CONTROL

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Control is very important in any organisation. Control is one of the most important functions of management - second perhaps, only to the function of decision-making. There is more to control than mere measurement and reporting of activities. It is a dynamic process, requiring deliberate and purposeful actions in order to ensure compliance with the plans and policies previously developed.

When things go smoothly and as planned, they are under control. “Self-control” is a word we are all very familiar with - which simply means that we discipline ourselves in such a manner that we strictly adhere to our plans for our lives and do not deviate from it. “Diet control” means controlling our input of food to a prescribed level in order to achieve a goal of physical fitness. Any deviation would make the process to be out of control, thus affecting the achievement of pre-determined goal.

Control has very broad applications - both in the personal, as well as in the industrial sector. Controls are there to ensure that events turn out the way they are intended to. Control is a powerful force, if applied properly. Controlling your emotions sometimes can save your life. Nuclear power is both useful and destructive; its usefulness will depend upon our skill in controlling it. Controlled air and controlled water run machines and industries. In this unit, you will learn about this important aspect of management functions.

table of content B

1. labelling 
2. management functions and behaviour
3. market segmentation
4. marketing communication
5. marketing environment
6. marketing mix
7. marketing research and its applications 
8. packaging
9. pricing policies and practices
10. product classification
11. product life cycle and new product development
12. principles of marketing 
13. the directing and leading function
14. the role of middlemen in marketing activities

2.0 OBJECTIVES

At the end of this unit, you should be able to:

1.  define control 
2.  describe managerial control and types of control methods 
3.  list the characteristics of effective control 
4. discuss the control process and the behavioural guidelines for effective control. 

3.0 MAIN CONTENT

3.1 Managerial Control

The best known definition of management control is given by Anthony (1965) who avers that:
It is the process by which managers assure that resources are obtained and used effectively and efficiently in the accomplishment of the organisation’s objectives.

Basically, the definition stresses that the function of control is to accomplish organisational goals by implementing previously determined strategies and policies; so that whatever needs to be done, is done properly. In other words, control maintains equilibrium between means and ends or between efforts and output. It makes sure that the actual performance is in conformity with the intended and planned performance leading towards achievement of objectives. The process of controlling ensures that right things happen at the right time in the right way and by the right people.

3.2 Requirements and Characteristics for an Effective Control System

Effective controls have certain common characteristics. Some of these requirements and characteristics are discussed below.

1. Controls must provide useful and understandable information. Misunderstood controls will not be applied properly. The control system format must be simple, clear, and unambiguous, so that irrelevant information is excluded and only useful and necessary data is utilised. This will make it easier for the people who are responsible for monitoring operations. Furthermore, information must be accurate in order for control systems to work properly. Additionally, information should cover all aspects of business so that no aspect that needs to be controlled is overlooked. 
2. Controls should report deviations quickly so as to minimise the ill effects of these deviations. A well designed control system should be capable of identifying potential problem areas before they arise, so that corrective action can be taken before the problem becomes serious and unmanageable. The system should be sufficiently efficient, so that any deviations or control information is relayed to the management immediately after any significant event occurs, so that decisions on this information can be taken without delay. 
3. Controls must be designed so that the right people monitor the activities of their own fields. The sales manager, for example, should be concerned with only sales activities including output of sales representatives, product sales by territories, any price changes that will affect sales and any new products introduced. Similarly, the production manager must control the output as well as the quality of the output, etc. 

3.3 The Control Process

Control is a process that measures current performance on a continuous basis and ensures that the performance leads to some pre-determined goal. The desired results are established through the planning process and the performance is measured by established standards.
The elements of the control system are universal in nature. These elements, basically, fall under four distinct steps as listed below.

1.  pre-determined goals 
2. measuring performance 
3.  comparing actual performance with expected performance, and (d) taking corrective action. 
4.  Predetermined goals 

This is a part of the planning process and involves setting a standard of expected performance. The goal must be clearly specified and understood without ambiguity. General goals like “better education” or “high profits” are difficult to interpret and hence lead to confusion and conflict. Goals should be specific as well as meaningful. For example, the goal of a real estate broker may be to sell four houses per month. He can then plan the month and monitor his performance. A vice-president in charge of production may have a goal of keeping production costs within assigned budget over a period of time. He will be able to monitor the costs and take corrective action whenever it is necessary. Similarly, a college professor may have the goal of covering ten chapters from a book over a period of one semester. He will plan his schedule of teaching accordingly to meet that goal.

