Differences between Administration and Management

The two terms, administration and management are somewhat related because the two of them connote the leadership of a firm, organisation or government, but there is actually a great degree of differences between the two. Nwankwo (1987) defined administration as the careful and systematic arrangement and use of resources, situations and opportunities for the achievement of the specific objectives of a given organisation. Management on the other hand is the process of directing and managing these resources, situations and opportunities to make sure that the objectives set at the administrative level are achieved. From the above definitions, it can be assumed that, hierarchically, administration is above management. 

Administration is the science of determining the policies and objectives of an organization or a firm, where as management is the act of putting into practice the policies and objectives framed by the administration.

Also, administration determines the kind of goods or services that an organisation renders. Hence administration is a determinative function whereas management is executive function.  It is executive in the sense that it executes the objectives and policies that are already framed by the administration. 

Top level activity controls an administration where as middle level activity controls a management.  Administration comprises of top level personnel that have contributed to the capital, that are partners of the firm or the organization.  Management comprises of a group of skilled individuals that exhibit their skill in putting into practice the objectives of the organization.  In short it can be said that the management is directly under the control of administration or the administration controls the management.

Another distinction between administration and management that is noteworthy is that administrative handles the most vital aspect of an organization, namely, finance.  Administration organizes resources so as to use them to fulfill their mission.  Management does not handle the sensitive issue of finance but handles the method of operation to carry out the strategy of the administration.

Administration takes vital decisions of an organization whereas management is not authorized to take vital decisions of an organization but can take decisions within a certain framework, by the approval of the administration. For example, in an academic institution, the management in persons of the principal, vice principals, HODs and bursar may not be able to make decisions regarding the name of the school and colour of the uniform because these are decisions that are usually made by the school proprietor who is the administrator. However, they can make decisions on timetable and subject allocation. Sensitive decisions are made by the administration while less sensitive decisions are made by the management. 

Differences between Administration and Management

ADMIN: Administration, in most cases, represents the owners of the organization.

MGT: Management is usually a group of persons who are employees of the organization.

ADMIN: Administration takes all the important decisions of the organization.

MGT: Management makes decisions under the boundaries set by the administration.

ADMIN: Functions of administration include legislation and determination.

MGT: Functions of management are executive and  supervisory

ADMIN: Administration is mostly found in non-profit making enterprises such as government and military offices, religious organizations etc.

MGT: Management can be seen in the profit making organisations like private schools and other business enterprises. 

Where there are both administration and management, management becomes a subordinate to administration. 

ADMIN: Hierarchically, administration is above management. 

MGT: Hierarchically, management is below administration.  Management is a subset of administration. 

ADMIN: Administration is the determines the policies and objectives of an organization or a firm. 

MGT: Management puts into practice the policies and objectives framed by the administration.

ADMIN : Administration focuses on making the best possible utilization of the organization’s resources.

MGT: Management focuses on guiding and supervising people and their work. 

ADMIN: Administration is considered to be only high-level activity.

MGT: Management is an important activity of any business and operates even at a functional level.

ADMIN: Authority: Top level

MGT: Authority: mid or low level

ADMIN: Policies formulation 

MGT: Policies implementation