FUNCTIONS OF ADMINISTRATION

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
 Organizing
 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.

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