It is common to get confused between the term administration and management as both terms are referred to controlling or managing an organization. But there are considerable differences between both of them.
In this article, you will learn what management and administration are and what are the key differences between both of them.
Table of Contents
What is management?
Management can be defined as an art of managing people and getting work done from them. The main objective of management is to achieve the common goal of the organization by making the use of skills of employees of the organization.
Management is usually seen in a business organization or profit-making organization. There are different departments in an organization, and it is difficult for a single individual to handle and coordinate the activities of all the departments.
Therefore, each department has a manager who is responsible for the results of that department. For example, the manager of the sales department will be answerable for the drop in the sales of the last quarter.
Management in an organization works at three levels, such as top-level management, middle-level management, and low-level management.
Top-level management
The top-level management of an organization is also called administrative level management. The role of top-level management is to take an important decision about the organization, making plans and policies for the organization.
The members of the top-level organization are usually the owners or the shareholders of the organization. The top-level management consists of the president, vice president, CEO, COO, CFO, and board of directors. The top-level management in the face of the organization in the market.
They not only plan and prepare policies but also control the activities of employees in the organization. Top-level management hires the people for middle-level management and gives instructions to them regarding the annual budget, policies, schedules, and procedures, etc.
In addition to this, all important decisions like upgradation in the technology, expansion of business, or buying any fixed assets are taken by the members of top-level management.
Middle-level management
The second level of management is called middle-level management. It is called middle-level management because middle-level management is responsible for establishing communication between both top-level and lower-level management.
The employees of middle-level management are referred to as an as executory level of management. They take instruction from the top level of management and pass them to a low level of management. The members of the middle level of management are branch manager and departmental level etc.
The executives of the middle level of management manage and control the employees of the low level of management and are answerable for the performance of their respective departments.
They evaluate the performance of employees and prepare a report of their performance and present them to top-level management.
The executives of the middle level of management play an important role in the recruitment of employees of the organization. In addition to this, they make sure that their department works in coordination with the other departments of the organization.
Low-level of management
The last level of management is known as a low level of management. The managers of a low level of management are also referred to as first-line managers.
The first-line managers are responsible for handling a team of employees of a particular department of an organization. This level of managers spends most of their time with employees and give instructions to them and help them in finding the solutions to problems.
They make sure that all the material, machinery, and tools are available for employees, and they are treated fairly in the organization. Low level of employees reports to the middle-level employees.
What is administration?
The administration is the upper level of management. An administrator controls a manager, not vice versa. The top-level of management is also known as administrative management.
The administration is a process of administrating the activities or organization and to prepare rules and policies for it. The members of administration consist of people who get the return on the investment, such as the owner of the organization or the shareholders of the organization.
The administration is usually seen in the organization like educational institutes, hospitals, and non-profit making organizations.
The people in the administration don’t work on remuneration and work using conceptual and human skills, and they make the use of their skills to take an important decision about the organization. The forecast, plan, invest and give instructions to the lower levels of management.
The key difference between Management and administration
| Management | Administration |
|---|---|
| Management is an art of getting work done by the other by giving them directions or orders in order to achieve a pre-determined goal. | The administration is a process of administrating an organization and planning and formulating objectives and policies for the organization. |
| The management works at executive level. | The management works at executive level. |
| The management has a middle level and lower level authority. | The administration has top-level authority. |
| The management of an organization works under the administration. | The administration of an organization has full control over the activities and policies of an organization. |
| The skills required for management are technical and human skills. | The skills required for administration are conceptual and human skills. |
| The management of an organization is concerned with the implementation of the policies. | The administration of an organization is concerned with the formulation of the policies. |
| The management of an organization take decisions like who should do the work? Or how a work should be done? | The administration of an organization takes decisions like what should be done? And when it should be done? |
| The management is usually seen in business or profit-making organizations like hotels, restaurants, etc. | The administration is applicable in organizations like educational organization, government offices, religious organizations, government offices, hospitals, business enterprises, and military clubs etc. |
| The focus of management is on managing the work in the best possible way. | The focus of the administration is on the allocation of resources available to the organization. |
| The key person in management is a manager. | The key person in administration is an administrator. |
| Management is usually done by the people hired by the organization on remuneration. | The administration consists of people who owns the organization and the people who get the return on the investment. |
| The function of management is governing and executing. | The function of administration is determinative and legislative. |
In conclusion, the administration is basically the top level of management. The top layer of the organization holds power and the right to take the all-important decision about the organization.
Therefore, we can say that in theory, both management and administration are different, but in practice, there is not much difference between the activities and the role of the administrator and top-level manager.
