【History of the Administration】 ➡️ 6 Relevant Stages and their Evolution

The administration history It is ancient and corresponds to man, from the use of reasoning, when the first cities were erected delimiting and establishing tasks, leadership, decisions, planning and actions were carried out aimed at achieving an individual objective and Social.

Throughout history, man has sought a way to satisfy his needs for food, clothing, housing, etc., reaching ways of organizing where each member has fulfilled tasks according to their talents of him.

For this reason, since primitive times, the need for organize, lead Y control, but focused differently by each society, using them according to their context and needs, conceiving the evolution in the forms of administration.

Definition of administration over time

When hearing the term administration, several ideas occur to us, however, it has been defined throughout history as a science, a career, a discipline and even as an art. Some world-recognized definitions are:

• Henry fayol: It is to visualize the future and outline a program of action. It is to foresee, command, organize, coordinate and control. See biography here.
• George R. Terry: Defines the administration as the selection and relation of facts, information and the use of assumptions in the formulation of activities considered necessary to achieve the expected results.
• Chiavenato: It is the process of organizing, planning, directing and controlling the proper use of resources to achieve the objectives of the organization.
• Robbins and Coulter: It is the coordination of all work activities, so that they are carried out efficiently.
• Koontz and Weihrich: Process of designing and maintaining an environment in which staff work in teams and meet specific goals effectively.
• Hitt, Black and Porter: Process by which sets of resources are structured and used and are oriented towards the achievement of goals, to fulfill the tasks and objectives of the organizational environment.
• Reinaldo O. Da silva: Set of activities based on the efficient and effective use of the company's resources in order to achieve its objectives or goals.
• Burt K. Scanlan: He sees it as a system that starts with the objectives (see more about the specific objectives Y general), to develop based on them politics, plans and procedures, supported by good communication to be able to adapt to possible changes.

History of business administration

The administration is innate, in prehistoric times it was used in the way of hunting, grouping, living, etc., even without recognizing what it was.

When the cultures arose, hierarchical systems, power divisions, economic and social that established certain guidelines of behavior and certain ways to carry out their procedures, thus achieving what they wanted, it is here where the doctrines of Aristotle and Confucius as pioneers of administration.

The middle Ages was exalted by the great variety of planned and organized conquests that were carried out with success and behind them the division of lands that shows a certain form of social organization known as feudalism.

In the same way, the merchants of Venice set the tone for the way they commercialized, reached other places and obtained more products and profits. Along with the accounting in Italy who already spoke of the need for control and recording in accounting books of economic activities.

Generating ideas, discoveries and machinery that would come to revolutionize the world, bringing with it the modern age, which replaced the artisan workshops with large industrialized factories.

Time after this industrialization Charles Babagge argued about the need for skills and tools that favor processes, giving rise to the departmental division, which in contrast to production caused the exploitation of the worker. The problems derived from this industrial activity led to the investigation of its causes and the birth of the Management as science.

Below you will be able to know the history of the administration with the most relevant facts through a timeline:

BC

To characterize the history of the administration, from the beginning of humanity human beings began to develop activities that gave rise to the administration of companies.

Primitive time

The beings that were in evolution, were grouped in groups to distribute the different tasks that allowed them to survive in difficult environments, since they were out in the open.

They chose among themselves the strongest person, who was the one in command. The rest were engaged in fishing, gathering food, and hunting. All this allowed to divide the work according to the sex of the person, the abilities and the age of the same.

Highlights

• In prehistory, the human being was at a notorious disadvantage, since by developing in a free environment and in the open, the animals proved to be stronger than them, so they had to organize to subsist.
• Hunting animals allowed them to eat and have shelter, and it was one of the best organized activities by prehistoric beings, since they used tools created by themselves.
• With the collection they learned to organize as a group and distribute functions, where each person had a specific task.
• They were all under the command of the strongest man, who was in charge of ensuring the proper functioning of the hunting, gathering and weighing tools, in addition to everything being developed in harmony and correctly.

Sumeria 5000 BC

This was a time of constant evolution, where writing already existed, which facilitated work and communication to the beings of that period. Hunting, gathering and fishing techniques were still being developed to survive.

The writing was a great find, this being the most important of the time and of all its evolution. They developed a writing by means of symbols.

Highlights

• In it, I appreciate economic and social diversity, where society was divided according to the wealth of each individual, group or family. This is something that is still taken into account today, and that has survived through the years.
• The family with the highest social rank ruled over the others, since this meant that a higher power broad in the economic plane, therefore, they were those who assigned the tasks of the population with less riches.
• The representatives of the Catholic religion were those who had the most control, since they managed the money paid by the population.
• Commerce began to develop as another method of work, which came thanks to writing.

The Egyptians 4000-2000 BC

At this time, a stronger economy began to develop, which was growing more day by day thanks to the good organization of the person in charge.

The population had to pay a tax, which was addressed to the highest representative, who was in charge of ensuring the prosperity of all his people.

The population was organized properly, since they did not have drinking water as a primary resource. necessity, the roads had not yet been developed, so everything was transported by the tracks fluvial.

Highlights

• The transportation of resources helped the growth of the economy, since they allowed it to generate more wealth through the sale of merchandise.
• They had a good public administration, whose representatives were in charge of dividing the tasks to further increase the economic wealth that was constantly growing.

The Hebrews 4000 BC

It was a very religious society, they lived in tribes and developed the departmentalization, which consists of forming work groups according to their functions, tasks and activities, all groups should have similar or related tasks.

