Administration: Science, Art or Technique? A Reflective Look at the Epistemological Status of the Administration

Abstract

The study of the administrative work of man has raised the statement of different epistemic perspectives exclusive of each other. This perspective coincides with delineating the organization as a central element of the discipline and, administrative processes as an exclusive object of study; disagreeing on the way of understanding the nature of the organization as of the administrative action, and, therefore, in the methods used for its investigative approach. This article is the result of a reflective experience given from a critical perspective with nuances of complexity that, are based on a documentary review of the main theoretical approaches of administration. It traces the notion of administration and its epistemological status, considering a series of features of administration, which are considered epistemic obstacles. Finally, the article pretends to represent administration as a theoretical-practical systemic epistemological framework that admits the complexity of the administrative phenomenon as science, art, and technique.