Management
Stephen P. Robbins Mary Coulter
Chapter Introduction
to
17 Controlling
17–1
What Is Control?
• Controlling
The process of monitoring activities to ensure that
they are being accomplished as planned and of
correcting any significant deviations.
• The Purpose of Control
To ensure that activities are completed in ways that
lead to accomplishment of organizational goals.
17–2
Why Is Control Important?
• As the final link in management functions:
Planning
Controls let managers know whether their goals and
plans are on target and what future actions to take.
Empowering employees
Control systems provide managers with information
and feedback on employee performance.
Protecting the workplace
Controls enhance physical security and help
minimize workplace disruptions.
17–3
Exhibit 17–1 The Planning–Controlling
Link
17–4
The Control Process
• The Process of Control
1. Measuring actual
performance.
2. Comparing actual
performance against a
standard.
3. Taking action to correct
deviations or inadequate
standards.
17–5
Exhibit 17–2 The Control Process
17–6
1. Measuring: How & What We
Measure
• Control Criteria
• Sources of
(What)
Information (How)
Employees
Personal observation
Satisfaction
Statistical reports
Turnover
Oral reports
Absenteeism
Written reports
Budgets
Costs
Output
Sales 17–10
Exhibit 17–3 Common Sources of Information
for Measuring Performance
2. Comparing
• Determining the degree of variation
between actual performance and the
standard.
Significance of variation is determined by:
The acceptable range of variation from the standard
(forecast or budget).
The size (large or small) and direction (over or under) of
the variation from the standard (forecast or budget).
Exhibit 17–4 Defining the Acceptable Range of
Variation
Exhibit 17–5 Example of Determining Significant
Variation
3. Taking Managerial Action
• Courses of Action
“Doing nothing”
Only if deviation is judged to be insignificant.
Correcting actual (current) performance
Immediate corrective action to correct the problem at once.
Basic corrective action to locate and to correct the source of
the deviation.
Corrective Actions
–
Change strategy, structure, compensation scheme, or
training programs; redesign jobs; or fire employees
Taking Managerial Action
• Courses of Action (cont’d)
Revising the standard
Examining the standard to ascertain whether or not
the standard is realistic, fair, and achievable.
– Upholding the validity of the standard.
– Resetting goals that were initially set too low or too high.
Exhibit 17–6 Managerial Decisions in the Control
Process
Controlling for Organizational
Performance
• What Is Performance?
The end result of an activity
• What Is Organizational
Performance?
The accumulated end results of all of the
organization’s work processes and activities
Designing strategies, work processes, and work activities.
Coordinating the work of employees.
Organizational
Performance Measures
• Organizational Productivity
Productivity: the overall output of goods and/or
services divided by the inputs needed to generate
that output.
Output: sales revenues
Inputs: costs of resources (materials, labor expense,
and facilities)
Ultimately, productivity is a measure of how efficiently
employees do their work.
Organizational
Performance Measures
• Organizational Effectiveness
(cont’d)
Measuring how appropriate organizational goals are
and how well the organization is achieving its
goals.
Systems resource model
– The ability of the organization to exploit its environment
in acquiring scarce and valued resources.
The process model
– The efficiency of an organization’s transformation process
in converting inputs to outputs.
The multiple constituencies model
– The effectiveness of the organization in meeting each
constituencies’ needs.
Industry and Company
Rankings
• Industry rankings on: • Corporate Culture
Profits Audits
Return on revenue • Compensation and
Return on shareholders’ benefits surveys
equity
• Customer satisfaction
Growth in profits
surveys
Revenues per employee
Revenues per dollar of
assets
Revenues per dollar of
equity
Tools for Measuring
Organizational Performance
• Feedforward Control
A control that prevents anticipated problems before
actual occurrences of the problem.
Building in quality through design.
Requiring suppliers conform to ISO 9002.
• Concurrent Control
A control that takes place while the monitored activity
is in progress.
Direct supervision: management by walking around.
Tools for Measuring
Organizational Performance
(cont’d)
• Feedback Control
A control that takes place after an activity is done.
Corrective action is after-the-fact, when the problem
has already occurred.
Advantages of feedback controls:
Provide managers with information on the effectiveness
of their planning efforts.
Enhance employee motivation
Exhibit 17–8 Types of Control
Financial Controls
• Traditional Controls
Ratio analysis
Liquidity
Leverage
Activity
Profitability
Budget Analysis
Quantitative standards
Deviations
Exhibit 17–9 Popular Financial Ratios
Objective Ratio Calculation Meaning
Exhibit 17–9 Popular Financial Ratios (cont’d)
Objective Ratio Calculation Meaning
Financial Controls
• Managing Earnings
“Timing” income and expenses to enhance current
financial results, which gives an unrealistic picture of
the organization’s financial performance.
New laws and regulations require companies to clarify
their financial information.
Tools for Measuring Org’l
• Performance
Balanced Scorecard (cont’d.)
Is a measurement tool that uses goals set by
managers in four areas to measure a company’s
performance:
Financial
Customer
Internal processes
People/innovation/growth assets
Is intended to emphasize that all of these areas are
important to an organization’s success and that there
should be a balance among them.
Information Controls
• Purposes of Information Controls
As a tool to help managers control other
organizational activities.
Managers need the right information at the right time and
in the right amount.
As an organizational area that managers need to
control.
Managers must have comprehensive and secure controls
in place to protect the organization’s important information.
Information Controls (cont’d)
• Management Information Systems (MIS)
A system used to provide management with needed
information on a regular basis.
Data: an unorganized collection of raw, unanalyzed facts
(e.g., unsorted list of customer names).
Information: data that has been analyzed and organized
such that it has value and relevance to managers.
Benchmarking of Best Practices
• Benchmark
The standard of excellence against which to measure
and compare.
• Benchmarking
Is the search for the best practices among
competitors or noncompetitors that lead to their
superior performance.
Is a control tool for identifying and measuring specific
performance gaps and areas for improvement.
Contemporary Issues in
•Control
Cross-Cultural Issues
The use of technology to increase direct corporate
control of local operations
Legal constraints on corrective actions in foreign
countries
Difficulty with the comparability of data collected from
operations in different countries
Contemporary Issues in
Control (cont’d)
• Workplace Concerns
Workplace privacy versus workplace monitoring:
E-mail, telephone, computer, and Internet usage
Productivity, harassment, security, confidentiality, intellectual
property protection
Employee theft
The unauthorized taking of company property by
employees for their personal use.
Workplace violence
Anger, rage, and violence in the workplace is affecting
Exhibit 17–11 Top Internet Video Sites Viewed
at Work
Top 10 Internet video brands viewed in the U.S.
while at work for January 2008, in millions of streams
YouTube 674.2
Yahoo 156.5
Fox Interactive Media 92.8
MSN/Windows Live 74.2
ESPN 68.3
CNN Digital 41.6
Turner Entertainment 41.4
NBC Universal 30.5
Disney Online 27.2
Source: Bobby White, “The New Nickelodeon 23.5
Watching,” Wall Street Journal,
Exhibit 17–13 Workplace Violence
Witnessed yelling or other verbal abuse 42%
Yelled at co-workers themselves 29%
Cried over work-related issues 23%
Seen someone purposely damage
machines or furniture 14%
Seen physical violence in the workplace 10%
Struck a co-worker 2%
18 and Over, in “Desk Rage.” BusinessWeek, November 20, 2000, p. 12.
