Difference between Administration and Management

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The use of these terms is controversial. There are some authors who believe that administration and management are the same thing and there is no difference between them while others believe they are different functions. Some of the issues discussed by different authors are:

Administration is different from management

In an enterprise, administration determines the overall objectives and policies while management plans, coordinates, and controls the activities involved in achieving the enterprise goals. Numerous other authors agree with Ordway, Oliver Sheldon, Florance, Lansburg, and Haimann as well because management involves executing and supervising whereas administration involves making decisions and formulating policy.

Administration is part of management

Management refers to the process whereby the program is laid out, communicated, and the progress of activities is regulated and checked against plans through the implementation and enactment of procedures. There are various authors and schools who accepted this concept, such as Brech, Kimball, and Kimball, along with Rickman and the European school.

Administration and management are one

According to John Newman, “Management or administration is the management, direction, and control of the efforts of individuals toward a common goal.” According to Henry Fayol, every undertaking requires the same functions and observes the same principles. Both terms are considered equivalent by other authors such as George Terry, Allen, Koontz and O’Donnell.

It has been debated for some time whether the terms management or administration can be used interchangeably. Although some writers do not see any difference between administration and management, others maintain that the two are distinct.
Among those who held management and administration distinct were Oliver Sheldon, Florence and Tead, Spriegel and Lansburg, etc. In their view, management is a lower-level function and primarily concerned with the execution of administrative policies.
Nevertheless, some English authors like Brech believe that management includes administration. There are three sections devoted to this debate: Management is concerned with implementing policies, while administration is concerned with determining them. Therefore, administration is a higher level function. Management is a general term that includes both administration and management.
Administration encompasses the development of corporate policy, the coordination of finance, production, and distribution, the setting of the organizational compass, and the ultimate control of the executive.Management is the process of carrying out policy within the limits set up by administration and of employing the organization in pursuit of the particular objectives before it.
Management employs the organization, administration determines it. Management strives towards the goals set by administration.it.
Management refers to the implementation of policies laid down by administration, while administration is concerned with policy making.
The administration of a business enterprise entails the determination of institutional goals and the necessary policies for achieving those goals.
Unlike administration, management is an executive function whose primary responsibility is to carry out broad policy directives established by administration.
Administration involves broad policy-making and management involves the execution of policies laid down by the administration.

	Basis	Administration	Management
1.	Meaning	Administration is concerned with the formulation of objectives, plans and policies of the organization.	Management means getting the work done through and with others.
2.	Nature of work	Administration relates to the decision-making. It is a thinking function.	Management refers to execution of decisions. It is a doing function.
3.	Decision Making	Administration determines what is to be done and when it is to be done.	Management decides who shall implement the administrative decisions.
4.	Status	Administration refers to higher levels of management.	Management is relevant at lower levels in the organization.
5.	Anatomy	It resembles draftsman.	It resembles the entire body of human being.
6.	Factors influencing decisions	Administrative decisions are influenced by external factors like public opinion, social, economical, religious and governmental factors.	Management decisions are influenced by values, beliefs and opinions of managers operating at different managerial levels.
7.	Objectives	It is pre-occupied with planning aspect of work and formulates overall goals and objectives, programmes policies and other plans.	It is mostly concerned with performance aspect of work and keeps itself busy for getting things done through others.
8.	Set-up	Administrative work is kept reserved by the top level executives for their own performances.	Managerial work is delegated to the middle and lower level executives.
9.	Managerial work is delegated to the middle and lower level executives.	Administrative staff includes Board of Directors or Chief Executive Officer (CEO) or Managing Director (MD) or President	Management includes various sectional heads viz., Production Managers, Sales Manager, Public Relation Officers etc.

Management is a social process of planning and controlling an organization’s operation in order to achieve its purpose or mission. The administration part of management consists of the installation and implementation of the procedures in which the programme is outlined and communicated, and the progress of activities is regulated and compared with the plans.
The term management is used for management functions in the business world, whereas the term administration is used for the same functions in the government world.
Administration involves setting objectives, establishing plans and policies, and ensuring that the goals are achieved. Management involves executing plans and policies to achieve the goals set by the administration. I think this distinction is too simplistic and superficial. We cannot say that chairmen, managing directors, and general managers perform only planning functions of goal determination, planning, and policy formulation, and no other functions such as staffing functions of selection and promotion, or directing functions of leadership, communication, and motivation. In addition, we cannot say that managers who are charged with executing plans and formulating plans and policies do not contribute to the administration of goal-setting, and formulating plans and policies.
In fact, all managers, whether they are the chief executive or the first line supervisor, are involved in some way or another in the performance of all managerial tasks. As it stands, those at the top of the organizational hierarchy are involved in determining goals, formulating plans and policies and organizing them to a greater extent than those at the bottom.

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Smirti

(Founder of Management Notes)
MBA,BBA.

I am Smirti Bam, an enthusiastic edu blogger with a passion for sharing insights into the dynamic world of business and management through this website.

I hold a MBA degree from Presidential Business School, Kathmandu, and a BBA degree with a specialization in Finance from Apex College,

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