The goals and objectives should be defined in measurable terms, wherever possible. These should be expressed in quantitative terms, such as physical units produced per period of time, profit to be made per unit, etc. Where it is not possible to quantify goals such as in the case of high morale, community relations, discipline or creativity, all efforts should be made to fully understand these qualitative goals and design control mechanisms that will be useful in measuring performance in these situations.

3.4 Types of Managerial Controls

The following classifications may result from the different uses of the concepts of control.

1. Controls used to standardise performance in order to increase efficiency, lower costs and optimise performance. The standards for performance can be set by using time and motion studies. This will standardise the time utilised for a particular operation and the best method of completing that operation with minimum number of movements. 
2.  Controls devised to safeguard company assets - These are partly performance controls which reduce losses due to waste and misuse of raw materials. Some controls may be exercised to reduce losses due to thefts. This will require strong supervisory and accounting procedures. 
3. Controls used to standardise quality - The quality of products may be in terms of size, weight, colour, finish or ingredients. These must be as prescribed. Statistical quality control methods can be used for testing purposes. Some characteristics may be judged by visual observations and inspections. 
4. Controls designed to set limits for the delegated authority - Some decisions and actions must be taken by the central management and some operational decisions can be delegated to lower management levels. However, the extent of the use of this authority must be fully described and communicated. These limits are specified through directions and policy manuals. 

3.5 Types of Control Methods

Most methods of control can be grouped into four basic types which may be applied individually or in combination with each other. These are listed below.

1.  Pre-controls - These are sometimes called “feed-forward” controls and are preventive in nature. They are designed to eliminate the cause of any deviation that may occur later and are established before the activity takes place. For example, if a student is performing poorly in a course at the beginning of the semester, he should not wait until the end of the term to make changes in his study habits. He must make adjustments before it is too late. These controls are meant to make sure that performance objectives are clear and all resources are available, at the time when needed, to attain these objectives. Most often, deviations occur because proper planning was not initiated and enforced and proper resources were not available. An example of “feed-forward” controls will be the use of capital budgeting techniques for evaluating capital investments. 
2.  Steering controls - The key feature of this control is the capability to take corrective action when the deviation has taken place but the task has not been completed. Some of the examples are in-flight corrections of off-course airplanes and guided missiles or steering the car into the lane when it is off the lane. 

The great advantage of steering control is that corrective actions can be taken early. An early start with steering controls increases the chances that we will achieve a favourable outcome. For instance, the sooner the failing student gets tutoring in his course, the better are his chances of passing the course. Steering a course in business is like steering an ocean liner where several adjustments - enroute are necessary. These steering controls are based on forecasts about where one course of action will land as compared to another course of action.

3.6 Behavioural Guidelines for Managerial Controls

Some of the basic means to make the control process more effective and acceptable are as listed below.

1.  Set meaningful, acceptable and attainable standards - The control system will work effectively, if - in setting up these standards, there has been an appropriate input from workers who are expected to meet these standards. Also, control standards should be relevant to the job and the reasons for a particular control system should appear justifiable to those who must comply. The workers work harder, for example, to produce a better quality unit (a control process), if such improvement will get future contracts for the company which will mean more profits for all. Also, while administering controls, management should recognise and take into account feelings and attitudes of individual employees. Management should humanise administration of control. 
2.  Establish an effective, accurate and timely two-way communication - For any control system to be effective, information regarding deviations must be communicated to management and workers, as quickly as possible. This information and feedback must be accurate, for the outcome is dependent upon the accuracy of informational input. The information about the deviation should be gathered quickly because some time elapses between the occurrence of the deviation and taking of a corrective action since managers gather control related information, make an investigative analysis, develop necessary reports, choose a course of corrective action and actually employ this correct decision. This entire period should be minimised, as much as possible. 
3.  Reward attainment of standards - The control system will work much better, if the employees directly responsible for attaining the set standards are recognised for their contribution. This recognition will boost their morale and induce them to move, even more, positively towards attainment of higher goals. This recognition can be in the form of financial rewards or other forms of status improvement. 

4.0 CONCLUSION

In this unit, you have learnt about the importance of control as a management function. Emphasis has been laid on the need to embark on control in order to determine whether prescribed procedures are followed or that the set target has been achieved. Where deviation is observed, effort could be made to investigate the cause and institute measures to correct the anomaly.

5.0 SUMMARY

In this unit, you have been exposed to control as a function of management. The unit also examined the following - management control; the requirements and characteristics for effective control; the control process; types of managerial control; types of control methods and the behavioural guidelines for effective control.

6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

1. What part should employees play in setting up the requirements for an effective control system? 
2. What are some of the symptoms of inadequate control? Are all these symptoms traceable to certain well defined causes? Explain.