Chapter 7 - Control Flashcards
Control
A regulatory process of establishing standards to achieve organizational goals, comparing actual performance against the standards, and taking corrective action when necessary.
Control is achieved when:
Behaviour and work procedures conform to standards, and company goals are accomplished
The basic control process involves:
Standards; comparison to standards; corrective action; dynamic process; and feedback, concurrent and feed forward control
Standards
A basic comparison when measuring the extent to which various kinds of organizational performances are satisfactory or unsatisfactory. (Meeting goals)
Benchmarking
The process of identifying outstanding practices, processes, and standards in other companies and adapting them to your company.
Using benchmarking to set standards
- Determine what to benchmark
- Identify the companies against which to benchmark your standards
- Collect data to determine other companies’ performance standards
Comparison to standards
Compare actual performance to performance standards.
Corrective action
Identify performance deviations, analyze those deviations, and then develop and implement programs to correct them.
Dynamic process
Control is a continuous, dynamic process. Control is not a one-time achievement or result, it must be continually maintained.
Three basic control methods
Feedback control
Concurrent control
Feedforward control
Feedback Control
A mechanism for gathering information about performance deficiencies after the occur.
Concurrent Control
A mechanism for gathering information about performance deficiencies as they occur, eliminating or shortening the delay between performance and feedback.
Feedforward Control
A mechanism for monitoring performance inputs rather than outputs to prevent or minimize performance deficiencies before they occur.
Guidelines for using feedforward control
- Thorough planning and analysis are required
- Careful discrimination must be applied in selecting input variables
- The feedforward system must be kept dynamic
- A model of the control system should be developed
- Data on input variables must be regularly collected
- Data on input variables must be regularly assessed
- Feedforward control requires action
Control may not always be possible because of
Control loss, Regulation costs, Cybernetic feasibility, and Unintended consequences
Control Loss
Situation in which behaviour and work procedures do not conform to standards.
Regulation Costs
The cost associated with the implementing or maintaining control.
Cybernetic Feasibility
The extent to which it is possible to implement each step in the control process.
Unintended consequences
Control systems help companies, managers, and workers accomplish their goals, but at the same time that control systems help solve some problems, they can create others.
Five methods of control
Bureaucratic Control Objective Control Normative Control Concertive Control Self-Control (Self-Management)
Bureaucratic Control
Use of hierarchical authority to influence employee behaviour by rewarding or punishing employees for compliance or non-compliance with organization policies, rules, and procedures.
Objective Control
Use of observable measures of worker behaviours or outputs to assess performance and influence behaviour.
Normative Control
Regulation of workers behaviour and decisions through widely shared organizational values and beliefs.
Concertive Control
Regulation of workers behaviour and decisions through work group values and beliefs.
Self-Control (Self-Management)
Control system in which managers and workers control their own behaviour by setting their own goals, monitoring their own progress, and rewarding themselves for goal achievement.
Types of objective control
Behavioural control
Output control
Behaviour Control
Regulation of the behaviours and actions that workers perform on the job.
Output Control
Regulation of workers results or outputs through rewards and incentives.
Type of concertive control
Autonomous work groups
Autonomous work groups
Groups that operate with-out managers and are completely responsible for controlling work group processes, outputs, and behaviour.
Balanced Scorecard
Measurements of organizational performance in four equally important areas; Finances, customers, internal operations, and innovative and learning.
Advantages of using the balanced scorecard
- It forces managers at each level of the company to set specific goals and measure performance in each of the four areas
- It minimizes the chances of sub-optimization
Sub optimization
Performance improvement in one part of an organization but only at the expense of decreased performance in another part.
The four basic parts of the balanced scorecard
- The financial perspective (economic value added)
- The customer perspective (customer defections)
- The internal perspective (total quality management, value)
- The innovation and learning perspective (waste and pollution)
Economic Values Added (EVA)
The amount by which company profits (revenues minus expenses minus taxes) exceed the cost of capitol.
Customer Defections
Performance assessment which companies identify which customers are leaving and measure the rate at which they are leaving.
Value
Customer perception that the product quality is excellent for the price offered.
4 Level of Waste Minimization
Waste prevention and reduction, Recycle and reuse, Waste Treatment, Waste disposal.
