Educational Administration as a Process of Management

Four Functions of Management    

Planning is the first and base component of management. It involves recognizing the organization’s goals and developing strategies to achieve these goals. This is called strategy planning. These strategies may have to be altered or completely changed constantly based on the macro and micro factors affecting an organization. Thus planning is a constant process. Even though all planning involves the same kind of thought process, different types of plans are made for different functions of an organization. Examples of planning are strategic planning, marketing planning, business planning, succession planning, project planning, sales planning, etc.

Organizing

Organizing is an important responsibility of a manager. Unless a manager manages in an organized manner, no work will get done. A manager’s organizational responsibilities include organizing the resources of an organization, identifying different roles, choosing the right people for these roles, delegating tasks to people, etc. He also has to ensure that the employees have the required resources to perform their tasks better. Inefficient organization can lead to chaos in the company.

Leading

Even though many use the term managing and leading synonymously, nothing could be farther from the truth.  Simply managing tasks means making people do their jobs. But leading means influencing and inspiring people in such a way that they feel motivated to do their jobs. People find it easier to follow a leader. Following the orders of a manager is something that is done as a part of one’s job, but following a leader is something that is done more willingly by people. Thus, every manager must aim at becoming a good leader. A leader focuses on interpersonal relations with each employee and constantly motivates them to perform better. By creating a positive working environment a leader can effectively help improve the employees’ job performance and hence their morale.

Controlling

Controlling as the name suggests means controlling the various functions in the organization to ensure they are on track with the goals that were set at the beginning of the planning process. Controlling also involves setting certain performance standards for the employees and constantly evaluating their job performance. Sometimes the strategies and plans that were developed and implemented may not work out as initially planned due to certain external factors. Controlling and evaluating helps a manager recognize these failures and quickly implement corrective measures to bring the task back on track.
 
It involves evaluating the expected and actual job performance. This helps a manager recognize potential problems and take preventive measures against the consequences.
 
These four functions of management are very important for an organization and if done well can be the reason behind the success of the business.

2. Productivity: The essence of management is to produce. It is interesting to note that most of the enterprises whether private companies, government agencies, or educational institutions (either profit or non – profit oriented) are set up to produce either goods, product, people or services. The ultimate objective of a manager is to create surplus. In raw economic term, this is referred to as profit maximization. Management therefore would want to use people and materials very efficiently to achieve this goal.

3. General Application: Management applies to all kinds of organizations owing to the wide distribution of the enterprise which of course includes all kinds of organisations though goal might vary, materials used could be different and people within the organization may differ in age, sex, qualifications. Whatever the differences, the essence of management is to put them into efficient and effective use. Therefore, management as an organized body of knowledge provides clear insight as to how to apply management techniques to achieve organizational goals.

4. Applicable to all levels: Managements applies to all levels of organizational life. It is pertinent to observe that within each organization, there is a mapped out structure. The structure so to say depicts the organizational hierarchy. Both the structure and the hierarchy therefore depend on individual responsibilities and authorities to perform. The performance of these therefore, at any level requires management.
          Interestingly, not all groups believe that they need management, but it is undisputable that management is essential in all organized cooperation as well as at all levels of organization in an enterprise.

Meaning of Administration

          However, Campbell, Bridges & Nystrand (1984) said the main purpose of administration in any organization is that of coordinating the efforts of people towards the achievement of its goals. Peretomode (1991) defines administration as the performance of executive duties, the carrying out of policies or decisions to fulfill a purpose, and the controlling of the day-to-day running of an organization.

          From all the above, administration is a process and it is sometimes used synonymously with management. Beach (1975) corroborate the statement by saying that administration is a part of management which is concerned with the installation and carrying out of the procedures by which programs, plans and targets are laid down and communicated, and the progress of activities regulated and checked against them. Administration may be defined as a process of coordinating human and material resources in order to achieve organizational goals.

3.3 Meaning of Educational Administration

          The concept of educational administration may not be totally different from what we are familiar with in the concept of administration. Education at different levels has its objectives, the most important of the objectives that cut across all the levels of education is teaching and learning. It is the function of the school to produce educated and enlightened human beings who would be able to contribute positively to the development of the society. This formed the opinion of Olaniyi (2000) who describes school as a social institution which does not exist in a vacuum. He said further that a school is a micro-community, existing within a macro community to mould the habits, interest, attitudes and feelings of children and transmit from one generation to another. The school also comprises certain personnel i.e. teaching and non-teaching staff as well as the students. These human resources in the school work with some materials, such as instructional materials, equipment, and financial resources in order to achieve the objectives of the school.

          Administration is very germane to the realization of the school’s objectives – indeed, the success of the school system depends largely on the administration of the school it handled.

          Basically, educational administration implies the arrangement of the human and material resources and program available for education and carefully using them systematically for the achievement of educational objectives.

Functions of School Administrators

The function of the school administrators could be summarized as follows:

Educational administration and educational management

          According to Okumbe (1999), educational administration is a process of acquiring and allocating resources for the achievement of predetermined educational goals. Educational administration is the operation and management of learning institutions such as public schools, child care centers, colleges and universities. From small preschools to prestigious universities, educational administrators manage organizational structure, administrative processes and educational programming. Because it involves children, educational administration contains a wide range of ethical standards and customary practices.