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Key Differences

Know the Differences & Comparisons

Difference Between Management and Administration

Last updated on February 26, 2021 by Surbhi S

Management Vs AdministrationSimply put, management can be understood as the skill of getting the work done from others. It is not exactly same as administration, which alludes to a process of effectively administering the entire organization. The most important point that differs management from the administration is that the former is concerned with directing or guiding the operations of the organization, whereas the latter stresses on laying down the policies and establishing the objectives of the organization.

Broadly speaking, management takes into account the directing and controlling functions of the organization, whereas administration is related to planning and organizing function.

With the passage of time, the distinction between these two terms is getting blurred, as management includes planning, policy formulation, and implementation as well, thus covering the functions of administration. In this article, you will find all the substantial differences between management and administration.

Content: Management Vs Administration

  1. Comparison Chart
  2. Definition
  3. Key Differences
  4. Conclusion

Comparison Chart

Basis for ComparisonManagementAdministration
MeaningAn organized way of managing people and things of a business organization is called the Management.The process of administering an organization by a group of people is known as the Administration.
AuthorityMiddle and Lower LevelTop level
RoleExecutiveDecisive
Concerned withPolicy ImplementationPolicy Formulation
Area of operationIt works under administration.It has full control over the activities of the organization.
Applicable to Profit making organizations, i.e. business organizations.Government offices, military, clubs, business enterprises, hospitals, religious and educational organizations.
DecidesWho will do the work? And How will it be done?What should be done? And When is should be done?
WorkPutting plans and policies into actions.Formulation of plans, framing policies and setting objectives
Focus onManaging workMaking best possible allocation of limited resources.
Key personManagerAdministrator
RepresentsEmployees, who work for remunerationOwners, who get a return on the capital invested by them.
FunctionExecutive and GoverningLegislative and Determinative

Definition of Management

Management is defined as an act of managing people and their work, for achieving a common goal by using the organization’s resources. It creates an environment under which the manager and his subordinates can work together for the attainment of group objective. It is a group of people who use their skills and talent in running the complete system of the organization. It is an activity, a function, a process, a discipline and much more.

Planning, organizing, leading, motivating, controlling, coordination and decision making are the major activities performed by the management. Management brings together 5M’s of the organization, i.e. Men, Material, Machines, Methods, and Money. It is a result oriented activity, which focuses on achieving the desired output.

Difference Between Management and Administration

Video: What is Management?

Definition of Administration

The administration is a systematic process of administering the management of a business organization, an educational institution like school or college, government office or any nonprofit organization. The main function of administration is the formation of plans, policies, and procedures, setting up of goals and objectives, enforcing rules and regulations, etc.

Administration lays down the fundamental framework of an organization, within which the management of the organization functions.

The nature of administration is bureaucratic. It is a broader term as it involves forecasting, planning, organizing and decision-making functions at the highest level of the enterprise. Administration represents the top layer of the management hierarchy of the organization. These top level authorities are the either owners or business partners who invest their capital in starting the business. They get their returns in the form of profits or as a dividend.

Key Differences Between Management and Administration

The major differences between management and administration are given below:

  1. Management is a systematic way of managing people and things within the organization. The administration is defined as an act of administering the whole organization by a group of people.
  2. Management is an activity of business and functional level, whereas Administration is a high-level activity.
  3. While management focuses on policy implementation, policy formulation is performed by the administration.
  4. Functions of administration include legislation and determination. Conversely, functions of management are executive and governing.
  5. Administration takes all the important decisions of the organization while management makes decisions under the boundaries set by the administration.
  6. A group of persons, who are employees of the organization is collectively known as management. On the other hand, administration represents the owners of the organization.
  7. Management can be seen in the profit making organization like business enterprises. Conversely, the Administration is found in government and military offices, clubs, hospitals, religious organizations and all the non-profit making enterprises.
  8. Management is all about plans and actions, but the administration is concerned with framing policies and setting objectives.
  9. Management plays an executive role in the organization. Unlike administration, whose role is decisive in nature.
  10. The manager looks after the management of the organization, whereas administrator is responsible for the administration of the organization.
  11. Management focuses on managing people and their work. On the other hand, administration focuses on making the best possible utilization of the organization’s resources.

Conclusion

Theoretically, it can be said that both are different terms, but practically, you will find that the terms are more or less same. You would have noticed that a manager performs both administrative and functional activities. Although the managers who are working on the topmost level are said to be the part of administration whereas the managers working on the middle or lower level represents management. So, we can say that administration is above management.

