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Control

Controlling is the process of monitoring and correcting work performance to ensure that organizational goals are met. It involves measuring actual performance, comparing it against standards, and taking managerial action based on the results. Effective control systems empower employees and protect organizational assets from various threats.

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Farjad Tariq
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5 views5 pages

Control

Controlling is the process of monitoring and correcting work performance to ensure that organizational goals are met. It involves measuring actual performance, comparing it against standards, and taking managerial action based on the results. Effective control systems empower employees and protect organizational assets from various threats.

Uploaded by

Farjad Tariq
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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controlling

What is controlling? It’s the process of monitoring, comparing,


and correcting work
performance. All managers should control even if their units are
performing as planned
because they can’t really know that unless they’ve evaluated
what activities have been
done and compared actual performance against the desired
standard.3 Effective controls
ensure that activities are completed in ways that lead to the
attainment of goals. Whether
controls are effective, then, is determined by how well they help
employees and managers
achieve their goals.4
Why is control so important? Planning can be done, an
organizational structure
created to facilitate efficient achievement of goals, and
employees motivated through
effective leadership. But there’s no assurance that activities are
going as planned and
that the goals employees and managers are working toward are,
in fact, being attained.
Control is important, therefore, because it’s the only way that
managers know whether
organizational goals are being met and if not, the reasons why.
The value of the control
function can be seen in three specific areas: planning,
empowering employees, and pro
tecting the workplace.
The second reason controlling is important is because of
employee empowerment.
Many managers are reluctant to empower their employees
because they fear something
will go wrong for which they would be held responsible. But an
effective control system
can provide information and feedback on employee performance
and minimize the chance
of potential problems.
The final reason that managers control is to protect the
organization and its assets.6
Today’s environment brings heightened threats from natural
disasters, financial scandals,
workplace violence, supply chain disruptions, security breaches,
and even possible terror
ist attacks. Managers must protect organizational assets in the
event that any of these
things should happen. Comprehensive controls and backup plans
will help assure minimal
work disruptions.
The control process consists of the following basic elements and
steps:

Step 1. Measuring Actual Performance


To determine what actual performance is, a manager must first get information about it.
Thus, the first step in control is measuring.
HOW WE MEASURE.
Four approaches used by managers to measure and report actual
performance are personal observations, statistical reports, oral reports, and written reports.
Exhibit 18-3 summarizes the advantages and drawbacks of each approach. Most managers
use a combination of these approaches.
WHAT WE MEASURE.
What is measured is probably more critical to the control process
than how it’s measured. Why? Because selecting the wrong criteria can create serious
problems. Besides, what is measured often determines what employees will do.8 What
control criteria might managers use?
ep 2. Comparing Actual Performance
Against the Standard
The comparing step determines the variation between actual performance and the standard.
Although some variation in performance can be expected in all activities, it’s critical to de
termine an acceptable range of variation (see Exhibit 18-4). Deviations outside this
range need attention. Let’s work through an example.
Chris Tanner is a sales manager for Green Earth Gardening Supply, a distributor of
specialty plants and seeds in the Pacific Northwest. Chris prepares a report during the first
week of each month that describes sales for the previous month, classified by product line.
Step 3. Taking Managerial Action
Managers can choose among three possible courses of action: do nothing, correct the
ac
tual performance, or revise the standards. Because “do nothing” is self-explanatory,
let’s
look at the other two.
CORRECT ACTUAL PERFORMANCE.
Sports coaches understand the importance of
correcting actual performance. During a game, they’ll often correct a player’s actions.
But
if the problem is recurring or encompasses more than one player, they’ll devote time
during practice before the next game to correcting the actions.9 That’s what managers
need to do as well.
Depending on what the problem is, a manager could take different corrective actions.
For instance, if unsatisfactory work is the reason for performance variations, the
manager
could correct it by things such as training programs, disciplinary action, changes in
com
pensation practices, and so forth. One decision that a manager must make is whether
to take
immediate corrective action, which corrects problems at once to get performance back
on track, or to use basic corrective action, which looks at how and why performance
deviated before correcting the source of deviation. It’s not unusual for managers to
rational
ize that they don’t have time to find the source of a problem (basic corrective action)
and
continue to perpetually “put out fires” with immediate corrective action. Effective
managers
analyze deviations and if the benefits justify it, take the time to pinpoint and correct
the
causes of variance.

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