Control

Question 1

Describe the control process

Answer 1

The control process begins by setting standards, measuring performance, and then comparing performance against the standards. The better a company’s information and measurement systems, the easier it is to make these comparisons. The control process continues by identifying and analyzing performance deviation and then developing and implementing programs for corrective action. control is a continuous, dynamic, cybernetic process, not a one-time achievement or result. control requires frequent managerial attention. the three basic control methods are feedback control (after-the-fact performance information), concurrent control (simultaneously performance information), and feedforward control (preventive performance information). Control has regulation costs and unanticipated consequences and therefore isn’t always worthwhile or possible.

Question 2

Define benchmarking. List the three steps in this process.

Answer 2

Benchmarking is the process of identifying outstanding practices. processes, and standards in other companies and adapting them to your company.

The three steps of benchmarking are:
1. Determining your benchmark is the first stage. a company can benchmark anything from the cycle time, the quality or the price of any product they produce.

2. Identify the companies to compare your benchmark to and establish its standards.
3. The final step is to collect data on another company performance standards, allowing the business to compare itself to them.

Question 3

Explain the term cybernetic and its relevance to the control process.

Answer 3

Cybernetic is the process of steering or keeping on course. this term is used to describe how the control process is cybernetic because constant attention to the feedback loop is necessary to keep the company’s activity on course.

Question 4

List and briefly identify the five methods that managers can use to achieve control in their organizations.

Answer 4

1. Bureaucratic control: The use of hierarchy authority to influence employee behavior by rewarding or punishing employees for compliance or noncompliance with organizational policies, rules, and procedures.
2. Objective control: The use of an observable measure of worker behavior or outputs to assess performance and influence behavior. There are two kinds of objective control:
   Behavior control: The regulation of behavior and actions that workers perform on the job.
   Output control: The regulation of workers’ results or outputs through rewards and incentives.
3. Normative control: The regulation of workers’ behavior and decisions through widely shared organizational values and beliefs.
4. Concertive control: The regulation of workers’ behavior and decisions through workgroup values and beliefs.
5. Self-control (Self-management): A control system in which managers and workers control their own behavior by setting their own goals, monitoring their own progress, and rewarding themselves for goal achievement.

Question 5

Describe the behaviors, processes, and outcomes that today’s managers are choosing to control in their organizations.

Answer 5

Deciding what to control is just as important as deciding whether to control or how to control. In most companies, performance is measured using financial measures alone. However, the balanced scorecard encourages managers to measure and control company performance from four perspectives: financial, customers, internal operations, and innovation and learning. Traditionally, financial control has been achieved through cash flow analysis, balance sheets, income statements, financial ratios, and budgets. Another way to measure and control financial performance, however, is through economic value added (EVA). Unlike traditional financial measures, EVA helps managers assess whether they are performing well enough to pay the cost of the capital needed to run the business. Instead of using customer satisfaction surveys to measure performance, companies should pay attention to customer defectors, who are more likely to speak up about what the company is doing wrong. Performance of internal operations is often measured in terms of quality, which is defined in three ways: excellence, value, and conformance to expectations.
Minimization of waste has become an important part of innovation and learning in companies. The four levels of waste minimization are waste prevention and reduction, recycling and reuse, waste treatment, and waste disposal.

Question 6

List the guidelines for using feedforeard control

Answer 6

1. Throughout planning and analysis are required.
2. Careful discrimination must be applied in selecting input variables.
3. The feedforward system must be kept dynamic
4. A model of the control system should be developed
5. Data on input variables must be regularly collected.
6. Data on input variables must be regularly assessed.
7. Feedforward control requires actions.

Question 7

Define Feedback, concurrent and Feedforward control

Answer 7

Feedback control - A mechanism for gathering information about performance deficiencies after they occur.

Concurrent control - A mechanism for gathering information about performance deficiencies as they occur, thereby 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.