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Comments

  1. aanu daniels says

    January 27, 2016 at 5:42 pm

    This is the deal…. it, like explains it all… thanks………… really

    Reply
    • John Martha Imemine says

      August 25, 2021 at 4:32 pm

      This was very helpful because it is well explained. Thanks

      Reply
    • Alfred Apei says

      February 18, 2022 at 5:55 pm

      Too important and helpful

      Kind regards

      Reply
      • An laziz says

        August 17, 2022 at 11:23 am

        That’s good very interesting

        Reply
  2. jahangir says

    May 29, 2016 at 12:51 pm

    fine

    Reply
  3. Ashitha Yejju says

    June 11, 2016 at 2:16 pm

    the description was very elaborate, It was helpful.

    Reply
    • Ernest Masalu says

      February 2, 2021 at 2:01 pm

      Good ideal

      Reply
  4. Bankole Damilola says

    July 26, 2016 at 8:32 pm

    This is great!……. Very resourceful

    Reply
    • Kaosara Ajoke says

      November 20, 2019 at 8:22 pm

      This is educative….. Very explanatory.

      Reply
    • Sawai Charan says

      August 30, 2022 at 11:31 am

      Very useful

      Reply
  5. MBERI says

    August 31, 2016 at 3:02 pm

    COMPREHENSIVE

    Reply
  6. sumbul shah says

    September 28, 2016 at 12:15 pm

    Its really very helpful.

    Reply
  7. Simon says

    November 15, 2016 at 2:04 pm

    this is well elaborated

    Reply
    • Babagana Modu FGC MAID says

      August 25, 2019 at 4:36 pm

      detailed and wonderful explanations

      Reply
  8. Pratik Pattnaik says

    December 19, 2016 at 2:02 pm

    best explanation so far… complete dissection thanks

    Reply
    • Surbhi S says

      December 19, 2016 at 2:08 pm

      Thank you, all of you for your support and appreciation.

      Reply
  9. SHAH SAUD JAN says

    February 1, 2017 at 2:03 pm

    full explanation comparison and conclusion is more understandable thank you

    Reply
  10. deepak says

    March 24, 2017 at 4:24 pm

    Very well explained.
    Thanks

    Reply
  11. Jidda Aminu says

    April 17, 2017 at 10:27 pm

    The description was very elaborate, It was helpful.

    Reply
  12. Saleema says

    April 24, 2017 at 11:36 am

    Best definition
    But, Are POSDCORB elements of the administration?

    Reply
    • Surbhi S says

      April 24, 2017 at 11:47 am

      POSDCORB stands for Planning, Organizing, Staffing, Directing, Coordinating, Reporting and Budgeting, which determines the functional responsibilities of chief executive officer and it is an element of Management and Administration.

      Reply
      • soubhagya says

        February 18, 2020 at 12:37 pm

        yes these are just common tools/technique for both management and administration which are followed in executing the task

        Reply
  13. Eyka SN says

    June 10, 2017 at 11:43 am

    This is what I was looking for. thank you very much <3

    Reply
  14. FAZAL WAHID JADOON says

    July 3, 2017 at 12:05 am

    Both the Definition and Comparison of Management and Administration was really very very comprehensive and analytical one. I have really gain a lot from it.
    Thanx a lot.
    FAZAL WAHID JADOON

    Reply
  15. Phathutshedzo B Mulaudzi says

    July 6, 2017 at 2:36 pm

    Very resourceful, comprehensible and helpful

    Reply
  16. Mohammed Aleemuddin says

    August 7, 2017 at 5:57 pm

    Much appreciated.! vey well explained.
    Thanks for the information.

    Reply
  17. Maryam says

    September 14, 2017 at 5:13 pm

    Wow, this is an intelligent explanation. It was so helpful to me, well explained. I found the real information in your write up. You’re a genius. I really do appreciate. May GOD continue to improve your wisdom. GOD Bless you.

    Reply
    • Surbhi S says

      September 15, 2017 at 10:03 am

      Thanks for your appreciation and blessings as well.

      Reply
  18. JD says

    September 21, 2017 at 12:35 pm

    This article is very useful. Thanks for sharing this, I’ve learned a lot.

    Reply
  19. R. Rahbar says

    October 2, 2017 at 4:50 pm

    nicely explained

    Reply
  20. DKanimba says

    October 4, 2017 at 11:40 am

    Well understood, thanks

    Reply
  21. Nirmal Kumar Ghosh says

    October 23, 2017 at 5:41 pm

    it is a praise worthy explanation and which is easily understood and remembered by all.

