This study is a literature review that presents the main theoretical approaches of administration, highlighting their characteristics, contributions, and limits for work organizations in society. It also shows the influence of these theories in the organization of work in the health care sector and especially in nursing. It demonstrates the predominant influence, until today, of the taylorist/fordist model of work organizations and the influence of two administrative theories - the classic and the bureaucratic. It concludes pointing out the limits these theories face with the current challenges of administration in health care and in facing the necessity to improve the quality of care.
Organization and administration; Health services administration; Health services