Control refers to the process of supervision and correction to ensure that all plans within the organization are completed as required.Specifically, control is to investigate and supervise the implementation of actual economic activities by constantly receiving and exchanging internal and external information of enterprises according to the predetermined planned indicators and standards, find out the main reasons in time if any deviation is found, and take self adjustment measures according to the changes in environmental conditions, so thatenterpriseThe production and operation activities of the enterprise can be carried out according to the predetermined plan or the plan can be properly modified to ensure the realization of the economic objectives of the enterprise.[1]
Control function is one of the basic functions of management activities.No matter how comprehensive the organizational plan is, if a decision or plan cannot be effectively implemented without effective control, the management work may deviate from the plan, and the organizational objectives may not be successfully achieved.In order to manage more effectively, an organization must establish a good organizational control system.In this chapter, we will discuss the concept of control, the type of control, the process of control, the characteristics of effective control systems and the methods of control.[1]
Meaning of control
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Control refers to the process of supervision and correction to ensure that all plans within the organization are completed as required.Specifically, control is to investigate and supervise the implementation of actual economic activities by constantly receiving and exchanging internal and external information of enterprises according to the predetermined planned indicators and standards, find out the main reasons in time if any deviation is found, and take self adjustment measures according to the changes in environmental conditions,The management activities that enable the production and operation activities of the enterprise to carry out or appropriately modify the plan in accordance with the predetermined plan to ensure the realization of the economic objectives of the enterprise.[1]
All managers of an enterprise should assume the responsibility of control, even if his department is operating completely according to the plan.Because the manager does not know whether the work of his department is normal until he compares the work that has been completed with the standard that the plan should meet.An effective control system can ensure that all actions are completed in the direction of achieving organizational goals.The more perfect the control system is, the easier it is for managers to achieve organizational goals.
To fully understand the meaning of the control function, it is necessary to link the control function with the planning function.Control and planning are different from each other and closely linked.Plans provide standards for control work. Without plans, control has no basis.However, if only the plan is prepared and its implementation is not controlled, it will be difficult to achieve the plan goals satisfactorily.Therefore, some people regard planning work and control work as the two edges of a pair of scissors. Without either edge, the scissors cannot function.[1]
Necessity of control
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The necessity of modern enterprise control is mainly determined by the following reasons.
one
Changes in the enterprise environment.Under the condition of socialist market economy, the market demand is constantly changing, the market competition is increasingly fierce, the means of competition is increasingly diverse, and enterprises of the same type are constantly emerging. At the same time, some enterprises of the same type are gradually eliminated.Therefore, enterprises must timely adjust their own business behavior and the changes in the internal and external environment of business according to the changes in market demand, which inevitably requires enterprises to constantly adjust their production and business activities by using the management means of control during the implementation of the plan, so as to meet the needs of changes in the internal and external environment and achieve the business objectives of enterprises.[1]
two
Decentralization of management power.The production and operation activities of modern enterprises are of considerable scale, and it is impossible for enterprise managers to directly and face to face organize and direct the labor of all employees.The limitation of time and energy requires managers to entrust some assistants to effectively complete part of the entrusted management affairs. The higher level supervisor must give them corresponding authority.Therefore, the management authority of any enterprise is institutionalized or non institutionalized in various management departments and levels.The higher the degree of decentralization of the enterprise, the more necessary the control is. Supervisors at each level must regularly or irregularly check the work of their direct subordinates to ensure that the powers granted to them are used correctly and that the business activities of these power organizations meet the requirements of the plan and enterprise goals.If there is no control and no corresponding control system established for this purpose, the management personnel cannot check the work of the lower level. Even if there are other situations such as irresponsible abuse of power or activities that do not meet the requirements of the plan, the management personnel cannot find out, let alone take timely corrective measures.[1]
three
Difference in working ability.Even if the enterprise has formulated a comprehensive and perfect plan, and the business environment is relatively stable in a certain period of time, the control of business activities is still necessary.This is caused by the differences in the cognitive ability and working ability of members of different organizations.The realization of the perfect plan requires that the work of each department be carried out in a coordinated manner in strict accordance with the requirements of the plan.However, because organization members work in different time and space, their cognitive abilities are different, and their understanding of plan requirements may be different;Even if every employee can fully and correctly understand the requirements of the plan, their actual work results may not conform to the requirements of the plan in terms of quality and quantity due to differences in work ability.This deviation from the plan that may occur in a certain link will have an impact on the whole enterprise's activities.Therefore, it is very necessary to strengthen the control over the work of these members.[1]
Type of control
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Due to the universality of control work, control can be classified according to various standards.
Classification by control time point
According to the different control time points, it can be divided into feedforward control, synchronous control and feedback control.
