Exam Study - Ch. 13 Organisational Control & Power Flashcards
Traditional views of organisational control placed emphasis on …
conformity of activities.
What is the purpose of organisational control?
To bring about conformance to organisational requirements & achieving its ultimate purpose
Control systems are concerned with…
regulation of behaviour
What are some concepts of “process-rational thinking”?
- Those ‘in charge’ aspire to achieve control over work behaviours
- Only partial control can be achieved (control is typically resisted)
- Control over work behaviour is brought about through negotiation, persuasion, manipulation through system ‘devices’ such as policies, rules and official procedures
What is the underlying purpose of management control??
Improved work performance.
What is the purpose of control systems?
To measure how effectively decisions have been translated into results.
What is the largest control system according to Egan?
organisational culture.
What are the 5 stages/activities of an organisational control system?
- Planning – objectives and targets
- Establishing –standards of performance
- Monitoring – actual performance
- Comparing – actual achievement against planned targets
- Rectifying – taking corrective action
Name some forms of control.
- observance of legislation
- organisational structure and role relationships
- the type of production system and use of technology
- measuring inputs, outputs, processes or people’s behaviour
- recruitment, selection, socialisation, training and development
- measuring performance of the organisation as a whole. Total quality control.
- rewards
- feedback
What is meant by “concertive control”?
Control that is not exercised by a manager, but by the value consensus of the team based on a system of normative rules.
I.e. workers form their own culture norms and develop means for their own control.
What are the 6 strategies/types of control according to Child?
- Personal centralised control
- Bureaucratic control
- Output control
- Electronic surveillance
- HRM control
- Cultural control
Name some characteristics of an effective control system.
- They should be understood by those who operate them.
- Draw attention to the critical activities important to organisational success .
- Conform with organisational structure and be related to decision centres responsible for performance .
- Be consistent with the objective of the activity to which it relates .
- Report performance deviations as quickly as possible
- Be flexible .
- Be subject tot a continual review to assure effectiveness and appropriateness.
Define power.
The ability to have control or influence over people’s behaviour with or without their consent.
What are the 2 main sources of managerial stress?
- lack of power
2. office politics
What are the 3 types of authority according to Weber?
- Traditional
- Charismatic
- Legal-rational
What are the 3 types of power according to Etzioni?
- Coercive power (uses theats)
- Remunerative power (manipulates resources/rewards)
- Normative power (manipulates symbolic rewards)
What does Etzioni mean by “involvement”? Name the 3 degrees.
Involvement = the degree of commitment by organisational members.
- Alienative involvement – members are involved against their wishes
2. Calculative involvement – motivated by rewards - Moral involvement – based on belief in organisational values
What types of power go hand-in-hand with what types of involvement (Etzioni)?
- Coercive power + alienative involvement
- Remunerative power + calculative involvement
- Normative power + moral involvement
What 5 sources of power are there according to French & Raven?
- Reward power
- Coercive power
- Legitimate power
- Referent power
- Expert power
Power can also arise from interpersonal sources, which are they?
- personality
- experience - characteristics
- talents
What is meant by “negative powers”?
The ability to stop, delay, distort or disrupt things. This can be exercised by people of all levels
What are the shortcomings of using primarily financial control systems?
They neglect the softer issues such as management style, employee motivation, shared values and corporate culture.
What are some specific behaviours that can exercise influence according to Yukl?
- Rational persuasion – using logical arguments and factual persuasion
- Apprising – explaining personal benefits or career advancement
- Inspiration appeals – to values/ideas or attempt to gain commitment
4. Consultation – seeking support and assistance
5. Exchange – incentives or willingness to reciprocate - Collaboration – providing relevant resources and assistance in exchange for proposed change
- Personal appeals – based on friendship or personal favour
- Ingratiation – use of praise or flattery
- Legitimating tactics – establishing legitimacy or verifying authority
- Pressure – use of demands, threats, frequent checking
11. Coalition tactics – seeking aid/support of others
What is the trade-off when exercising control according to Stewart?
- trying to improve predictability of people’s actions
2. the desirability of encouraging individual and local responsiveness to changing situations
What are the three forms of control according to Stewart?
- Direct control by orders, direct supervision and rules/regulations (crisis or training situations)
- Control through standardisation and specialisation
- Control through influencing people’s thoughts on what they should do (most effective)
What are some factors that can affect the successful implementation of management control systems?
- Attitudes and response of staff
- Motivation
- Groups and informal organisation
- Leadership style and systems of management – which is a function of manager’s attitudes toward people (Theory X vs. Theory Y / Likert’s management systems)
- Consultation and participation
6. Organisation structure – mechanistic = more suited to traditional control system, organic structures = dependant on individual involvement and commitment to organisational aims.
What is empowerment?
allowing employees greater freedom, autonomy and self-control over their work and responsibility for decision-making.
What is the manager-subordinate relationship founded on?
- authority
- responsibility
- accountability
What are the benefits of delegation?
- better time-management
- provides training/development opportunities
- increases morale
- increases job satisfaction
Why are some reasons a manager fails to delegate successfully?
- seeing the subordinate as incapable of doing a good job
- fear of being blamed for subordinates’ mistakes
- fear that the subordinate may do too good of a job and reflect bad on the manager
3 reasons why employees subject themselves to control systems
- To get feedback on task performance
- To receive structure for tasks and performance measurement
- To receive reward where pay is based on performance
What are the 5 basic activities of management?
- Clarifying goals and objectives
- Planning
- Organising
- Directing
- Controlling
What are the 3 steps of the control process?
- Measuring actual performance
- Comparing performance against predefined standards
- Taking managerial action
Name some mechanistic control methods.
- Detailed rules & procedures whenever possible
- Top-down authority (positional power)
- Activity-based job descriptions
- Extrinsic rewards
Name some organic control methods.
- Detailed rules & procedures only when necessary
- Flexible authority (expert power)
- Results-based job description
- Extrinsic & intrinsic rewards
What are the 5 control methods and explain them.
- Bureaucratic control
- top-down (position power)
- uses rewards/punishments
- policies/rules
- resistant to change - Objective control
- observable measures of worker behaviour & output
- regulates on-the-job behaviour
- rewards/incentives - Normative control
- careful selection of employees
- observing experienced employees - Concertive control
- group values/norms regulate behaviour, not manager
- group members control processes and output - Self-control
What does the Balanced Score Card measure?
- Customer perspective
- Internal perspective
- Innovation & learning perspective
- Financial perspective
What is meant by “Economic Value Added (EVA)”?
The amount by which profits exceed cost of capital in a given year.
It shows whether a business, SBU, department is self-sustainable.
What are 3 ways to control waste and pollution.
- good housekeeping
- material/product substitution
- process modification
