What is a successful business without
control?
“Control is the regulation of organizational
activities so that some targeted element of performance remains within
acceptable limits. Control provides ways to adapt to environmental change, to
limit the accumulation of errors, to cope with organizational complexity, and
to minimize costs (http://college.cengage.com/business/resources/researchcenter/students/index.html)."
Management control can have a variety of
elements. Control can be targeted toward
financial aspects, physical, informational, and human resources. Proper guidance is the function of managers,
controllers, and operating employees. We
must all participate. The steps have to
be precise.
(1) substantiate standards of future
performance
(2) gauge actual performance
(3) assimilate performance to the standards
(4) appraise performance and take appropriate
action.
Directions establish limits. There are different types. Operations control focuses on the processes
the organization uses to transform resources into products or services.
Preliminary control is concerned with the resources that serve as inputs to the
system. Screening control is concerned with the transformation processes used by
the organization. Post action control is concerned with the outputs of the
organization. Most organizations need multiple control systems because no one
system alone can provide adequate control.
Financial control focuses on controlling the organization's financial
resources. Structural control addresses
how well an organization's structural elements serve their intended purpose. Strategic control focuses on how effectively
the organization's strategies are succeeding in helping the organization meet its
goals.
Control maintenance should include being
flexible, accurate, timely, and as objective as possible. Employees may resist
organizational controls because of over control, inappropriate focus, rewards
for inefficiency, and a desire to avoid accountability.
“It is
difficult for organizations to avoid change as new ideas promote growth for
them and their members. Change occurs for many reasons such as new staff roles;
increases or decreases in funding; acquisition of new technology; new missions,
vision or goals; and to reach new members or clients. Changes can create new
opportunities, but are often met with criticism from resistant individuals
within the group (http://college.cengage.com/business/resources/researchcenter/students/index.html).”
If management needs to be reinvigorated,
there is always the right time and place.
Should a new management team strategy be implemented?
There are risks involved in introducing new
management to a company. It is a risk
for both the new management team and the existing employees. Workers wonder about new rules and procedures.
FAQs include: will the new policy fit the
expectations of the new managers, and will management bring in new employees to
replace anyone who doesn't fit?
There is always a degree of resistance to
control changes.
“… Resistance is more a function of
inadequate preparation than actual employee reluctance to cooperate (http://work.chron.com/overcoming-resistance-new-management-5910.html).”
Resistance can be managed.
Employees respect the need for control. It is understood that in order to achieve
organizational objectives policy must be effective. Standards of performance must be met.
Control change begins with the workplace
attitude. Positive and negative conditioning
from management directly reflects physical, financial, and human resource
objectives. Directions can change
workers attitudes towards controls from negative to positive.
Guidance shouldn’t be completely dominant,
but realistic. Guidance shouldn’t be too
light, or seemingly inadequate.
Excessive guidance is defined as under-control and over-control. Neither of these are affective organizational
goals. Management must undergo constant
maintenance in order to optimize workers performance.
If a management overhaul is called to order then proper
implementation will follow these steps:
-Define output goals for the new management staff.
-Present the new management team to the employees along
with their new goals.
-Bestow the overview of the employees’ expected roles to
move toward success.
Company control evaluations will always require
updates. When you update your evaluation
process you should aim towards improvement of behavior. Intelligent introductions of a new management
team are important, but team leadership is what makes the change successful.
-Concentrate on end results and outcomes of activities. This is the alternative to focusing on the
way these results are achieved.
-Flexibility of controls may not always get desired
results from workers, though. Standards should be subject to change, because
faulty standards can cause deviation in performance.
-Ensure that employees participate in designing the
control system. Participation helps employees
develop a better understanding of the standards and self-assess their own
performance. Self-control is excellent control.
-When the situation allows, managers should reward
employees demonstrating acceptable performance. Positive reinforcement motivates
other workers to achieve the standard performance.
-When hard workers try to achieve their targets, some
amount of deviation in their performance may occur, regardless. Deviations of
=5%, for example, may be ignored by managers. The percentage of deviation
depends on the nature of product. Don’t
misuse your favorite employees.
Resistance can be controlled.
Managers can overcome this resistance by improving the
effectiveness of controls, allowing employee participation, and developing
verification procedures. What is a
successful business without delegating responsibilities to able individuals?
