Definition of General Administration: Elements, Characteristics, Functions, and Examples

Definition of General Administration –  Does Sinaumed’s know what administration is? Yep, administration is one activity that will definitely always exist in an organization. Even educational institutions in the form of schools also have an administrative system that is different from other schools.

However, this time we will not discuss school administration, but general administration. Actually, what is general administration? What is the role of this general administration for the survival of an organization?

So, so that Sinaumed’s can understand it, let’s look at the following review!

Definition of Administration

Administration is a form of business and activity related to setting policies in order to achieve organizational targets and goals. In this case, administration can be distinguished into two meanings conveyed by experts.

Administration in the Narrow Meaning

According to Handayaningrat, administration in a narrow sense comes from the word administratie, which includes the activities of taking notes, correspondence, light bookkeeping, typing, agendas, and so on which are administrative techniques. Meanwhile, according to Atmosudirjo, administration can be viewed from a narrow scope of work, which only revolves around office work such as writing, typing correspondence, agendas, filing, and bookkeeping.

Based on some of these opinions, it can be concluded that the narrow sense of administration is a form of activity with office administration which includes writing and other paper work.

Administration in a Broad Meaning

According to The Liang Gie, broadly administration is a series of activities carried out by a group of people in a work to achieve certain goals. Meanwhile, according to Siagian, administration is a process of cooperation between two or more people based on certain rationalities in order to achieve predetermined goals.

Thus, administration broadly can be interpreted as a process of cooperation between two or more people who have the goal of achieving targets by utilizing facilities and infrastructure in an efficient and effective manner.

An organization or company can stand and develop because of the support of resources and good management. Administration is part of the management of a company or organization which includes data collection and arrangement of matters relating to various aspects of the company or organization so that they can be optimized properly.

In everyday life, administration has many functions, both in the world of work and education. The existence of administration can help facilitate work that is both formal and non-formal. In managing data, administration makes management easier and more precise.

So we can conclude, administration has an important and crucial role in the series of organizational or company activities.

Important Matters from Understanding Administration

According to experts, there are several administrative notions that we need to know so that they can be put into practice and help smooth activities in organizations or companies.

According to George R. Terry, administration is an activity of planning, controlling and organizing office work and activating those who carry it out in order to achieve the goals that have been set. Meanwhile, Arthur Grager stated that administration is the administrative function of communication and letter services in an organization.

Not much different, Sondang P. Siagian interprets administration as any form of cooperation process between two or more individuals on the basis of selected rationality to achieve predetermined goals.

Ulbert Silalahi also stated that administration is the systematic preparation and recording of data/information both internally and externally as an effort to provide information and make it easier to retrieve it either in part or in whole.

William Leffingwell and Edwin Robinson explained that administration is a part of management science that is related to the efficient implementation of office work, when and where the work must be done.

Based on these various definitions of administration, we can draw 3 important things that can be used to help work processes in organizations or companies.

  1. Administration is an art as well as a conditional and situational process. Because, this will be related to the situation, time, condition, and place.
  2. There are certain elements, among which there are two or more people in it, there is cooperation between people that has a formal and hierarchical nature, there are tasks, have goals, and the availability of facilities and infrastructure.
  3. Administration will appear simultaneously with the emergence of human civilization, where administration has the goal of achieving the final result together.

Administrative Elements that Must Be Fulfilled

According to The Liang Gie, there are 8 elements that must be fulfilled in administration in order to create a positive function and impact on organizations and companies.

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1. Organization

Organization is a place where administrative activities are carried out. The people will gather into a vessel for the workers.

2. Management

Management is the main tool for carrying out administrative implementation. In this implementation there are several parts such as regulators, movers, managers, and operational personnel. Management is also divided into three groups, namely top management , and lower management .

3. Communication

Administration also regulates communication between departments with one another in an organization. For example by letter or newsletter. This is very important because it is to find out and clarify information circulating so that there is good communication between management, clients, and the administration itself.

