Control Mechanisms
Control is the fourth function of the management process. The control function of management evaluates how well the organization is doing achieving its goals and make corrective action to improve. (Bateman, Snell, 1998 ). A manager use the control function to management to process to measure the objective set in the planning process of management, report the results, and take corrective or prevention methods, if needed.
The control function of the management process ensures that the objective and the goals of the company are being implemented correctly. The planning functions of management moves the company forward, but the control function of management reaches back to bring the four functions of management full circle. The control function is a check and balance systems of the four functions of management. The control function is a never ending cycle of the four functions.
There are four steps in the control process of management. The four steps of the control process are: established performance standards, measure actual performance, comparing measured performance against established standards, and taking corrective action. (Allen, G. 1998). The first step in control process is establish performance standards. The standards are created in the planning process of management. Standards are the guidelines sets for the basis of management. In the establishing perform standards of the control process, a company could have time control, material control, equipment control, cost control, financial control, and operation control methods. The second step in the control process is measure actual performance. In this step of the control process data is collected to measure performance. The data is used to “determine variation from standard.” (Allen, G. 1998). At this stage of the control management, a company could have written or personal observation. The written document could include time cards, inspection reports, or production tallies. The...