What is the Difference Between Administration and Management?

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The main difference between administration and management lies in their roles and functions within an organization. Here are the key distinctions between the two:

  1. Meaning: Management is the process of strategically planning, organizing resources, coordinating efforts, directing activities, and maintaining control within an organization to achieve its intended goals and objectives. Administration involves overseeing an organization's day-to-day operations, ensuring they run smoothly by implementing policies and decisions set by management.
  2. Focus: Management is primarily concerned with planning, organizing, directing, and controlling resources to achieve organizational goals. Administration focuses on establishing policies, rules, and regulations that guide the actions of employees and ensure organizational efficiency.
  3. Authority: Management is an activity of business and functional level, whereas administration is a high-level activity. Management involves the implementation of policies created through effective administration.
  4. Function: Management is an executive function, meaning it focuses on managing people and their work. Administration, on the other hand, is a legislative function, meaning it is responsible for formulating plans and policies that guide the actions of employees within the organization.
  5. Tasks: Managers are responsible for making decisions on actionable items that will help in achieving organizational goals, while administrators are responsible for the administration of the organization and for ensuring that its day-to-day operations run smoothly.

In summary, while both management and administration are essential for an organization's success, they serve different purposes and have distinct roles and functions. Management is more focused on planning, organizing, and controlling resources, while administration is more focused on establishing policies, rules, and regulations that guide employee actions and ensure organizational efficiency.

Comparative Table: Administration vs Management

Here is a table outlining the key differences between administration and management:

Administration Management
Top-level activity Business and functional level activity
Concerned with policy formulation Concerned with policy implementation
Administrators implement policies, procedures, and rules established by management Managers working at micro and macro levels to ensure smooth workflow
Focuses on the broader organizational structure and decision-making processes Focuses on the day-to-day operations and managing people
Skills required: organization, coordination, implementation Skills required: leadership, problem-solving, decision-making

In summary, administration and management are two distinct roles within an organization, with administration focusing on the broader organizational structure and decision-making processes, while management is concerned with the day-to-day operations and managing people. Both roles are crucial to the success of an organization and require different skills and expertise.