ISAAC GUZMÁN VALDIVIA: BIOGRAPHY AND CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE ADMINISTRATION - DUDAS - 2025

Isaac Guzmán Valdivia was a Mexican philosopher, sociologist and businessman who stood out for the contributions with social approaches that he made to the administration. In addition, he was one of the authors of the Mexican administration that recognized the influence of foreign thought in the development of this science in the country.

His works covered deeply rooted concepts in Mexican society, not only related to the economy: he was the author of works that dealt with the political organization of Mexico and the freedoms that people, municipalities and governments should have. His development in the administrative field increased when he worked in the business sector.

"Knowledge of the social", one of the works of Isaac Guzmán Valdivia

Working in this area, he had the challenge of appeasing the individualistic mentality of entrepreneurs. This led to the creation of his most important works, such as Reflections on administration and The technical and human in business management.

Biography

Early years

Isaac Guzmán Valdivia was born on October 22, 1905 in Guanajuato, Mexico. He carried out all his primary education in public institutions, forming part of the state's primary school during his first years of education.

Then he entered the University of Guanajuato; back then, this university was known simply as the State College. He graduated in Law and Notary Public, and in 1930, after graduation, he began teaching social science classes at the same university from which he graduated.

Years of teaching

In 1936 he left for Torreón Coahuila, where he began to work with the Employers' Confederation of the Mexican Republic and founded a high school. There he worked until his departure for Monterrey in 1944, when he was offered a position at the Monterrey Institute.

In 1947 he wrote his volume called Para una metafísica social, in which he analyzes the Mexican social phenomenon from a metaphysical perspective.

In this work Valdivia seeks to explain the origin of the Mexican social phenomenon and determine the causes of its existence. Works like this had strong Christian influences, beliefs that the author kept alive throughout all his works.

In 1949 he became involved in the signing of the Mexican Collective Contract, which can be considered his first major participation in the world of the economy of his country. This event would lead him to worry about the social cause, so he would later write his first work: The destination of Mexico.

Participation in COPARMEX

One of the most important events in the life of Isaac Guzmán Valdivia was his incorporation into the Employers' Confederation of the Mexican Republic in 1936. By 1945 Valdivia was working in the Mexican Federal District, representing COPARMEX as president of the institution.

He participated on behalf of Mexico in an administration meeting in Geneva, and in 1947 he published his first work really linked to the administration, entitled La Organización Patronal en México.

Valdivia taught courses to more than six thousand Mexican entrepreneurs during and after their participation in COPARMEX, and also institutionalized the Industrial Relations degree in Mexico. In 1961, after having retired from the Confederation, he resumed writing and wrote the book entitled Reflections on Administration.

Characteristics of his works

Although Valdivia's works were influenced by foreign cultures, he always based all his work on Mexican culture and related it to the business world to create his own theories. Similarly, her works have Christian influences attributed to Mexican, Argentine and American authors.

Throughout his life he wrote 24 texts of which 19 were published and five could not be edited after his death, of which there is no exact date but it is estimated that it was in the late 1960s.

Contributions to the administration

Guzmán Valdivia wrote more than 8 volumes throughout his life, but there were two specifically that were focused on the administrative area: Reflections on administration and The science of administration.

Reflections on management

In this work he explains why administration is the fundamental basis for the direction of a society, and considers that this is not an absolute science. Explain the reason for this by stating that, being a discipline closely linked to the social, it must adapt to the principles and beliefs of each man.

By this statement he ensures that it is a mistake to give a single approach to management. Although it is important to have certain structural bases to follow in the administrative process, these must be able to adapt to the way of being and acting of each person.

The science of management

In The Science of Administration Guzmán Valdivia explains a topic that is widely discussed in the administrative sphere of Latin American countries: the foreign influences of the authors.

In this book, he explains how his beliefs are tied to American administrative processes and how they influence the lives of Mexicans.

Administration as science

One of the main contributions of Valdivia for the administration was his arguments so that this practice could be considered a science.

The author compares various areas and characteristics of administration with others that science possesses, reaching the conclusion that administration is a practical science.

According to the author, the administration has a series of methods that are consistent with each other, as is the case with all science. Likewise, it ensures that it is a universal process, with characteristics applicable to any country and any culture. It also has a necessary unit to function, as with all practical science.

Human-based management

Based on North American influences, Valdivia assures that the affinity that groups generate in any context, including companies, is linked to the historical understanding of their culture.

In other words, the way an employee performs in his or her work environment is affected by the understanding of the values ​​of their country and the recognition they have of these.

This social approach to administration was particular and unique at the time, Valdivia being one of the first authors to define administration as a practical science highly linked to the social, not only in Mexico but in all Latin cultures.

References

1. Thomism in 20th century Mexico, Mauricio Beuchot, 2004 - (p.53). Taken from books.google.com
2. Biography of Isaac Guzmán Valdivia, Luis Ángel Chávez, (nd). Taken from cbt2chimalhuacan.edu
3. Most representative Mexican authors and the critical approach to the study of administration, (nd). Taken from unam.mx
4. Remembering Mr. Isaac Guzmán Valdivia, Atilio Peralta Merino, August 8, 2014. Taken from e-consulta.com
5. Notes for a theory of social sciences, Isaac Guzmán Valdivia, extract, 1949. Taken from Philosophy.org