INSPECTION AND MONITORING1

Dr. Oscar G. Nalzaro2

I.

Introduction
Inspection is provided by the state to help administrators to do a better
job. This service provides organizational leadership and guidance to various
workers in different fields. It incorporates checking, enquiry, fact finding,
keeping watch survey, correction, prevention, inspiration, guidance, direction,
diagnosis and improvement. Its immediate purpose is the improvement of the
organization.

II.

Objectives
At the end of the presentation, the participants are expected to:
1. discuss the meaning of inspection and monitoring; and
2. identify and explain the importance of inspection and monitoring.

III.

The Meaning of Inspection

1. The act of inspecting or viewing , especially carefully or critically;
2. Formal or official viewing or examination (examples: an inspection of
troops; the platoon stood ready for review);
3. The act of inspecting or recognition of a familiar patter leading to
immediate solution;
4. A checking or testing of an individual against established standards;

A surprise inspection tends to have different results than an announced

inspection. Leaders wanting to know how others in their organization perform can
drop in without warning, to see directly what happens.
If an inspection is made known in advance, it can give people a chance to
cover up or to fix mistakes. This could lead to distorted and inaccurate findings.
A surprise inspection, therefore, gives inspectors a better picture of the typical
state of the inspected object or process than an announced inspection. It also enhances
external confidence in the inspection process.
_____________
1

A lecture presented to the participants of the Regional Training School 4 on Public Safety Junior
Leadership Course of the Philippine National Police (Cl 2011-02) held at the Law Enforcement
Training Center, Sitio Magarwak, Sta. Lourdes, Puerto Princesa City on 01 February 2012.
2
Associate Professor IV & Director, Provincial Center for Human Rights Education. of the Western
Philippines University, Puerto Princesa City.

IV.

Need and Importance of Inspection

The inspectors are the key figures in any reform of organizational
practices. They are Authority, present and obvious. They should be consulted

from the very beginning; should know that their criticism and suggestions
carry weight and should be made to feel that the proposed changes are, in
some measures, their reforms. An organizational system can be no more
elastic or dynamic than the inspectors will let it be.
If the organization has a rapid expansion, it has become very essential
to keep up its standards and safeguard its quality. Only a supervisory service
can cater to the need of standards and quality. By close watch and systematic
check, it can ensure that the work is properly perceived, carefully planned,
rightly carried out, competently directed, correctly evaluated and intelligently
reviewed.
V.

Aims of Inspection
There are numbers of aims and purposes which supervisory service has
to fill. These can be summed ups as follows:
1. It provides professional leadership to employees so as to improve
their work and give them correct direction.
2. It offers technical service to employees.
3. It promotes the professional growth of all employees by providing
them guidance in the field and in-service training now and then.
4. It clarifies and interprets the institutional goals and gives them all
the types of help and guidance to achieve those goals.
5. Negative speaking supervisory service aims at checking
inefficiency and negligence in an organization, finding out serious
lapses and irregularities in their functioning and ensuring that all
these shortcomings are removed.
6. Positively speaking, it aims at offering new, forward looking and
constructive suggestions to workers. It also goes to their help in
solving their difficulties.
7. It aims at appraising the work of institutions so that those doing
well may be encouraged to do better and those doing not so well
may be guided to come up to the mark.

VI.

Types of Inspection
Inspection is of three types. Each type represents a different purpose,
approach and emphasis.
1. The Corrective type
This is basically negative in nature and approach. The
inspector goes to office with a good deal of bias, prejudice and
sense of authority. He has to find out faults, discover lapses
and pick out holes here and there during his visit. He suffers
from sense of superiority and thinks that everybody stands in
need of correction and he is competent to correct everybody.
2. The Preventive type.

According to this, the inspector, being a man of

considerable experience and insight, anticipates the difficulties
of employees and helps them to avoid those difficulties.
This inspection is more useful and helpful in every
respect as compared to the corrective type. The inspector
assumes the role of a guide.
3. The Creative type.
This is basically positive and constructive in approach.
The inspector goes to visit with the aim of extending
cooperation and help to the field workers in their difficulties
and problems. He establishes cordiality with them.
This type of inspection makes the employee self-reliant,
resourceful and enthusiastic in his work. Therefore, be called
the most suitable type of inspection. It inspires and stimulates
the field workers to do their best for the organization.
VII.

New Trends in Inspection

The following are the trends in inspection:
1. There is a significant change in the nomenclature of inspection.
2. Modern inspection is creative and constructive rather than
destructive. It seeks to ensure creative participation of all the
employees. Rather than criticize them for their faults.
3. Modern inspection provides leadership. The inspectors are
supposed to be experts and specialists.
4. Modern inspection is democratic. There is complete absence of
authoritarian attitude and approach in the modern supervision.
5. Modern inspection is carried out in a scientific way. It is now
taken as a technical, methodical and scientific job.
6. Modern inspection is coordinating and integrating in nature. The
supervisory service is a coordinating agency which collects all
good traditions, practices, programs, ways and means, experiences,
experiments, projects available from various institutions and
disburses them onwards to other institutions.
7. Modern inspection employs a variety of new devices. Inspection is
becoming increasingly professional.

