“Some management experts feel that control (that is, setting standards, measuring performance against them and taking corrective action when needed) hinders creativity. Others take the opposite view”
The case for control
Controls is essential as the best of plans may go awry. It also helps mangers monitor environmental changes and their effects on the organization’s progress.
Control creates better quality by spotting process flaws and correcting them. Employees are empowered to inspect and improve their own work. TQM changes many attitudes about, and approaches to achieving effective control.
Control helps cope with change. Change is an inevitable part of an organisation’s environment. Markets shift. Competitors offer new products and services that capture the public imagination. The control function aids mangers in responding to the resulting threats or opportunities, by helping them detect changes that are affecting their organization’s products and services.
Control creates faster cycles in creating and delivering products to customers.
Control adds value to a company’s offering (products) against those of its competitors in the form of above-average quality.
Control facilitates delegation and teamwork by letting the manger monitor employees’ progress without hampering employees’ creativity or involvement with the work.
The case against control
Trying to control too many elements of operations can annoy and demoralize employees, frustrate their managers and waste valuable time, energy and money.
Managers may focus on easy-to-measure factors such as the number of people served in a restaurant, and ignore harder-to-measure factors such as dinner satisfaction. Yet dinner satisfaction could be more important in the long-run than the number of people served in a given period.
Most of the problems can however be avoided by an analysis that identifies key performance areas and strategic control points.
