I have studied a variety of articles and contexts in the management field as my favorite subject. In my opinion, one of the most interesting cases in this area is the difference between management and administration.
Comparatively, management and administration have been two argumentative terms in almost all management contents. Some professionals do not see any difference between them, while others think that administration and management are two different meanings. Both involve the basic operations of planning, organising, controlling and directing. The difference is mostly in their application, rather than the theoretical sense.
Moreover, we can see three considerable differences between them. First in their definition, second in their area of operation, and third regarding the key person (meaning what role each has in terms of responsibilities). Of course, there are other distinctions, but these stand out.
Let’s see the first major dissimilarity regarding their definitions. An organized way of managing people and the operations of a business is called Management. Management is defined as an act of managing people and their work for achieving a common goal in a business or an institution. On the other hand, administration is defined as a systematic process of directing the management of the business, or any other institution.
Furthermore, administration has to do with setting policies, procedures, objectives, and applying rules and regulations. It makes all the important decisions of the organization, whereas management refers to the execution of policies set by the administration. In other words, administration determines the organization, while management uses it. Administration defines the goals, management strives towards the goals.
In addition, they are also different in the area of operation. Management is a group of people who use their skills in running the system of the organization. It is a function, an activity, a discipline, a process and much more. Conversely, administration is also a group of individuals who are employees of the organization, which decide the terms of management and have full control over the activities of the organization.
In the management field, we talk about who will do the work, and how it will be done, whereas in the administration field we talk about when and what work should be done. Management is how you deal with people, and its communications are within the organization. In contrast, administration is to deal with paper work and communications outside the company. In short, management is doing, while administration is thinking.
Likewise, these two terms also differ in the key responsibility of the person. The manager has limited authority compared to the administrator, but he/she has more authority than regular employees do. In contrast, the administrator has more authority than the manager does, in particular if he/she is also an investor in the company.
Management manages employees, so it is closer to the employees. In contrast, administration manages the outside contacts and the whole facility. Therefore, it is above the management and licensing of an organization.
Also, a manager is the main person in charge of a group of people. An administrator is not necessarily in charge of a team of people, but generally he is in charge of making sure things work properly. Administration represents the owners of the organization. Sometimes their roles merge and the administrator acts as the manager as well, but in general, they are used in a different sense to indicate diverse responsibilities.
To summarize, we can see that these two terms are distinct from one another, each with a different set of functions. Both of these functions are essential in the progress of an organization. Management and administration are the guidance, leadership and control of an organization towards a common goal.
If a company or an organization wants to achieve objectives, it’s important to be able to establish a close relationship between these two parameters.
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