VIII. Methods of Inspection

There are set procedures fro inspection, but prevalent procedures are as
follows:

1. Visits. There may be certain problem, backward or developing,

which may require more than one visit. Surprise visit will also be
desirable and useful.
2. Meetings. Immediate after the inspection is over and on other
suitable occasions. Surprise visit will also be desirable and useful.
3. Issuing Orders and Circulars. Regular guidance is provided
through circulars containing suggestions for physical welfare and
guidelines for their all around development.
4. Evaluative criteria. The inspection should be carried out through
scientific prepared evaluative criteria.
IX.

Recruitment of Inspectors
Following suggestions are given in this regard:
1. The inspectors should be drawn from employees with experience
and qualified staff of training institutions.
2. Pre-service training should be instituted for inspectors.
3. In-service training should be imparted to all the inspectors.
4. Their scales of pay may be upgraded and only with higher
qualifications may be recruited.
5. There should be a mutual transfer of inspectors, supervisors and
experienced employees.

X.

The Meaning of Monitoring

Monitoring is repeated assessment at regular intervals to detect
changes over time.
Assessment is measuring certain aspects of an organization.

XI.

Keys to Effective Monitoring

Monitoring the activity of departmental employees is one of the most
important functions of a supervisor. It is necessary for two reasons:
o To maintain quality standards.
o To make sure the work is ion schedule.
Monitoring does not mean checking to see if employees get back from
their lunch breaks soon schedule. It doesnt even mean standing over the
shoulder of employees to see how and what theyre doing. It does not mean
keeping tract of the workflow in the department, following the progress of
employees, determining which employees require additional training.
The four keys to effective monitoring are:
o Establishing realistic work schedules and communicating these
schedules to employees. You cant tell if youre at the right place
until you establish where you ought to be.
4

o Establishing quality standards and communicating these standards

to employees. You cant tell if something is good until you define
what good is.
o Setting up a system to sample the work at various stages to
determine both quality and timeliness.
o Monitoring the entire operation by walking around. The alert
supervisor who is continually present in the department will soon
learn the rhythm of the workflow. He or she will sense when
something is wrong.
How to Make Sure Youre on Schedule
o Monitor the production, or quality of work on a daily basis.
Establish reports that give you this information from several
critical work areas.
o When working on long-term projects, establish short term,
intermediate goals that help you determine if youre on track.
o Establish where the bottlenecks are and keep an exceptionally close
watch on them.
o Be the kind of inspector who doesnt inspire fear on the part of
employees.
o Keep your finger on the pulse of the operation. Spend time at
employee workstations. Ask them about problems and concerns.
Remember what they tell you.
o When a problem that affects schedules is uncovered, take
immediate corrective action.
Step to take When Behind Schedule
Despite all precautions, every supervisor will occasionally fall
behind schedule. Here are the steps to take when behind schedule:
o Immediately inform senior management.
o When you speak to senior management about the problem, have a
plan for corrective action.
o Uncover the reason for the delay.
o Make adjustments.
o Call a department meeting and ask for suggestions.
o If the entire problem cant be corrected, seek compromise
solutions.
o When nothing else work and the lost time cannot be recovered,
present senior management with a revised schedule.

How to Handle Deadlines

The efficiency of supervisors id often measured by their ability

to deliver on deadlines. A reputation for possessing this ability is
invaluable. It translates to raises, promotions and trust. Things youll
want to investigate include:
o The reason for the deadline.
o The contributions other departments in the organization will be
making.
o The availability of needed resources, including personnel, to help
meet the deadline.
o The actual dates involved and how they may conflict with other
work that may be on your plate right now.
o The interruptions that could occur which may affect your ability to
deliver.
o The importance senior management attaches to the deadline.
o The consequences of the deadline not being met. Is this a drop
dead date?
How to Handle Crisis
A crisis is different from a deadline. A deadline is delivering on
something on or before a certain date.
If youre responsible for crisis solutions:
o Pick up plan and stick to it.
o Consult with others, but dont abandon decision-making
responsibility.
o Dont abandon ethical standards just because theres a crisis.
o Keep calm.
o Dont let the crisis dominate every phase of business activity.
o Expect others in the organization to take pot shots at your solution,
no matter what it is.
XII.

Summary
Inspection has become very essential to keep up its standards and
safeguard its quality. Only a supervisory service can cater to the need of
standards and quality. By close watch and systematic check, it can insure that
the work of employee is properly perceived, carefully planned, rightly carried
out, competently directed, correctly evaluated and intelligently reviewed.
The role of inspector is quite challenging in nature. His job puts on
trial his personality, qualifications, professional experience and stamina for
work.
Monitoring employee activities important to maintain quality
standards and to make sure that work is on schedule. Setting up quality

standards and work schedule is the first step in setting up a monitoring system.
Many supervisors monitor their operations by walking around.
XIII. References
Garofalo, G. 1995. Mastering Functional Skills. Volume 3. Englewood Cliffs,
New Jersey: Prentice Hall, Inc.
Sidhu, K. S. 1996. School Organization and Administration. New Delhi:
Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inspection
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_inspection
dictionary.reference.com/browse/inspection