The Differences Between

Administraton and Management

Definitions
Management: the act or skill of directing and
organizing the work of a company or organization;
the people who are in charge of a company or
organization; the act or skill of dealing with a
situation that needs to be controlled in some way.
Administration: all activities that are involved in
managing and organizing the affairs of a company
or institution; the government of a country at a
particular time.
Eight categories of characteristics

objectives
success criteria
resource use
decision making
structure
roles
attitudes
Objectives
Management
Stated as broad
strategic aims
Supported by more
detailed short-term
goals and targets
reviewed frequently
Administration
Stated in general terms
and reviewed or
changed infrequently
Success Criteria
Management
Success seeking
Performance mostly
measurable
Administration
Mistake avoiding
Performance difficult
to measure
Ressource Use
Management
Primary task
Administration
Secondary task
Decision Making
Management
Many decisions
Decisions affect few
Decisions must be
made quickly
Administration
Few decisions
Decisions affect many
Decisions take time to
be made
Structure
Management
Short hierarchies
Maximum delegation
Administration
Roles defined in terms
of areas of responsibi-
lity
Longer hierarchies
Limited delegation
Roles
Management
Protagonist
Administration
Arbitrator
Attitudes
Management
Active: seeking to influence ther environment,
best people used to find and exploit opportunities
Time sensitive
Risk accepting but minimizing it
Emphasis on results
Doing the right things
Local experiments; need for conformity to be
proved
Independence


Administration

Passive: workload determined outside the system,
best people used to solve problems
Time insensitive
Risk avoiding
Emphasis on procedure
Doing things right
Conformity
Uniformity

Skills
Management
Numeracy
statistics
figures
Administration
Literacy
reports
notes
Conclusion
Management is about directing, improving,
innovating in order to reach the organizations
goal of profit-maximizing
Administration is about analyzing reports,
correcting mistakes and solving problems in order
to reach the same goal
A company, an organization or an institution
needs both. It must not only keep things going; it
must also m13ake things go: a distinction which
represents a succint, yet valid, definition of the
difference between administration and
management.
Bibliography
Longman Web Dictionary
Rees, D. Skills of Management ,Thomson
Learning. London: 2001
Mintzberg, H. The Strategy Process,
Prentice Hall. New Jersey:1992
Marshall, P. Dynamics of Diplomacy,
Diplomatic Academy of London. London:
1990