The administrator is a natural person whose function is the direction, control, organization and planning in an organization both private and public or in a company. They guide the use of financial, physical, technological and human resources, seeking solutions for all kinds of administrative problems.
When it comes to running a business, we immediately think of a barrage of activities that must be carried out in order for the business to thrive sustainably in the long term. But, in practice, is this really so? What will be the functions of the administrator? What do you need to do for a business to create value for customers and owners, in addition to meeting the demands of society?
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To make it easier to understand what these functions are, there is a model called PODC.
- P: plan
- O: organization
- D: address
- C: control
The order of these functions is also important, as it determines the cycle that is always created to coordinate activities within an organization. For those who want to know more details about how this model came about and what each of these functions represents, we tell you all the details now.
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In this article you will find:
What is an administrator?
In practice, regardless of our education or role, we are all, at some point, "Administrators", whether in the management of our business, as employees of organizations or in the management of personal life.
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They guide the use of financial, physical, technological and human resources, seeking solutions for all kinds of administrative problems. It creates methods, plans activities, organizes the functioning of the different sectors of an organization, calculates expenses and values the perfect flow of information and guidelines.
In the business world, the business administrator is the professional responsible for making decisions and leading corporate strategies.
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It involves planning, organizing, directing and controlling actions in the most varied business areas, including the management of financial, technological, human and material resources.
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It is easy to see that these administrator functions in the PODC model perfectly match what is done in the daily work of these professionals.
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But how did this definition of functions come about? Henri Fayol was the first person to identify elements or functions of the administrator. It all started with his classic book, published in 1916, Administration Industrielle et Generale (Industrial and general administration).
Fayol was the managing director of a large French coal mining company. He based his book on his experiences as a management practitioner at this company. At that time, he defined five management functions that became known as POC3 or even POCCC. They were:
- Planning
- Organization
- Command
- Coordination
- Control
He argued that these functions were universal: all managers perform them in the course of their work in any type of market. But with the passage of time and the appearance of new technologies, new authors have updated the concept of administrator functions. They went from 5 to just 4. This is because it was understood that the coordination and command functions could be represented, in fact, by only one aspect, which is management.
Now, let's get to know the details of the PODC.
Administrator main roles and responsibilities
1. Planning
Planning, in terms of the operation of a company, involves actions such as:
- Forecast of future conditions
- Definition of new objectives
- Creation of methodologies to achieve these objectives
This means that someone in the manager's position must be good at making decisions. And in practice, planning is a multi-step process. Planners must begin by knowing the situation of their company, especially the most critical ones facing the organization.
During his studies, Fayol also recognized that effective planning must take into account unexpected incidents that may arise, and not just stick to rigid and inflexible plans. In practice, there are different types of planning, which can be:
- Strategic planning
- Tactical planning
- Operational planning
2. Organization
The focus of the organizing function can be listed in key points such as:
- Structuring of activities
- Orientation to relationships within the company
- Recruitment
- Evaluation and team building
The organization is the role of the administration that involves the development of an organizational structure and the allocation of resources to ensure that objectives are achieved. This organizational structure is usually represented by an organization chart.
This provides a graphical view of the chain of actions within the company. That is why decisions that are made about the structure of an organization are often called organizational design decisions.
3. Address
Create a standard and direction for all company activities. This is one of the main functions of the administrator, being a necessary component for all the others. Leading can have the same sense of leadership. With this, the leader helps the other components of the company to achieve their goals.
It has a broader vision and, therefore, can coordinate efforts so that everyone works together, with the same north. But, in addition, effective leadership requires the manager to motivate employees and communicate effectively. If this direction is done right, everyone will be excited to achieve all the goals.
4. Control
Among the functions of the administrator, that of control has a fundamental role: to make everything happen within the parameters and principles that have been defined. The purpose of the control is precisely identify direction deviations, already thinking of plans to change this scenario when necessary. Therefore, we can also say that the control consists of three steps:
- Establishment of performance standards
- Comparison of actual performance with standards
- Taking corrective actions when necessary
Performance monitoring used to be expressed in monetary terms, such as revenue, cost, or profit. But today, it can also be expressed, in other terms, such as the level of customer service and consumer satisfaction, for example. To do this, you need to create a series of performance indicators.
But beware: this function should not be confused with control in the behavioral or manipulative sense of personalities or emotions. Rather, it refers to the role of taking the necessary actions to ensure that work-related activities are consistent and contribute to the achievement of goals.
