CONTROL TECHNIQUES

1. INTRODUCTION

The assignment requires critically analyzing one of the key aspects of managerial organization and making suggestions to improve the current status of the selected organization. Out of the four areas I chose control techniques for this assignment.

Management controls have always existed, in order to control the behavior of employees with the purpose of ensuring that organisational objectives are achieved. Many of these controls were accounting controls, such as budgets, standard costs, variance analysis etc. As organisations became more sophisticated, non financial controls were added. These controls included targets such as quality, waste, delivery lead-time, customer satisfaction etc. When other controls, such as those in respect of personnel, information systems, corporate policies, working practices etc. are added, the result is a system of management control, although often the components of the system lead to different behaviors.
In his seminal work on the subject, Anthony (1965) defined management control as: “The process by which managers assume that resources are obtained and used effectively and efficiently in the accomplishment of the organisation’s objectives”
His classic categorization of control was of three levels; strategic, management and operational which he saw as linked. In his work, management control was seen as the interface between strategic planning and operational control such that management control ensured that day-to-day operations were consistent with overall strategy and that strategy was implemented through day-to-day activities.
Otley and Berry (1980) defined management control as monitoring activities and then taking actions in order to ensure that desired ends are attained.
They developed their model of management control system as a cybernetic control process that involved four