4. Staffing

Staffing relates to the use of labor. The interrelated processes are acceptance, placement, utilization, and termination of work.

5. Finance

This relates to the financing of cooperation contracts, starting from how to obtain funds to their accountability. For example, administration of sales, purchases, contracts or leases, as well as sources of funds.

6. Supplies

There is a relationship related to the procurement of goods, deviations, and exclusions. The administration will sort out which items are needed for work activities.

7. Administration

Within the administration, there are activities that include recording, storing, and sending documents or data. This element is very important in administration because it is a source of information for organizations to make decisions.

8. Public Relations

Public relations or what is commonly called public relations is an effort to establish good relations with consumers and clients. The administration will create rules on how to relate to the public, especially to consumers.

Features of General Administration

Administration has several characteristics or characteristics that we can see as follows.

  • Administration has clear objectives.
  • There are human groups in administration consisting of two or more people.
  • Administration is always associated with cooperative activities.
  • There is a business or work process in administration.
  • The existence of a leader, mentor and supervisor in carrying out activities in the administration.

General Administration Functions

There are several administrative functions in general that we must pay attention to so that they can be implemented properly.

1. Planning / planning

Planning is an activity that requires an administrative activity, starting from data collection, data processing, to the planning process.

2. Organizing / preparation

Preparation is an activity of compiling and building work communication between members within the organization, so that it will achieve a business unitary for the goals of the organization.

3. Coordinating / coordinating

Coordination is a management function that carries out a number of activities or activities so that they run well, so that there is no chaos, activity vacancies, or clashes that are carried out by connecting, adjusting, and unifying the work of subordinates who work together in a planned manner in an effort to achieve a certain goal. organization goals.

4. Reporting / reports

A report is an activity or activity in the form of conveying the progress or results of an activity by making and providing reports on tasks and functions to higher officials, both in writing and orally to get an overview of the implementation of the tasks of members of the organization.

5. Budgeting / budget preparation

Budgeting is an activity of planning and managing finances and budgeting within an organization that is carried out on an ongoing basis.

6. Staffing / placement

Placement is an activity related to human resources and other resources within an organization, starting from the recruitment of workers, development, and equipment within the organization.

7. Directing / direction

Guidance or direction is an activity of interacting with members of the organization in the form of providing support, guidance, suggestions, orders so that tasks are carried out properly to achieve predetermined goals.

General Administration Purposes

Based on the various definitions, elements, characteristics, and functions that we already know, we can also know some of the goals of general administration as follows.

1. To compile a business program

Every organization needs information and data as a guide in preparing a superior work program. Information and data can be obtained through administrative activities. So administration must be carried out systematically so that the information and data needed can be found easily.

2. Evaluate organizational activities

With a good administrative system, it can help organizations to see various existing information and data. Through this information and data, organizations can evaluate each activity carried out.

3. Monitor administrative activities

Because administrative activities cover many things, their implementation must be carried out regularly and systematically. An organization can monitor how, when, what, where and why an activity is carried out if it has good administration.

4. Ensuring the security of business activities

Every organization or company requires security certainty in carrying out its business activities. Therefore, every organization needs good administration to monitor every activity, both from within and from outside the organization.

In addition to what has been mentioned above, administrative objectives can also be divided into 2, namely administration with long-term goals and administration with short-term goals.

Long-term goals with administrative patterns are aimed at achieving targets in an organization on a long-term basis, so that they are not made by just anyone in the organization but by the owners of the organization. The purpose of this administration is ideal, general, and unlimited qualifications.

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For smaller short-term goals, usually made by a divisional part of the organization for divisional scope policies. This objective is specific, has a small scope, and has limited qualifications.

Examples of Administrative Activities

There are several examples of administrative forms based on their types that we need to know.

