Leadership & Management Reading for Lesson 10: Foundations of Control

Lesson 10 Reading Objectives 1.The student will comprehend the concept of control. 2. The student will comprehend the two approaches to control. 3. The student will comprehend why control is important. 4. The student will comprehend the differences between the two types of control. 5. The student will comprehend the qualities of an effective control system.

Lesson 10 Discussion Objectives The student will comprehend the concept of control. 2.  The student will apply control to him/herself. 3.  The student will comprehend why control is important. 4.  The student will comprehend the qualities of an effective control system.

Concept of Control Control is the process of monitoring activities to ensure they are being accomplished as planned and of correcting any significant deviations. It is the last of the four functions of management and entails taking corrective action to fix a problem or correct a deviation in performance. Actual performance is compared to the performance against a standard. Significant deviations are corrected.

Approaches to Control There are two different approaches to designing organizational control systems. Bureaucratic control Clan control Most organizations do not rely totally on just one of these approaches

Approaches to Control Bureaucratic control Emphasizes organizational authority Relies on the following to ensure employees exhibit appropriate behaviors and meet performance standards. Administrative rules Regulations Procedures Policies Standardization of activities and other administrative mechanisms

Approaches to Control Clan control is an approach to designing control systems in which employee behaviors are regulated by the following aspects of the organization’s culture: Shared values Norms Traditions Rituals Beliefs

Importance of Control Control serves as final link in the functional chain of management The manager measures actual performance as compared to a standard, and acts to correct deviations or inadequate standards Control may help lessen resistance to delegation

The Control Process Figure 10-3 goes here

The Control Process Measuring Personal observation Statistical reports Oral reports Written reports What we measure is more critical than how we measure

The Control Process Comparing Determines the degree of variation between actual performance and the standard Range of variation is the acceptable parameters of variance between actual performance and the standard

The Control Process Taking managerial action—two alternatives: 1. Correct actual performance Immediate corrective action—change activity at once to get performance back on track Basic corrective action—determine why performance deviated and correct the source of deviation 2. Revise the standard May be set too high May be set too low

Three Basic Types of Control Feedforward control: Control that prevents anticipated problems Concurrent control: Control that occurs while an activity is in progress Feedback control: Control imposed after an action has occurred

Qualities of an Effective Control System Reasonable criteria Strategic placement Emphasis on the exception Multiple criteria Corrective action Accuracy Timeliness Economy Flexibility Understandability