A corporation’s chief administrative officer is a position in upper management or at the executive level. People in this position frequently collaborate with or report to the chief operations officer, who is in charge of the organization’s day-to-day operations. This position’s responsibilities can include overseeing finance, marketing or sales, human resources, technology, and other management functions. Because this is an executive management position, the organizational structure usually has a lot of direct reports reporting to it.
Most executive-level positions develop policies and work to improve an organization’s corporate governance. Tasks and activities frequently involve classified or company-specific information that is not available to others — both inside and outside the company. The chief administrative officer is in charge of keeping the chief executive officer and chief financial officer up to date on the company’s activities. The administrative officer will direct the company’s operations by selecting operating industries, creating new product divisions or mixes, creating marketing campaigns, and taking corrective action for internal and external problems with the help of these other individuals.
The planning, directing, and controlling of a firm’s resources are three common and overarching tasks for the chief administrative officer. Planning activities examine future changes in the business environment and how these changes will impact the company. The administrative officer will collaborate closely with the financial department to ensure that the company has the necessary funding in place for major operational changes, such as debt or equity funding or cash on hand.
The specific tasks for moving resources throughout the organization to achieve predetermined goals and objectives are referred to as directing activities. Large goals are frequently broken down into smaller, more manageable projects by the chief administrative officer. This creates an environment where directing resources is easier, as well as a staged environment where the company can focus more resources on a single project at a time. This prevents the company from overextending its resources and losing money on individual projects.
Controlling entails the tasks and activities that a chief administrative officer performs in order to assess the project and operational performance of their company. Financial or operational performance metrics, such as return on equity or employee output, are used to assess performance. When these controlling activities are performed frequently and early in a project’s lifecycle, they enable the administrative officer to make changes to the company’s operations before things spiral out of control and negatively impact the bottom line.