Meaning of Control

Control is a critical managerial role. The management process is incomplete without the control function. It’s the procedure that allows management to put its policies into action and take remedial action if performance falls short of expectations. It’s the process of making sure things go according to plan as much as feasible. It is the process of ensuring that what should be done is done and limiting unwanted behavior in terms of quantity, quality, time, and cost.

Control is an essential administrative function or process that assesses current performance and directs it toward preset goals. Control is defined as comparing progress to plans, establishing individual and organizational performance standards, and ensuring that they are met according to the plan.

Controlling aids in the detection of abnormalities, the identification of opportunities, the management of complete situations, the decentralization of authority, the reduction of expenses, and the management of uncertainty.

Importance of Control

1. It ensures that plans are carried out: This is accomplished by comparing the actual outcomes to the previously established standards.If the answer is no, efforts are made to determine the cause, and corrective action is done.
2. It ensures that human and physical resources are used to their full potential: It is verified that no employee intentionally delays work performance when the situation is under control. This will help to prevent the waste of all physical resources.
3. It Makes Supervision Easier: Control aims to determine which deviations are more critical so that greater attention can be paid to them. Control simplifies monitoring by providing information about significant variations.
4. It Aids in Coping with a Changing Environment:The industrial environment is changing all the time these days. All of these changes make it challenging to complete tasks by the plan. The manager must work with these changes and make any necessary adjustments to his plans. Only via control is this work possible.
5. Coordination Benefits from Control: Coordination is required between all departments and the individuals who work in them to fulfill the organization’s goals. Control is used to determine whether production is being carried out following the orders received.
6. It Contributes to Increased Efficiency: Under this system, each individual’s progress is regularly monitored, and any deficiencies are swiftly remedied.
7. It Benefits from Psychological Pressure: Control exerts psychological pressure on all employees in the company. Everyone is aware that their work performance is being evaluated in terms of speed and quality.
8. It Makes Decentralization Easier: It is evident that decentralization is critical to the enterprise’s performance.
9. It Increases Employee Morale: With the deployment of a control system, each employee’s tasks are specified separately. It implies that they are all aware of their responsibilities in relation to the work they are expected to complete.
10. It Makes Decision Making Easier: Managers at all levels make decisions based on various information gathered as part of the control process.
11. It Contributes to Lowering Costs and Improving Quality: With the help of a control system, the best use of all resources is possible, and the product’s cost is reduced while the quality is increased.
12. It Monitors a Range of Undesirable Activities: All negative actions like theft, corruption, job delays, feelings of non-cooperation, and so on are stopped when the control system is implemented. This leads to the formation of enterprise discipline.