Welcome to AB140 Introduction to Management Unit 6 Seminar – Control Dr. Brenda Harper

Agenda General Questions and Announcements Introduction Four Steps of Control Systems / Q & A The Role of Six Sigma / Q & A Internal vs. External Audits / Q & A Recap Unit Assignment Clarification Conclusion of Seminar

Introduction Control is one of the four primary functions of management. Control is any process directs the activities toward the achievement of organizational goals. Formal Control Systems (also referred to as Bureaucratic Control Systems) measure progress toward organizational goals, making corrections and adjustments as needed.

Seminar Item 1 Review the 4 steps of control systems 1.Setting Performance Standards 2.Measuring Performance 3.Comparing performance against the standards and determining deviations 4.Taking action to correct problems and reinforce successes

Step 1 of Control Systems 1. Setting performance standards –Standard - expected performance for a given goal, a target that establishes a desired performance level; motivates performance, and serves as a benchmark against which actual performance is assessed –Can you think of an example of a goal and its standard in your workplace?

Step 2 of Control Systems 2. Measuring performance How are performance goals measured in your workplace?

Step 3 of Control Systems 3. Comparing performance against the standards and determining deviations What methods do you or your managers use to perform this step?

Step 4 of Control Systems 4. Taking action to correct problems and reinforce successes Can you name some methods that managers use to correct problems or reinforce successes in your workplace?

The Control Process

Questions? Please ask any you may have or thoughts you would like to share…..

Seminar Item 2 What is the role of Six Sigma? -Let’s begin by defining it. What is Six Sigma?

Six Sigma Six Sigma is a quality management concept that has the goal of eliminating defects from a company’s product or service. It involves adjusting various aspects of and around the product or service until it is consistently what the customers want and need. The term “sigma” refers to how far a product or service is from being “perfect”, free of defects (relative to customers’ wants and needs). This state of “perfection” or being as free of defects as possible is believed to be achieved at Six Sigma.

Role of Six Sigma The lower the sigma number, the higher the level of variation or defects. The higher the sigma number, the lower the level of variation or defects. At six-sigma-level, a process is producing fewer than 3.4 defects per million (approximately accuracy)

Role of Six Sigma, (continued) For those organizations that use this tool, the management works hard to engage the organization in an effort to eliminate the causes of all defects in the product or service. -One approach that managers may use to address defects is to place employees in work teams that focus on finding improvements and solutions that will prevent a certain defect from arising in the first place.

Questions? Any questions or comments? Would anyone like to share your experience you have had with Six Sigma?

Seminar Item 3 Discuss internal vs. external audits -What is an internal audit? -What is an external audit?

Audits External Audit - an evaluation conducted by one organization, such as a CPA firm, on another Internal Audit - a periodic assessment of a company’s own planning, organizing, leading, and controlling processes

Have you ever participated in an audit at your workplace? What type of audit was it? What were some of the pros and cons of the audit experience that you noticed? Questions to share…

Recap In this seminar, we’ve discussed: -The four steps/stages in Control Systems -The role of Six Sigma -Internal and External Audits in the workplace

Unit 6 Assignment Q & A There are 3 graded assignments in this Unit. They are: 1. Quiz (60 points) – the focus of the questions is from the readings from this unit which is on control and on previous readings about the other three functions of management: Planning, Organizing, and Leading. 2. Your Discussion Assignment (40 points) – is a Sandwich Blitz, Inc. scenario where you discuss (based on your best judgment and on the readings) how to best handle a situation where there are some discrepancies involving timesheets and standards. (Be sure to follow the requirements on the discussion rubric to get the grade that you seek on this assignment.)

Unit 6 Assignment Q & A cont’d. 3. Assignment (40 points) (dropbox) – involves using the previous scenario to describe what can be done to apply the four steps of control systems to address the problem in the scenario. We have discussed the four steps in this seminar. (Be sure to follow the assignment instructions completing to get the grade that you seek on this assignment.)

Questions concerning Unit 6 Assignments? Please ask… Is there anything I can assist you with? Questions you may have?

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