucracy and inefficiency.
  • Diffusion. Preferably, all formal communication of the company must be in writing and pass only through strictly necessary channels, avoiding excessive paperwork.
  • Evaluation. Communication systems and channels must be periodically reviewed and refined.

CONTROL

It is an administrative function that evaluates the performance applied if corrective measures are necessary, so that the performance takes place according to the plans.

Control: It is the measurement and correlation of performance in order to ensure that the objectives of the company are met.

IMPORTANCE OF CONTROL

Control is essential to bring a good performance of the objective to the goals that are pursued. This should never be considered as negative in character, since through this function the planned is achieved. Control should never be an obstacle or impediment, it is an administrative necessity.

CONTROL PROCESS

The basic control process no matter where you are or what you control, comprises three steps:

1) Establishment of standards: Because plans are the benchmarks against which managers establish controls, the first logical step in the control process would be to develop plans.

Standards are simple performance criteria, they are selected points in an entire planning program in which performance measurements are made so that managers can know how things are going, in such a way that they do not need to supervise each step of execution of the plans.

2) Performance measurement: although this type of measurement is not always practical, performance measurement with standards should ideally be done in advance, so that deviations are detected before they occur and avoided by means of appropriate actions.

If the standards are set appropriately and the means are found to determine exactly what subordinates do.

3) Correction of deviations: the standards should reflect the various positions in the organizational structure. If performance is measured accordingly, it is easier to correct for deviations.

Administrators know exactly where corrective measures have to be applied in assigning individual or group tasks.

Correction of deviations is the point at which control can be seen as a part of the complete management system and can be related to those of more administrative functions.

TYPES OF CONTROL

  • Preliminary check.
  • Concurrent control.
  • Feedback control.

CONTROL TECHNIQUES

  • Budget
  • Financial state
  • Breakeven

FACTORS TO CONTROL

  • Quantity
  • Weather
  • cost
  • Quality