Procedure | Meaning & Concept [Explained]

We explain what a procedure is and its relationship with processes. In addition, procedure in administration, law and in a company.

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What is a procedure?

In general terms, the word procedure means the method through which certain specific actions are carried out, which are part of the same process . That is, it is about the way in which we proceed to do something, the specific step-by-step way in which we perform an action.

The origin of this word goes back to Latin, since it is the result of the union of the voices pro- (“forward” or “in favor”) and I will give in (“walk”, “march” or “fall”).

So, in a strict historical sense, the term has to do with the way in which something is advanced, that is, the steps that must be taken to reach a destination. That is why when we tell someone that they can proceed, we are telling them that they can continue with what they had planned or with the actions that a certain method imposes.

However, and as we will see later, the meaning of procedure acquires new nuances depending on the specific area of knowledge in which we use this word.

Process and procedure

The difference between process and procedure can be subtle, since they are two words that have the same etymological origin, but over the course of history they ended up designating two very different things from each other.

As we have already said, By procedure we mean the method the step by step that we must follow to do something properly; while By process we understand the entire realization operation, in general, without emphasizing each stage of it.

This can be better understood with a simple example: imagine that someone is preparing to bake a fish to offer dinner to his friends. That action itself is a culinary process: it takes a certain amount of time, it involves the chemical transformation of food, etc.

For this process to occur in the most appropriate way possible, without ruining the ingredients, it is best to follow a specific recipe, which details step by step what should be done, in what order and in what quantity. This recipe is, precisely, a culinary procedure.

So, Every procedure is necessarily part of a process, but there are processes for which there are no specific procedures. . This is the case of someone who wants to bake the fish but does not have the recipe and does not think of looking for one, but rather advances as they go and improvises everything. In the end, in this way, you will have created your own procedure for the same culinary process.

Administrative procedure

In public administration, the administrative procedure is called set of actions that must take place for an administrative act to occur .

These actions serve to increase the effectiveness of public administration since their purpose is to gather the relevant facts and legal bases necessary to make an informed decision, and at the same time they guarantee the citizen that the public administration will not act arbitrarily, but will do so in accordance with a procedure of public knowledge.

In other words, an administrative procedure consists of a series of steps through which the State bureaucracy resolves a problem or addresses an urgent matter, in accordance with the provisions of the rules that govern public action. Logically, the steps of the administrative procedure serve to materialize a specific administrative process.

Procedure in law

For their part, law and legal sciences include as a procedure the set of formalities dictated by the protocol necessary to appear before a judge . This means that to guarantee the correct and fair resolution of a dispute, specific and objective steps must be followed that constitute due procedure, and that are detailed in the laws and codes in this regard.

These procedures are respected both by the parties involved and by the judiciary itself, both in the areas of criminal, civil and contentious-administrative law, in each of which specific procedures are identified to address specific matters.

Procedure of a company

Companies may have their own procedures to deal with internal situations. that deserve it. In general, they are detailed in the company policies and are regulated by labor laws. They contain the steps to carry out certain processes such as the sanction and dismissal of a worker, the hiring of a new one, the purchase of new productive inputs, etc.

The different departments of the company usually intervene in this (finance, sales, HR, etc.) and in turn generate their own forms of paperwork and bureaucracy.