A: WHAT IS ADMINISTRATION First definition: Administration can be defined as the activities of groups cooperating to accomplish common goals.

There are particular key elements of administration. Cooperative: the word cooperative is the first key element in this definition. Human activity is cooperative if it has the effects that would be absent if the cooperation did not take place.

Group Activity: Administration includes activities of more than one individual. The term cooperative is defined in terms of the results of the human activity. When two men together roll a stone which neither of them could roll alone they are cooperating. Thus the essence of administration is the utilization of cooperative action for the accomplishment of common goals. Without the formulation of an objective or goal, no one within the group would know what to do and they would not get involved in any activity. When someone determines the objective and the group is formed, than the group members will start to think about what they can do for the accomplishment of that objective. Second Definition: In another definition, administration is defined as an activity or process mainly concerned with the means for carrying out prescribed ends. -- Here, again in this definition the accomplishment of a specific goal is an important element of the administration. -- This definition indicates that administration is mainly concerned with the means that are necessary for the accomplishment of predetermined goals.

 It seems that a new element is introduced, that is the concept of means. Means: The means are the ways by which something is done or obtained A division of labor is necessary among the members of the group to accomplish a common goal. There is also a need for an authority structure to control and coordinate the activities of the individuals involved. ** division of labor and authority structure are means (among others) for carrying out prescribed ends. Cooperation and any other method is also a means used in the administration. Any new definition of administration may introduce some other elements or concepts but in essence they would be concerned with cooperative activity in the accomplishment of desired goals. Third definition: According to Waldo, for example, Administration is a type of cooperative human effort that has a huge degree of rationality. Here, rational action is introduced as a new element of administration but still cooperation is accepted as a necessary element of administration. -- In Waldos definition, rational action is defined as actions correctly calculated to realize the given desired goals with minimum loss to the realization of other desired goals. B: What is Organization? 1) Amitai Etzioni defines organization as social units (or human groupings) deliberately constructed and reconstructed to seek specific goals. This definition implies that the basic elements of organizations are individuals. Thus the first key element of organization refers to the grouping of individuals.

 The second element of organization is that they are intentionally constructed for accomplishing specific objectives. The third element is the concept of goals. Organizations are established for the accomplishment of certain goals. 2) Scott developed another definition organizations arguing that they are collectivities that have been established for the pursuit of relatively specific objectives on a more or less continuous basis. -- Here organization is defined as a social unit composed of individuals, a unit which is created for the pursuit of certain objectives. 3) According to Pfiffner and Presthus organization is the structuring of individuals and functions into productive relationship. In this definition, again, the basic element of organization is individuals. An organization is defined as a grouping of individuals. It is obvious that there are common elements in the definitions of different scholars regarding the concept of organization. These common elements are a grouping of individuals, deliberate establishment or construction, and the accomplishment of specific goals. == Ministries, corporations, universities, hospitals, schools, political parties, prisons, associations, etc. Are organizations in this sense. == When the term organization is used we will refer to formal organization C: Characteristics of Formal Organization The most prominent characteristic of organizations is the conscious deliberate human effort to establish and operate them for the accomplishment of pre-determined goals. -- In other words, organizations are deliberately created by human decisions for the purpose of accomplishing predetermined goals. -- the goal may change from one organization to another.

 Another important feature of formal organizations is the structured relations among its members. -- Organizations are established for accomplishing specific objectives and these objectives are accomplished through the efforts and contributions of a number of people who are members of that organization. -- The relations among the individuals have to be structured or planned in a way which will facilitate goal accomplishment. you need an organization to accomplish desired goals because you have to relate the individuals to each other and coordinate their activities. Without relating the members of the group to each other, without planning their activities it is not possible to accomplish the common objectives. without organization there will be chaos. In this sense, in formal organizations, the relations among the members are structured, their activities as members of the organization are ordered. In other words, the relations among the members are orderly and members of the organization perform specific roles within the organization according to pre-determined rules and regulations. Another important characteristic of formal organization is that their members are selected on the basis of their individual qualifications. -- Since each organization has predetermined, specific goals to accomplish and accomplishment of goals requires a variety of activities, the individuals who contribute their physical and mental activities have to be selected by taking into consideration the activities necessary for goal accomplishment. The formal organization will use money and other material resources to accomplish their objectives. Therefore another characteristic of formal organization is the use of money and

other material resources in accordance with the goals of the organization. A final characteristic of formal organization is that the interactions of the organization with its environment is regulated to the extend required by the nature of its goals. D. ORGANIZATION AS SYSTEM In its broadest sense, the concept of organization is almost synonymous with that of system. in this understanding, the concept of organization refers to any situation where there are a number of elements which are bound together and stand in some relation to one another. * Organization as a system has the following characteristics: 1. there are a number of elements 2. these elements of a system are interrelated among themselves in an orderly or ordered manner. -- this means that their relationship is not chaotic or completely random. -- there is some kind of pattern in these relationships so that a change in one element of the system leads to predictable changes in other elements. 3. A system may be related to some other systems or be a part of some larger systems. *Comments on the terms of organization and administration The concepts of administration and organization are closely related to each other. The objective of both organization and administration is the control of human and other resources in the accomplishment of predetermined objectives. organization and administration exist together, they are not separable. -- If organization is regarded as structure then administration becomes a process.

-- If organization is concerned with the formal aspects of administration, administration is the directing process carried on within the organizational setting. ** The terms administration and management, are generally used synonymously meaning the same thing. --But the term management is generally identified with private sector organizations. -- the termadministration, on the other hand, is used with reference to public organizations. -- Managing a private organization is completely different from administering a public organization. -- Public or private organizations are social units established for accomplishing predetermined objectives. -- in accomplishing their objectives organizations both employ the very same techniques and processes. In this sense administration is a universal phenomenon. -- But this does not necessarily mean that there are no differences between public and private organizations with regard to their administration.