    Reply
  22. Oye Prasanth says

    November 3, 2017 at 5:34 pm

    It was helpful

    Reply
  23. Iddrisu says

    November 13, 2017 at 1:00 pm

    Thanks, am very happy with your explanation…

    Reply
  24. Mohammed Mahdi says

    November 26, 2017 at 8:52 pm

    This very nice comprehensive explanation.Please if I would like to make use of part of this paper how I could cite ?? With best regards

    Reply
    • Surbhi S says

      November 27, 2017 at 9:41 am

      “Difference Between Management and Administration” keydifferences.com < http://keydifferences.com/difference-between-management-and-administration.html >

      Reply
  25. Giriraj Shrivastava, Raipur (C.G.) says

    November 29, 2017 at 9:17 am

    Thanks, I am very happy with your explanation…

    Reply
  26. Maggie says

    January 3, 2018 at 3:52 pm

    Thank you…. Well elaborated.

    Reply
  27. GRACE says

    January 20, 2018 at 12:10 am

    FABULOUS

    Reply
  28. adekjp says

    March 28, 2018 at 4:20 am

    Simple, clear, easy to understand, Brilliant, Awesome!

    Reply
  29. eugene martinez says

    March 30, 2018 at 4:33 am

    administration is about capacity, management is all about capability….

    Reply
  30. Dee says

    April 7, 2018 at 6:17 am

    Thank you. Now I know what my Administrative Degree in accounting covers. I totally see myself in a different light.

    Reply
  31. Ali says

    April 23, 2018 at 4:37 pm

    Hi all
    it’s very useful to be here
    I like the differences
    so I would like to ask if I quote some words from here as a script for Radio program …is it ok
    please confirm

    Reply
    • Surbhi S says

      April 24, 2018 at 9:46 am

      Yeah sure

      Reply
  32. Ochan Jackson O says

    April 25, 2018 at 9:53 am

    This is a well researched work.
    Thank you for the hard work. It is quite useful.
    O. Jackson

    Reply
  33. Gloria says

    May 20, 2018 at 6:33 pm

    I am a starter and this is very helpful and explains every details. Thanks

    Reply
  34. Mohammed says

    July 9, 2018 at 4:50 pm

    Great!

    Reply
  35. James Tannor says

    July 20, 2018 at 4:24 am

    Good and well elaborated difference. Thumbs up!!

    Reply
  36. Abiodun Jenmi says

    August 6, 2018 at 10:56 pm

    Explicit!

    Reply
  37. Bhavana says

    August 24, 2018 at 9:50 pm

    I want a example related to recent company’s . Can you please help me .

    Reply
  38. Makeshwar singh says

    August 28, 2018 at 3:38 am

    Very good explanation.

    Reply
    • Twesige moses says

      February 16, 2021 at 3:03 pm

      This is so wow
      Thanks alot

      Reply
  39. Suveksh kumar Malik says

    September 6, 2018 at 8:26 am

    This is very new explanation that explore a genuine difference between administration and management.

    Reply
  40. Alfred Makani says

    September 12, 2018 at 1:53 pm

    Ably explained.

    Reply
  41. Ahad Ahmed Choudhury A says

    September 16, 2018 at 1:00 am

    Good elaboration so easy to understand

    Reply
  42. Harendra says

    September 23, 2018 at 9:10 am

    POCDCORB and POCCC related to management or administration ?

    Reply
    • Surbhi S says

      September 24, 2018 at 9:40 am

      POSDCORB means Planning, Organizing, Staffing, Directing, Coordinating, Reporting and Budgeting, while POCCC stands for Planning, Organizing, Commanding, Coordinating and Controlling

      Reply
  43. Mohamed Elgammal says

    September 29, 2018 at 2:32 pm

    Good explanations

    Reply
  44. Trav says

    October 9, 2018 at 10:07 pm

    Good

    Reply
  45. Seyi Bale says

    October 13, 2018 at 3:54 pm

    This is impressive! Thank you.

    Reply
  46. musa Abdi says

    December 27, 2018 at 2:16 pm

    please try to make easy access to download this important and useful concept of administration and management to enable us to be successful in terms of managing organizations and companies thank you

    Reply
  47. Izazuddin says

    January 11, 2019 at 10:10 am

    Gr8 work

    Reply
  48. Jovinary katalaiya Eustace says

    February 13, 2019 at 9:51 pm

    Thanks for this explanations, so am aware about this! Good work

    Reply
  49. Nasib says

    February 18, 2019 at 8:46 pm

    So helpful thank you may God bless you all

    Reply
  50. renu singh says

    May 27, 2019 at 11:02 am

    this is really helpful for my study thank you so much for sharing this

    Reply
  51. Martha. M says

    May 30, 2019 at 10:26 pm

    Everything I was looking for on one page, thank you this really helped

    Reply
  52. Harry says

    June 5, 2019 at 9:03 pm

    Hi, i am looking for a clear information about the difference between medical administrator and Primary health organisation manager? . If you could site some examples for each. Thank you very much..

