FUNCTIONS OF ADMINISTRATION

This page was last updated on February 6, 2011

Introduction

 Management is creative problem solving.

 Management is a generic function that includes similar
basic tasks in every discipline and in every society.
 Management and administration sometimes appear to
be synonymous, but they are not synonymous terms.

Definition

 Management may be defined as the art of securing

maximum results with a minimum of effort so as to
secure maximum prosperity and happiness for both
employer and employee and give the public the best
possible service (John Mee, 1963)

Functions of management are:

 Planning
 Oorganizing
 Directing
 Coordinating and Controlling
 Reporting and Recording
 Budgeting

Planning

Planning means to decide in advance what is to be done. It

charts a course of actions for the future. It is an intellectual
process and it aims to achieve a coordinated and consistent set
of operations aimed at desired objectives.

Essentials of good planning

 Yields reasonable organizational objectives and

develops alternative approaches to meet these
objectives.
 Helps to eliminate or reduce the future uncertainty and
chance.
 Helps to gain economical operations.
 Lays the foundation for organizing.
 Facilitates co-ordination.
 Helps to facilitate control.
 Dictates those activities to which employers are
 directed.

Organizing

 Once the objectives have been established through

planning, management concern must turn to developing
an organization that is capable of carrying them out.
The management function of organizing can be defined
as ,”relating people and things to each other in such a
way that they are all combined and interrelated into a
unit capable of being directed toward the organizational
objectives.”
 Work activities required for the organizational
performance are separated through
o Horizontal differentiation (i.e.. Dividing the
organization into operational units for more
effective and efficient performance.)
o Vertical differentiation (i.e.. Establishes the
hierarchy and the number of levels in the
organization

The formal organization depends on two basic principles:

a) Responsibility: responsibility n an organization is divided

among available personnel by grouping the functions that are
similar in objectives and content. This should be done in a
manner that avoids overlaps and gaps as much as possible.
Responsibility may be continuing or it may be terminated by the
accomplishment of a single action.

b) Authority: when responsibility is given to a person, he must

also be given the authority to make commitments, use
resources and take the actions necessary to carry out his
responsibilities.

Staffing

 Staffing is the selection, training, motivating and

retaining of a personnel in the organization. Before
selection we have to make analysis of the particular
job, which is required in the organization., then comes
the selection of the personnel. It involves manpower
planning to have the right person in the right place and
avoid “square peg in the round hole”.
 Manpower planning involves the following steps.

1. Scrutiny of present personnel strength.

2. Anticipation of manpower needs.

3. Investigation of turnover of personnel.

4. Planning job requirements and job descriptions.

Directing

 Directing means the issuance of orders, assignments

and instructions that permit the subordinate to
understand what is expected of him, and the guidance
and overseeing of the subordinate so that he can
contribute effectively and efficiently to the attainment of
organizational objectives.
 Directing includes the following activities

 Giving orders
 Making supervision
 Leading
 Motivating
 Communicating

Giving orders: the central task in directing is giving orders.

The order is the technical means through which a subordinate
understands what is to be done. To facilitate this there are
certain characteristics of good orders which manager should be
aware of:

 The order should be clear, concise and

consistent to give sufficient information to
ensure understanding
 Order should be based on obvious demands of
a particular situation, it seems logical to the
subordinates and not just an arbitrary whim of
the manager.
 The tone of the order is very important. The
manner in which the manager delivers the order
has a great deal to do with its acceptance by
the subordinate.
 Whenever possible, the reason for the order
should be given. A subordinate will accept an
order more readily if he understands the need
for it.
 In some instances the manager uses delegation
of authority instead of issuance of orders for
avoiding too many specific orders.
 Supervision:

Supervision is the activity of the management that is concerned

with the training and discipline of the work force. It includes
follow up to assure the prompt and proper execution of orders.

Supervision is the art of overseeing, watching and directing

with authority, the work and behaviour of other.

 Leading:

Leadership is the ability to inspire and influence others to

contribute to the attainment of the objectives. Successful
leadership is the result of interaction between the leader and
his subordinates in a particular organizational situation.

