Control. Basics
Definition.
Stephen Robbins defines control as "a process of monitoring activities to make sure they are developing according to plan and to correct any evident deviation". While James Stoner states that "administrative control is the process that guarantees that real activities are adjusted to the projected activities".
Control refers to the mechanisms used to guarantee that conducts and performance comply with the rules and procedures of an enterprise. The term of control has a negative connotation for the majority of people since it is associated to restriction, imposition, limiting, monitoring or manipulation.
Importance.
Control is a function of every administrator; from the President of a company to the supervisors. Some administrators, particularly from lower levels, forget that the primary responsibility over the exercise of control falls upon every administrator in charge of plan executions in the same manner. Even if the reach of control varies from one administrator to another, administrators of every level have the responsibility of executing plans. As a result, control is one of the essential administrative functions at any level.
In that sense, we can establish the following aspects, which are of great importance in the control of an enterprise:
· It contribute to measure and correct the labor executed by employees in order to achieve purposes.
· It makes the analysis of what was made with what was planned possible.
· The control techniques and systems are applicable to any administrative activity.
· It is constituted for bosses as a tool, through which we prove if the purposes of the organization are achieved according to plan.
Strategic areas of control.
The key performance or key areas of results are those elements of the unit or enterprise that must function efficiently for the success of all the unit or the enterprise. These areas, as a general rule, involve the main activities of the enterprise, or groups of related which become present all over the enterprise. Some basic result areas are areas like production, finance, marketing, human resources and accounting. These basic result areas, in turn, are used to define more detailed norms and control systems.
In the enterprises of today, many key result areas (KRA) are inter-functional. An enterprise could define its KRA for a team directed to customer service, in terms of the given answers from clients in a service survey.
Management and Operative Control.
Management control is the responsibility of the high levels within an enterprise, usually, the General Manager of the company since they carry out that type of control. It consists in making sure the necessary resources are obtained and used efficiently when achieving the objectives of the organization.
Some characteristics are:
· It focuses action to programs or organizational units.
· The information must compare what was planned with what was made.
· It is found in every activity of the enterprise.
· It is periodic, programmed, rhythmic.
· It must be unabridged.
Operative controls are responsibility of mid-level Managers as are those who perform supervision functions in lower levels or first level. It is the process through which the organization makes sure that specific tasks are carried out effectively.