  1. Population administration such as making Family Cards, ID Cards, Birth Certificates, Death Certificates, and others.
  2. Population administration such as making class schedules, managing correspondence, and managing school activities.
  3. Office administration such as taking care of employee attendance, making incoming and outgoing letters of goods, recording stock of goods, and others.
  4. Financial administration such as making financial accounting records, making invoices, making financial reports, and others.
  5. State administration such as the existence of rules for the formation of bodies and commissions in government, rules and procedures for public services, as well as presidential activities governing cabinet reshuffles .

General Administration Role

The role of administration can be said to be the Queen of Peace . Just imagine, surely commotion will continue to occur within an organization or company when the administration is not running properly. Administrators will later become liaisons in various departments, company partners, and consumers.

Thus, we can conclude that general administration has several roles, as follows.

  1. Support the implementation of the main tasks to achieve organizational goals.
  2. Provide information for officials or organizational leaders for decision making.
  3. Helping the smooth development of the organization as a whole because it is involved in handling documents which are sources of information.

Therefore, there are several fields that can handle specific matters, such as understanding the meaning of administration, improving the performance of office staff in terms of organizing and managing office administration in various fields. There is also someone in charge of issuing proper filing standards, developing and managing company assets, developing administrative procedures, controlling and planning administrative budgets, and making reports on company activities ranging from payroll to other shipping activities.

Although the main duties of administrators depend on the company, they will act as a bridge between management and employees.

The Principles of Organizing Public Administration

Before carrying out an activity, there are several principles of general administration that can be considered, as follows:

1. The principle of responsibility

All public administration administrators must indicate who is in charge.

2. The principle of security

All writings of organizations or companies have a certain level of security.

3. The principle of communication channels

Implementation of general administration should follow the administrative channels that have been determined, so that all processes can be completed quickly, pay attention to supervision, and control of results that can be accounted for.

4. The principle of accuracy

This principle is to support all activities and smooth administration quickly and on time.

Scope of General Administration

According to The Liang Gie, the scope of administration consists of information or information about a matter or event that is obtained mainly through reading or observation, such as collecting or searching and collecting detailed information or information with the aim that it can be used later if needed.

General administration is also in the scope of note-taking or typing. This is a follow-up activity of collecting data so that it can be stored, read, or sent. Furthermore, general administration is also related to the activity of managing or analyzing a form of existing administrative data to obtain results from the data collected.

General administration is also in charge of storing and securing documents or data in various ways, so that later they can be reused if needed. Finally, general administration is within the scope of activities to send or share files or data to other parties from within the organization or outside the organization.

How General Administration Works

The way the administration works will be closely related to the tasks of the administrative staff in a company. In general, the way administration works is as follows:

  1. Coordinate with secretaries or administrative staff from other divisions when there are joint meetings or other activities.
  2. Compile and collect documents.
  3. Prepare accommodation and tickets for work visit activities outside the office.
  4. Ensure supply of office stationery.
  5. Prepare and organize agendas for meetings and other office events.
  6. Opening, managing, and distributing incoming correspondence to the company either in the form of letters or e-mails.
  7. Prepare bills, reports, notes, letters, and other documents using data processing applications, databases, presentations, or worksheets.

In a company or organization, administration does not only have a function in correspondence. However, it has many functions ranging from planning, compiling, coordinating, making reports and compiling budgets to providing direction or guidance to members of the company or organization to achieve the goals that have been set.

So every company or organization should have good administration, including competent administration staff. Through proper management and administrative arrangements, it will make the company’s goals achieved easily. In addition, the company or organization will continue to exist and continue to experience development in tandem with the progress of the times and increasingly fierce competition.

It turns out that there are many roles and benefits of general administration that have been running in organizations or companies. If implemented properly, general administration can improve personal as well as team performance within an organization or company. If sinaumedia still needs references to understand general administration, you can visit sinaumedia’s collection of books at https://sinaumedia.com . As #FriendsWithoutLimits, sinaumedia will always provide the latest and best information.