readings in administration

ad·min·is·tra·tion

/ədˌminəˈstrāSH(ə)n/ noun

noun: administration; noun: admin.; plural noun: administrations

1. the process or activity of running a business, organization, or non-profit
organization, so that it remains stable and continues to grow.

2. the people responsible for this, regarded collectively.
3. the management of public affairs; government.

The administration of a business includes :
 the performance or management of business operations
 decision making
 the efficient organization of people and other resources to direct activities toward
common goals and objectives.

Management in businesses and organizations is the function that coordinates the efforts
of people to accomplish goals and objectives by using available resources efficiently
and effectively. Management includes planning, organizing, staffing, leading or
directing, and controlling an organization to accomplish the goal.

Information is key to business operations, and people are the resources who make use of
information to add value to an organization. This means that companies will struggle
without some type of administration management.

What is Administrative Management?

Administrative management is the process of managing information through people.
This usually involves performing the storage and distribution of information to those
within an organization.

All managers, and many other professionals, carry out some component of
administrative management in their roles. Anyone involved in the planning, co-
coordinating, directing, or controlling aspects of a business can be considered an
administrative manager.

Leaders, leadership and management

A leader steps up in times of crisis, and is able to think and act creatively in difficult
situations.

Leadership

1. The individuals who are the leaders in an organization, regarded collectively.
2. The activity of leading a group of people or an organization or the ability to do

this.
3. The act of inspiring subordinates to perform and engage in achieving a goal.

Unlike management, leadership cannot be taught, although it may be learned and
enhanced through coaching or mentoring. Someone with great leadership skills today is
Bill Gates who, despite early failures, with continued passion and innovation has driven
Microsoft and the software industry to success.

Leadership involves:

1. establishing a clear vision.
2. sharing that vision with others so that they will follow willingly.
3. providing information, knowledge and methods to realize that vision.
4. coordinating and balancing the conflicting interests of all members.

Leadership vs. Management

What is the difference between management and leadership?

The biggest difference between managers and leaders is the way they motivate the
people who work or follow them, and this sets the tone for most other aspects of what
they do.

Many people, by the way, are both. They have management jobs, but they realize that
you cannot buy hearts, especially to follow them down a difficult path, and so act as
leaders too.

Managers Leaders

Managers have subordinates Leaders have followers

Authoritarian, transactional style Charismatic, transformational style

Managers have a position of authority vested in Telling people what to do does not inspire them to
them by the company, and their subordinates follow you. You have to appeal to them, showing
work for them and largely do as they are told. how following you will lead them to their hearts'
Management style is transactional desire. They must want to follow you enough to
stop what they are doing and perhaps walk into
Transactional style danger and situations that they would not
People are motivated by reward and punishment. normally consider risking.
Social systems work best with a clear chain of
command. Charisma
When people have agreed to do a job, a part of Charm and grace
the deal is that they cede all authority to their
manager. Transformational style
The prime purpose of a subordinate is to do what
their manager tells them to do. People will follow a person who inspires them.
A person with vision and passion can achieve
Work focus great things.
Managers are paid to get things done (they are The way to get things done is by injecting
subordinates too), often within tight constraints enthusiasm and energy.
of time and money. They thus naturally pass on People focus
this work focus to their subordinates. Although many leaders have a charismatic style to
some extent, this does not require a loud
They tend to be relatively risk-averse and they personality. They are always good with people,
seek to avoid conflict where possible. In terms of and quiet styles that give credit to others (and
people, they generally like to run a 'happy ship'. takes blame on themselves) are very effective at
creating the loyalty that great leaders engender.
Although leaders are good with people, this does
not mean they are friendly with them. In order to
keep the mystique of leadership, they often retain
a degree of separation and aloofness.
This does not mean that leaders do not pay
attention to tasks - in fact they are often very
achievement-focused. What they do realize,
however, is the importance of enthusing others to
work towards their vision.
When pursuing their vision, they consider it
natural to encounter problems and hurdles that
must be overcome along the way. They are thus
comfortable with risk and will see routes that
others avoid as potential opportunities for
advantage and will happily break rules in order to
get things done.

Characteristics of leadership

Communication/listening
Communication is identified as the most critical leadership skill. The ability to listen,
read body language, ask questions, provide feedback, and generate effective two-way
communication builds trust and can prevent performance problems down the road. In
addition, the ability to comfortably use a variety of communication styles in order to
articulate goals and objectives paves the way for healthy working relationships at every
level within an organization. Providing relevant information allows employees to
participate fully in their work.

Effective management skills
Many respondents felt that the second most critical skill a leader could possess when
working with others is to develop others by applying the appropriate leadership style
based on the individual’s skills, needs, and performance. This means taking a situational
approach to leadership. In addition, respondents stated that the most effective leaders
acted as a model for the behaviors they were seeking and also as a coach for both
individuals and teams.