There are number of styles of leadership that have been

identified such as autocratic, democratic participative
leadership.

The continuum of leadership styles, ranges from the completely

authoritarian situation with no subordinate participation to a
maximum degree of democratic leadership, enabling the
subordinate to participate in all phases of the decision making
process.

 Motivating:

Motivation refers to the way in which the needs (urges,

aspirations, desires) control, direct or explain the behaviour of
human beings. The manager must motivate, or cause, the
employee to follow directives.

 Communicating:

Communication is the passing of information and

understanding from a sender to receiver.

Communication is vital to the directing function of the

management, one way to visualise this importance is to view
the manager on one side of a barrier and the work group on the
other. Communication is the means the manager has of
reaching through the barrier to attain work group activity.

Coordinating

 It is the act of synchronising people and activities so

that they function smoothly in the attainment of
organization objectives. Coordination is more important
in the health services organization, because
functionally they are departmentalized. Different kinds
of organization require different amount of coordination.
 Basic approaches to coordination:

 Corrective co ordinations are those coordinative

activities that rectify the present error or correct
a dysfunction in the organization.
  Preventive coordination comprises those
coordinative activities that are aimed at
preventing the occurrence of anticipated
problems of coordination, or at least minimizing
the impact of these problems.
 Regulatory coordination comprises those
coordinative activities that are aimed at the
maintenance of existing structural and
functional arrangements in the organizations.
 Promotive coordination has those coordinative
activities that are aimed at attempting to
improve the articulation of the parts of the
organization, or to improve the existing
organizational arrangements without regard for
specific problems.

Controlling

 Controlling can be defined as the regulation of activities

in accordance with the requirements of plans.
 Steps of control:
o The control function, whether it is applied to
cash, medical care, employee morale or
anything else, involves four steps.

1. Establishments of standards.

2. Measuring performance

3. Comparing the actual results with the standards.

4. Correcting deviations from standards.

Reporting and recording

Reports are oral or written exchanges of information shared

between caregivers or workers in a number of ways. A report
summarizes the services of the person, personnel and of the
agency. Reports are written usually daily, weekly, monthly or
yearly.

Purposes of reporting:

 To show the kind and amount of services

rendered over a specified period.
 To illustrate progress in reaching goals.
 As an aid in studying health conditions.
 As an aid in planning.
 To interpret services to the public and to the
 other interested agencies.

Records and reports must be functional, accurate, complete,

current organized and confidential.

Budgeting

 Budgeting, though primarily recognized as a device for

controlling, becomes a major part of the planning
process in any organization. It is expressed in financial
terms and based on expected income and expenditure.
Budget is the heart of administrative management. It
served as a powerful tool of coordination and negatively
an effective device of eliminating duplicating and
wastage.

Features of budget:

 Should be flexible.
 Should be synthesis of past, present and future.
 Should be product of joint venture & cooperation of
executives/ department heads at different levels of
management.
 It should be in the form of statistical standard laid down
in specific numerical terms.
 It should have support of top management throughout
the period of its planning and supplementation

Conclusion

Managers address complex issues by planning, budgeting, and

setting target goals. They meet their goals by organizing,
staffing, controlling and problem solving. The nurse manager
can assist the staff to think strategically about what it is doing
and what it should be doing for its clients , for example, in
today’s world of cost containment, examining what clients pay
for the care they receive from the health care professionals.

References

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New Delhi: Jaypee brothers medical publishers (p) ltd;
2000.
2. Wise P S. Leading and managing in nursing. Ist edn.
Philadelphia: Mosby publications; 1995.
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international perspective. (Ist edn). New Delhi: Tata Mc
Graw Hill publishers; 2007.
4. Koontz H & Weihrich H. Management a global
 perspective. 1st edn. New Delhi: Tata Mc. Graw Hill
publishers;2001.
5. Anthony M K, Theresa S, JoAnn Glick, Martha Duffy
and Fran Paschall. Leadership and nurse retention, the
pivotal role of nurse managers. JONA. Vol 35, Mar
2005.
6. Beyers Marjorie. Nurse executives’ perspectives on
succession planning. JONA. Vol 36. June 2006.