    Reply
  53. Edwin Ngwawe says

    June 23, 2019 at 3:47 pm

    Helpful

    Reply
  54. Maxwell says

    July 10, 2019 at 3:33 pm

    Well elaborated but I need a keyword that differentiates administration from management

    Reply
  55. gawola esther says

    August 28, 2019 at 11:49 am

    so educative i loved it

    Reply
  56. Tingai says

    September 15, 2019 at 1:38 pm

    A very nice source. Thank you for this good explanation.

    Reply
  57. Vikash Kumar says

    October 10, 2019 at 8:18 pm

    Hey there!
    Good Day
    Good and amazing article, i loved it. I found this article very informative and the clarity of the article is amazing. Thanks a million and please keep up the enjoyable work.

    Reply
  58. Natalia says

    January 16, 2020 at 5:48 am

    This is what I was looking !! Thank you so much

    Reply
  59. Marco says

    June 7, 2020 at 9:35 pm

    By having a clear understanding of these two concepts the persons understand why “leadership” became part of the standard model.

    Reply
  60. perceptconsulting says

    July 29, 2020 at 12:06 pm

    Thanks for sharing such an informative blog

    Reply
  61. Dryford Chimutu says

    October 21, 2020 at 5:00 am

    Well intended effort. I found this quite useful. Management and administration, though often thought of as one and the same term, they are microscopically different – so to say. Hence, having someone to get us to know such a hard-to-detect difference is a rare opportunity. Thank you for this entry.

    Reply
  62. Ruach .J says

    December 10, 2020 at 3:02 pm

    Well elaborated

    Reply
  63. Irene Senkoro says

    December 16, 2020 at 1:15 am

    Thank you so much, Very usefully for learning purpose.

    Reply
  64. Elizer M says

    December 28, 2020 at 6:01 pm

    This is a very informative article.

    One needs to really think and meditate through the differences because the divergent is very minimal.

    Reply
  65. Ola says

    March 20, 2021 at 12:28 am

    Helpful

    Reply
  66. NWIYUU DEEKARA FAMOUS says

    April 28, 2021 at 11:12 pm

    This information is very very Correct and understandable

    Reply
  67. ally hemed says

    May 3, 2021 at 4:55 pm

    Good sources

    Reply
  68. ssalongo george sebanenya says

    May 7, 2021 at 11:53 pm

    wa-awo

    this was very
    helpful…..
    good ….
    well set…..

    words are not enough to express the beauty and selection of words….

    Reply
  69. Lebogang says

    June 13, 2021 at 4:15 pm

    👍🏿
    Nice & Cool Stuff

    Reply
  70. R V Ramarao says

    June 15, 2021 at 6:22 pm

    Nice explanation. Thank you

    Reply
  71. Nsa Itam says

    June 20, 2021 at 11:18 am

    so helpful

    Reply
  72. Andy Denge Numambo says

    September 5, 2021 at 11:59 am

    This is really genius. I was well thought with your explanations. May God fill you with good thoughts and blessed your carrier.

    Reply
  73. Lat Wal Gai says

    October 5, 2021 at 3:01 am

    The difference is clear but some of the universities’ definitions differ from this.

    Reply
  74. Collen Mabena says

    October 5, 2021 at 4:08 pm

    Well articulated and easily comprehended. I am studying Management in Library and Information Services. Relevant content for research.

    Thank you!!!

    Reply
  75. Arun Chakravarty says

    December 10, 2021 at 11:43 am

    I am very excited to read this article. I love to keep sharing such information. I love to read this blog.

    Reply
  76. george mandell says

    December 16, 2021 at 8:40 pm

    Thanks for sharing, it’s really comprehensive keep going.

    Reply
  77. Kings Gamedze says

    January 22, 2022 at 9:29 pm

    wow! such a clear distinction!

    Reply
  78. workaya hussein says

    March 3, 2022 at 1:45 am

    I am too much interested by your explanation give for the between management and administration

    Reply
  79. Naresh says

    October 3, 2022 at 5:54 pm

    Thanks for sharing the informative article, I really like this post.

    Reply
  80. Doreen Chandiru says

    November 9, 2022 at 11:38 pm

    Wow, very easy to understand…

    Reply
  81. Siad says

    January 30, 2023 at 11:27 am

    Thank you

    Reply

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