Emotional Intelligence and empathy
Another significant and critical skill leaders can possess is the ability to put the needs,
issues, and concerns of their people ahead of their own. The ability to empathize,
understand, build rapport, show concern, encourage, engage, and connect with direct
reports is key. Valuing others, focusing on individual uniqueness, and preserving an
individual’s dignity provides an environment of empowerment.

Values and integrity
In order to inspire and lead others, a leader must possess tremendous honesty and
integrity, and be a role model who leads by example. Leaders with a strong sense of
character and humility have a sense for doing the right thing because it is the right thing,
not because they expect something in return.

Vision
Leaders must have a sense of the big picture and the ability to communicate and
mobilize people around a shared vision. Being able to translate the vision and goals into
the language of each person and then cascading that into their everyday job is seen as a
critical skill. Collective movement toward a shared vision motivates and inspires people
to communicate.

Empowerment
As one respondent put it, “The ‘follow-me’ era is passé.” Today’s leaders need to put
their people first, translate the vision, and empower their people to achieve it by
providing the knowledge, skills, and the opportunity to perform. Involving others and
encouraging them to take ownership instills a sense of pride that can unleash
performance and productivity.

Autocratic leadership

Also known as authoritarian leadership, is a leadership style characterized by
individual control over all decisions and little input from group members. Autocratic
leaders typically make choices based on their own ideas and judgments and rarely
accept advice from followers.

Characteristics of Autocratic Leadership

 Little or no input from group members
 Leaders make the decisions
 Group leaders dictate all the work methods and processes
 Group members are rarely trusted with decisions or important tasks

Benefits of Autocratic Leadership

Autocratic leadership can be beneficial in some instances, such as when decisions need
to be made quickly without consulting with a large group of people. Some projects
require strong leadership in order to get things accomplished quickly and efficiently.

Downsides of Autocratic Leadership

While autocratic leadership can be beneficial at times, there are also many instances
where this leadership style can be problematic. People who abuse an autocratic
leadership style are often viewed as bossy, controlling, and dictatorial, which can lead to
resentment among group members.
Because autocratic leaders make decisions without consulting the group, people in the
group may dislike that they are unable to contribute ideas.

Democratic leadership

Also known as participative leadership, is a type of leadership style in which members
of the group take a more participative role in the decision-making process.

Everyone is given the opportunity to participate, ideas are exchanged freely, and
discussion is encouraged. While the democratic process tends to focus on group equality
and the free flow of ideas, the lead of the group is still there to offer guidance and
control.

The democratic leader is charged with deciding who is in the group and who gets to
contribute to the decisions that are made.

Characteristics of Democratic Leadership

 Group members are encouraged to share ideas and opinions, even though the
leader retains the final say over decisions.

 Members of the group feel more engaged in the process.
 Creativity is encouraged and rewarded.
 Strong democratic leaders inspire trust among followers. They are sincere and

base their decisions on their morals and values.
 Followers tend to feel inspired to take action and contribute to the group.
 Good leaders also tend to seek out diverse opinions and do not try to silence

dissenting voices or those that offer a less popular point of view.

Benefits of Democratic Leadership

Because group members are encouraged to share their thoughts, democratic leadership
can leader to better ideas and more creative solutions to problems. Group members also
feel more involved and committed to projects, making them more likely to care about
the end results. Research on leadership styles has also shown that democratic leadership
leads to higher productivity among group members.

Downsides of Democratic Leadership

While democratic leadership has been described as the most effective leadership style, it
does have some potential downsides. In situations where roles are unclear or time is of
the essence, democratic leadership can lead to communication failures and uncompleted
projects.

In some cases, group members may not have the necessary knowledge or expertise to
make quality contributions to the decision-making process.

Delegative leadership

Also known as Laissez-faire leadership, is a type of leadership style in which leaders
are hands-off and allow group members to make the decisions.

Characteristics of Laissez-Faire Leadership

 Very little guidance from leaders
 Complete freedom for followers to make decisions
 Leaders provide the tools and resources needed
 Group members are expected to solve problems on their own.

Benefits of Laissez-Faire Leadership

Laissez-faire leadership can be effective in situations where group members are highly
skilled, motivated, and capable of working on their own. Since these group member are
experts and have the knowledge and skills to work independently, they are capable of
accomplishing tasks with very little guidance.

Downsides of Laissez-Faire Leadership

 Not ideal in situations where group members lack the knowledge or experience
they need to complete tasks and make decisions.

 Some people are not good at setting their own deadlines, managing their own
projects, and solving problems on their own. In such situations, projects can go
off-track and deadlines can be missed when team members do not get enough
guidance or feedback from leaders.

 Laissez-faire leaders are uninvolved and withdrawn, which can lead to a lack of
cohesiveness within the group. Since the leader seems unconcerned with what is
happening, followers sometimes pick up on this and express less care and concern
for the project.

English Readings in
Administration

Lecturer:
Rose A. Janada
First Term 1436/1437