Foundation of Control
Define control
Control is a management function that focuses on the process of monitoring activities to ensure that they are being accomplished as planned. Control also includes correcting any significant deviations that may exist between goals and actual results.
Describe three approaches to control
Three approaches to control are market control, bureaucratic control, and clan control.
- Market control emphasizes the use of external marketing mechanisms such as price competition and relative market share to establish standards used in the control system.
- Bureaucratic control emphasizes organizational authority and relies on administrative rules, regulations, procedures, and policies.
- Under clan control, employee behaviors are regulated by the shared values, norms, traditions, rituals, beliefs, and other aspects of organizational culture.
Explain why control is important
Control is important as a function of management because it involves determining whether objectives are being accomplished as planned. Furthermore, control is also useful for determining whether delegated authority is being abused.
Describe the control process
In the control process, management must first have standards of performance derived from the objectives it formed in the planning stage. Management must then measure actual performance and compare that performance against the standards. If a variance exists between standards and performance, management can adjust performance, adjust the standards, or do nothing, according to the situation.
Distinguish among the three types of control
The three types of control are feedforward, concurrent, and feedback control.
- Feedforward control is future-directed and designed to prevent problems by anticipating them.
- Concurrent control takes place while an activity is in progress.
- Feedback control, the most frequently found in organizations, takes place after an activity or an event has occurred.
Describe the qualities of an effective control system
An effective control system is accurate, timely, economical, flexible, and understandable. It uses reasonable criteria, has strategic placement, emphasizes the exception, uses multiple criteria, and suggests corrective action.
Identify the contingency factors in the control process
A number of contingency factors in organizations affect the control process. The most frequent contingency factors in control systems include the size of the organization, the manager’s level in the organization’s hierarchy, the degree of decentralization, the organization’s culture, and the importance of the activity,
Explain how controls can become dysfunctional
Controls can be dysfunctional when they redirect behavior away from an organization’s goals. This dysfunction can occur as a result of inflexibility or unreasonable standards. In addition, when rewards are at stake, individuals are likely to manipulate data so that their performance will be perceived positively.
Describe how national differences influence the control process
Methods of controlling employee behavior and operations can be quite different according to the geographic location or cultural environment. As a result, control systems focus primarily on measurement and corrective action steps of the control process.
Identify the ethical dilemmas in employee monitoring
The ethical dilemmas in employee monitoring revolve around the rights of employees versus the rights of employers. Employees are concerned with protecting their workplace privacy and intrusion into their personal lives. Employers, in contrast, are primarily concerned with enhancing productivity and controlling safety and health costs and protecting their organization from claims of harassment.
Describe how an entrepreneur controls for growth
Entrepreneurs must maintain good financial records and financial controls over cash flow, inventory, customer data, sales orders, receivables, payables, and costs. These items need to be the priority of every – entrepreneur – whether he or she is pursuing growth or not. It’s particularly important, however, to reinforce these controls when the entrepreneurial venture is expanding.