It was based on a nomadic society, specialized in agriculture and livestock as a means of subsistence. The Hebrews travel long stretches in search of refuge, and they lived off informal trade, all around cattle ranching and agriculture.

Highlights

• They came to settle in Palestine, to dedicate themselves completely to the commerce of the merchandise coming from their work as farmers and ranchers.
• They believed in the ten commandments, which is why their lifestyle was directed primarily to faith.

Babylon 2000-1700 BC

In this period, the people already had a good, stable and successful political structure, which ensured justice, which was ruled by the courts. They had a king in command, who coordinated everything related to the judicial, executive and legislative power.

They worked in the same way as in previous periods, the king distributed the activities, but trade was the most valued activity.

Highlights

• They developed the Hummurabi code, which was the first set of laws. They were written by King Hummurabi, who took them from God Shamash, in order to promote prosperity and well-being in the population.
• They made the laws the most sacred of the period, in order for them to strengthen businesses and therefore the economy to grow.

China 500 BC

The most relevant character of this time was Confucius, who with his great mind solved the problems of the great leaders. He stressed that when someone is not able to organize internally, he is unable to organize and control others.

Chow's constitution was written, which dealt with the fundamental bases to run a good business, he says that before you govern, you must organize the same government in command.

Highlights

• The main idea of ​​the Chinese was that a good organization of a business depends on the person in charge.
• They were organized with respect to their economy, as they had good control over trade by being disciplined, organized and hardworking people.

Greece 500-200 BC

In this period there were great figures who contributed profound phrases regarding the administration. These characters were Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. They made critical thinking a solution to the problems that affect trade.

The Greeks developed the techniques of work, which was practically a set of laws or bases necessary for a business to prosper.

Highlights

• The thoughts of historical figures are part of today's study of business administration.
• They developed the universality of administration.

After Christ

All the techniques learned in the period before Christ continued to be used, and were gradually being modified by the new generations.

Romans 200 BC-400 AD

The Roman civilization has been the one that had the most influence throughout the administration history, forming the foundations of the career of the business Administration. They began to develop the manufacturing system that propelled the economy to steady growth.

They began to name these businesses as companies, classifying them into private, semi-public and public companies. With the appointment of the companies, they began to manage them according to what they learned regarding the organization, control and distribution of tasks.

Highlights

• Thoughts about stewardship formed the basis of what is now known as stewardship. companies, I feel this is the most influential and critical civilization regarding the economy and good administration.
• The good organization of the Romans resulted in one of the most stable and influential empires.

Middle Ages

Feudalism

The administration of the Middle Ages was characterized by the feudal system, which consisted of a single person having the power to administer and direct, where the economy was in his hands.

The feudal lord was in charge of collecting the taxes that the population had to give. The social structure was based on a king, the nobles, the clergy, the peasants and the bourgeoisie.

Highlights

• For the inhabitants of that time, a company was based on the sectors that produced the greatest wealth, such as the trade in materials and gold, agriculture and livestock. These companies were under the command of the king or the nobles, since most of the worked land belonged to them.

The Catholic Church

The Catholic Church has been the driving force behind large companies, where they manage it in their own way. His main agent was the one in charge of distributing wealth, administering, controlling the companies under his command, that is, he was based on a hierarchical administration.

Industrial Revolution

During the industrial Revolution all companies took a boom thanks to the invention of machinery and industries, whose instruments facilitated labor. In this period, the administration of the companies was based on the exploitation of workers and the lack of control on the part of managers, who wanted more wealth in exchange for bad work paid out.

Highlights

• It was a time of great discoveries that have been models of today's companies.
• The companies were managed by the same owners or managers who today are called managers.

Twentieth century

At that time it was the administration boom, since several schools dedicated to the study of it were opened, where they learned how to achieve the financial success of a company. The parents of these schools are Henri Fayol and Frederick Winslow, who created a good foundation for a good organization with respect to workers.

Administration according to Winslow

• Organization of work: distribute the tasks according to the capacity of the person.
• Selection and training of personnel: educate workers to give 100% of their potential.

Administration according to Fayol

• Division of labor: organize workers for better production results.
• Discipline: A disciplined boss creates disciplined workers.
• Remuneration: the worker's pay must satisfy him so that all his potential is focused on the work to be done.

XXI century

In the history of the administration there have been strong companies that have remained over the years thanks to the good administration, where they not only manage the economic resources, but also the workers, who are the drivers of the success of the company.

Currently, companies have new technologies that allow better administration in terms of financial information, company registration and purchase and sale. It also facilitates communications between workers, jobs and different sectors of the company.

Administration as science

• Taylor, father of scientific administration, made proposals based on the organization of work, use of standard tools, division by departments, teaching workers, specifying 4 principles that revolutionized work and the way of administration of the time. See more in the early Taylor administration.
• Henry Fayol, focused on the general structure of the company especially in the upper levels, I postulate 6 basic functions for administration and the administrative principles by which large companies are still governed.
• Frank B. Gilbreth, instituted the system of basic movements "Therbling" analyzing the times and movements and professionalization as a discipline.
• Henry Lawrence devised the homework bonus wage system.
• Elton Mayo, defending human relations, established the need to humanize and democratize the administration. He set changes in schedules, breaks, and teamwork.

Administration currently

The modern administration focuses on current economic areas in favor of society, seeking development favorable to tactics that are applied in business, social, educational, political and religious contexts.

Every organization should be under the direction of a manager, who carries out the tasks of planning, organization, direction and control, promoting the teamwork in order to achieve business objectives.

You may also be interested in these contents:

• Origin of administration
• Origin of capitalism
• Historical background of the administration