Control in Organizations
Control in Organizations
Topic 3
Knowledge of the characteristics of effective
control systems in organizations
3.1 The need for control in organizations
Organizational Control
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Controlling as a Management Function
• Controlling
• A process of monitoring performance and taking action to ensure desired results.
• It sees to it that the right things happen, in the right ways, and at the right time.
• Done well, it ensures that the overall directions of individuals and groups are
consistent with short and long range plans.
• It helps ensure that objectives and accomplishments are consistent with one
another throughout an organization.
• It helps maintain compliance with essential organizational rules and policies.
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3.2 The characteristics of effective control
systems in organizations
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Control Systems
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Three Types of Control
Figure 8.1
Types of Control
Feedforward Control
Control that allows managers to anticipate problems
before they arise
Concurrent Control
Give managers immediate feedback on how efficiently
inputs are being transformed into outputs so that
managers can correct problems as they arise
Feedback Control
Control that gives managers information about
customers’ reactions to goods and services so that
corrective action can be taken if necessary
Four Steps in Organizational Control
Figure 8.2
Control Criteria / Standard
(What to measure?)
- Employees, e.g.
• Behaviour
• Goals
• Satisfaction
• Turnover
• Absenteeism
- Organization (Budgets, goals), e.g.
• Costs
• Output
• Sales
Variation = Actual Performance – Standard
• Corrective Action
* improving performance, e.g. compensation scheme, training;
redesign jobs; or discipline employees
Figure 8.3
Output Control
Liquidity Ratios
Measures of how well managers protect resources to meet
short term debt—current and quick ratios
Operating Budgets
Output Control
Operating Budget
A blueprint that states how managers
intend to allocate and use the resources they control to attain
organizational goals effectively and efficiently
Lower-level managers are evaluated for their ability to stay within the
budget and to make the best use of available resources
Effective Output Controls
Three components are the essence of effective output
control.
(01) Objective financial measures
(02) Challenging goals and performance standards
(03) Appropriate operating budgets
Problems with Output Control
Managers must create output standards that
motivate at all levels.
Standards should not cause managers to behave
in inappropriate ways to achieve organizational
goals.
Behavior Control– Direct Supervision
Behavior Control : Used to keep employees on track and make
organizational structures work
Direct Supervision : It involves managers who:
(01) Actively monitor and observe the behavior of their
subordinates
(02) Teach subordinates the behaviors that are appropriate and
inappropriate
(03) Intervene to take corrective action as
needed
Direct Supervision
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Types of Control
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Types of Control
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Organizational Control Systems
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