Controlling

Control can be defined as the process of

monitoring activities to ensure that they are being
accomplished as planned & of correcting any
significant deviation.
All managers should be involved in the control
function even if their units are performing as
planned
An effective control system leads to attainment of
goal .
William G Ouchi the founder of Theory Z
suggested that there are 3 different approaches to
design control system.
a) Market Control:- In this approach the external
market mechanism such as Price Market
share are given importance .This type of control
takes place when the firms products face a stiff
competition in market place eg:- Matsushita
Divisions Audio, Video, Home appliance,
Industrial equipment etc.. On the basis of the profit
contributed by each division resources are
allocated to them
b) Beauctratic Control :- Here the importance is given
to the size of the organization , rules & regulation ,
procedure & policies .Here the control depend on
the standardization of activities & exhibiting
appropriate behavior & meeting performance
standards eg- BP managers have full autonomy
but have to stick to the budget
Clan Control :- Here employee behavior is regulated
by shared values , norms, traditions, rituals,
belief & other aspects of Org. Culture .
Beauctratic Control is based on hierarchical
mechanism where as clan control is based on
individual & group behavior & performance.
Features of Control
1. Control is looking forward because one can
control future happening & not the past .
2. Control is continuous process
3. Control is a coordinated integrated system

Steps in Control Process

Establish
Standards
Measure
Performance
Compare
Performance
against
standards
Determine
need for
corrective
action
Change
standards
Correct
the
deviation
Maintain
the status
quo
1. Establishment of control standards :-
Every action in the organization is directed
towards the objectives .So for identifying the
goals you should know- What is the level of result
that you desire .The desired level of performance
should not be too high or too low .It should be
feasible
Performance
Data
Upper
Limit
Lower
Limit
Tolerance
level
2. Measuring :
There are two important factors in measuring they
are :-
a. How we measure ?
b. What we measure ?
How we measure ?
There are methods foe measurement they are:
Personal observation
Statistical report
Oral report
Written report
What we measure ?


What we measure is more important than how we
measure ? The selection of wrong criteria may
lead to dysfunction .A production manager may
take Quantity produced per day ,unit produced
per labor hour, damager rate etc.. as criteria for
measurement. Administrative manager take the
documents processed per day. Marketing
manager take No: of costumers as critical factor
for measurement
3. Comparing :
Comparing step determine the degree of variation
between actual performance & set standards.
Some variation in performance is expected in all
activities .It is c5ucial to determine the
acceptable range of variation .
Deviation that exceeds this range became
significant& need the managerial attention. In
comparison stage manager is concerned with
size & direction of variation
IV. Taking managerial action :
Managers can take two type of action
a. Correct & actual performance: They are of two
types 1- Impeditive corrective action Type -2
ask how & why performance has deviated &
then proceeds to correct the source of deviation
b. Revise the standard :- It is possible that the
variance was a result of an unrealistic standard
,then it is the standard that need corrective
action not the performance
Types of control
Feed Forward Control:- This is the most desirable type
of control .It prevents anticipated problems .It takes
place in advance of actual activity .It is future
directed .Here managerial action takes place before
the problem occurs.
Eg: Preventive maintenance programme for air craft
before flight.
Concurrent Control: This control is enacted while the
work is being performed ,MGMT can correct
problems before they become too costly .The best
form of concurrent control is direct supervision.When
manager mointors subordinate action manager can
take corrective action then & there itself


Feed Back Control:- Here the control takes place
after the activity has done .The major draw back of
this type of control is that by the time manager take
corrective action damage has already happened
.The advantage that this control provide is that
feedback provided managers with meaningful
information on how effective his planning effort
was. If the variance was less it shows there was
good planning .If the deviation was large it help
manager to make new plan
Type of control
Input
Process
Out put
Feed forward
control
Concurrent
control
Feed back
control
Anticipates
problems
Corrects
problems as &
when they
happens
Corrects
problems
after they
occur
Flow of information
Corrective
action
Feed forward
control
Concurrent
control
Out put Processing
Inputs
Feed Back
Level of control
Strategic
control
Structural control
Operations
control
Finance control
Strategic Control: Focuses on how effectively the
organizations strategies are succeeding in helping
the organization meet its goals
Structural control: concerned with how the
elements of the organization structure are serving
their intended purpose
Financial control: concerned with organizational
financial resources
Operations Control: focuses on the processes the
organization used to transform resources into
products or services
Importance of control
Managerial responsibility: When a person is
responsible for the performance of his
subordinates he must exercise some control over
them
Psychological pressure : control process put
psychological pressure on the individual for better
performance
Org. Efficiency & effectiveness: control system
manager are motivated to perform better &
coordinate their work more efficiently
Limitation of Control
Curbs freedom
Curb on creativity
Rigid control system may be problem