- What is a process?
- Administrative process
- Process in biology
- Process in computer science
- Process in psychology
- Process in economics
- Social process
We explain what a process is and what is the purpose of this set of actions. In addition, the different meanings that this term has.
What is a process?
The word process Comes from latinprocessus, formed bypro ("Forward") andcadere ("Walk"), in what refers to the action of going forward, advancing in a certain path and, by similarity, advancing in the weather. It is a term used in a huge variety of contexts, especially technical or industrial, but always preserving that original meaning.
In general terms, we speak of processes when there is an initial and a final state of some body, system or environment, among which there is a transformation, displacement or change of some nature.
This is how they talk aboutprocesses geological to allude to the millenary changes of the earth's surface;erosive processes for changes caused by wind wear and tear and Water; biological processes for those that involve changes in life forms;industrial processes for those that man can effect upon the matter to obtain products of a different nature, and thus a gigantic etcetera.
Another important use of the term process has to do with the stages that make up the cycle of a given system, such as administrative systems, computer science or social, among others. In these areas, a process is understood as something that is happening, that is, an active element that may well deserve control, address, evaluation, etc.
Administrative process
In managementProcesses are understood as the flow of activities that occur between the various components of a company or institution. Thus, administrative processes are the different operations that the organization sets in motion to achieve your goals and satisfy your needs.
Broadly speaking, one can speak of a single large administrative process, common to every organization and which can be understood in four phases, coinciding with the objectives of business administration:
- Planning. It is about the future projection of needs, objectives and steps to follow for the business.
- Organization. Combination of the resources available for the work with the personnel trained to do it, in the best way, in order to meet the objectives outlined above.
- Direction. Orientation and guidance of the work, as well as encouragement and cooperation, in order to meet the objectives set. It is equivalent to business "strategy".
- Control. Here we talk aboutfeedback, the evaluation, the verification that things are going as they should, or the reading of how they were given to correct defects in the general process.
Process in biology
In the field of biology, an evolutionary process is defined as the transformations that the species continuously due to the different changes that may arise over the years and the different generations. In turn, this process indicates that evolution is a characteristic of living matter and that they all come from a common universal ancestor. All species that exist today are in this evolutionary process.
Process in computer science
Regarding the computing, the set of logical and arithmetic operations carried out by computers in order to be able to manage data and get the desired results.
An example of this type of process is calledmulti-threading,which is that there are many different processes working together for a single objective. This occurs in the case of video games where a process for the music, another for drawings and another for the intelligence of the play.
Process in psychology
According to psychology, cognitive processes refer to those mechanisms by which information is captured, memorized or processed either through the senses or through the memory. They are those processes by which people know and require the proper functioning of the body.
In addition, the educational process is called the one in which the human being learns to coexist and to be, and for this he needs to develop his knowledge as well as their values. Is the socialization by means of the education and the teaching. This process begins with one person, who may be a teacher or a member of the family, who transmits their own knowledge and values to others. We could say then that there is a subject that teaches and another that learns. However, this process does not always occur in such a linear way, since many times the people who learn also leave teachings and values to those subjects that they teach.
Process in economics
In economy, the production process refers to all the operations necessary to carry out the production of either a good or a service. These actions must occur in a determined, orderly, planned and consecutive way in order to achieve the desired transformation and thus be able to get them to enter the market correctly in order to be marketed in a timely manner.
The production process also includes the design, production and consumption of the same. To be able to carry it out satisfactorily, technological, economic and, clearly, human resources are needed. In turn, these products can be qualified in intermediate products, such as raw material that are completed with other subsequent actions, and the final products, those that are marketed so that they can be acquired by the consumers in the market and can enjoy these.
Social process
Social processes are the different ways in which the culture and society change or are preserved during moments of historical crisis. The Revolutions, the great changes of modes of government, the transformations of the societyFinally, they are usually the end of one or a series of social processes, which start in different ways and can achieve their goals or fail.
Usually social processes lead to various types of interaction between citizens, be it conflict, harmonization, integration, etc. They can be revolutionary and innovative, or rather conservative and retrograde. They are object of study of the History, who sees in them the germ of future historical events or the explanation of the paths that different societies take throughout their particular history.