Answer:
Although the terms ‘Administration’ and ‘Management’ may appear to be similar, they are actually different. In our daily conversation we use the two terms interchangeably. Administration is concerned with laying down suitable policies for the whole concern whereas management will simply execute these.
Administrators are the owners of the business. Managers, on the other hand, are the salaried employees of the concern. The basic difference between administration and management is highlighted by means of a popular diagram which is given above.
The differences between Administration and Management may be tabulated as shown below :
| S. No. | ADMINISTRATION | MANAGEMENT |
| 1. | All policy decisions are made by the administration. | It is concerned with the implementation of the polices. Certain routine decisions may be made by the managers on less important matters. |
| 2. | Administrators are the owners of the concern. | Managers are the paid employees of the concern. |
| 3. | Administration is basically interested in results, i.e., profitability, sales, future prospects and so on. | Managers actually work for the remuneration they get. They direct their efforts towards the attainment of the goal set by the administration. |
| 4. | Administrators do not take part in the daily activities of the concern. | The managers are responsible to the administrators on the daily work done in the concern. |
| 5. | The decisions made by the administrators are influenced by the availability of capital, Government regulations and such other factors. | The managers are empowered to take decisions only on routine matters. They are usually guided by opinions, values and beliefs in making decisions. They also act based on precedents. i.e., past happenings. |
| 6. | Administration is almost a permanent body. No major change, therefore, takes place in it. | Management is not a static body. Managers may resign, retire or may even be removed from service. |
| 7. | It is a top-level function. | It is a lower-level function. |