1. Feedforward control
This is a constant that keeps the expected quantity unchanged over timefeedback control。In constant value control, because the expected quantity is a constant, the main task of its control system is to resist external interference.When the external interference affects the system operation, the output will deviate from the expected value. The role of the control system is to restore the controlled variable to the expected constant.In practice, the state's control of price level and economic growth rate is generally fixed value control.[1]
Feedforward control, a future oriented control method, is widely used.For example, in quality management, there are usually seven factors that affect product quality, namely, people, machines, process methods, raw materials, measurement, information and environment. Through causal analysis and other methods, managers can know what factors have an impact on product quality characteristics, and then they can formulate targeted preventive measures to prevent quality problems,This is the usual method in the current quality management process.[1]
2. Synchronization control
Synchronous control is also called on-site control or in-process control.It means that the control function occurs in the action, that is, it is carried out simultaneously with the work process.It is characterized by timely discovery and correction of deviations in the course of action to achieve immediate results and minimize losses.The purpose is to ensure that the deviation of this activity will be minimized, and improve the quality of this activity rather than the next one.[1]
The main content of production site management activities in enterprise management is control in the event, which is carried out by grass-roots managers.This control usually includes two functions: one is technical guidance, including instructions on appropriate working methods and processes;The second is to supervise the work of the subordinates, correct the deviation immediately when it is found, and ensure that the subordinates complete the task correctly.On site control requires managers to complete all aspects of complete control, including comparison, analysis, correction of deviation, etc. in a timely manner, so the effect of control work depends more on factors such as the personal quality, style, guidance method of site managers and their subordinates' understanding of these guidance contents.Therefore, synchronous control has high requirements for managers.[1]
The content of synchronization control is closely related to the characteristics of the controlled object.For relatively simple labor or highly standardized work such as production site, strict on-site control and supervision may be better;But for high-level creative labor, managers should focus more on creating a good working environment and atmosphere, which is conducive to the smooth progress of work and the realization of goals.[1]
3. Feedback control
Feedback control, also known as post control, is the most commonly used control method.The so-called feedback control is to obtain feedback information from the results of production and operation activities in a period, and monitor and correct future activities according to the feedback information.Feedback control mainly includes financial analysis, cost analysis, quality analysis and employee performance evaluation.[1]
Feedback control provides managers with real information about the effect of plan implementation.However, because this control is carried out after the event, no matter how pertinent the analysis is and how correct the conclusion is, it is useless for the formed results. They cannot change the existing facts, and can only "mend the mistakes that have occurred".The main role of feedback control, or even the only role, is to provide reference for the formulation of future plans and activity arrangements by summarizing past experiences and lessons.[1]
Another fatal weakness of feedback control is hysteresis.It takes time to measure the results, analyze and compare, develop corrective measures and implement them. It is easy to delay the opportunity, increase the difficulty of control, and the losses that have occurred cannot be recovered.In addition, post control maintains the stability of the system through information feedback and action regulation, so it requires that the feedback speed must be greater than the change speed of the controlled object, otherwise, the system will oscillate and be in an unstable state, and the control is difficult to achieve the desired effect, sometimes even counterproductive.For example, enterprises that blindly follow the market trend but are always half a beat slower than the market development speed are typical of the lag of post control feedback speed.[1]
Classification by control source
According to different sources of control, control can be divided intoFormal organizational control, group control and self-control.
1. Formal organization control
Formal organizational control is controlled by some institutions or regulations designed and established by managers. For example, planning, budget and audit departments are typical examples of formal organizational control.The organization can guide the activities of its members through planning, control consumption through budget, check whether each department or individual conducts activities according to regulations through audit, and propose corrective measures.For example, according to the regulations, employees who smoke in places where smoking is prohibited will be fined, and those who violate the operating procedures will be given disciplinary sanctions, which fall into the scope of formal organizational control.[1]
2. Group control
Group control is based on the values and codes of conduct of group members. It divides behaviors into acceptable and unacceptable ones through group codes of conduct. Group codes play a powerful role in individual behaviors.Some enterprises attach great importance to the control of working groups, and they try to cultivate collective common behavior types by developing corporate culture.Some enterprises, such as the founders of IBM, even stipulate to wear (black suits, white shirts, striped ties) and drink (no alcoholic drinks, even after work), and such regulations are printed as labels and pasted everywhere.The group control in Japanese enterprises is more in-depth and effective.Group control affects the behavior of employees to some extent, and if handled well, it is conducive to achieving organizational goals;If not handled well, it will bring great harm to the organization.[1]
3. Self control
Self control is a process of self correction when deviation occurs by setting up a self regulating system.It can be said that the philosophical basis of self-control is the Y theory of human nature.The ability of self-control depends on the quality of individuals themselves. Pride and initiative are the main sources of self-control.People with good culture generally have strong self-control ability, and people who care about the overall situation have stronger self-control ability than those who only value their own partial use;People with higher level needs have stronger self-control ability than those with lower level needs.In order to make management effective, enterprises must have the ability to transfer more control from management departments and managers to employees' self-control.[1]
Classification by control means
According to different control means, control can be divided into direct control and indirect control.
1. Direct control
Direct control refers to the control mode in which the manager (controlled object) receives information directly from the manager, or the manager sends control information directly to the controlled object to restrict the behavior of the controlled object.For example, the superior management personnel use the administrative order to control the subordinates.Adopting administrative orders is the most intuitive and simple method.However, in actual economic management activities, this direct control method often can not make the effect of the whole system better.This is because direct control ignores the human factor in the enterprise, which is not conducive to the enthusiasm and creativity of the lower level, and human potential and initiative cannot be brought into play.Therefore, there are certain boundaries in the application of direct control, beyond which it is bound to have side effects.[1]
2. Indirect control
Indirect control refers to a form of control in which the controlled object receives control information from the "controller", such as the system, policy and responsibility formulated by the manager, rather than receiving control instructions directly from the manager.Indirect control refers to the process of regulating the controlled object through some indirect means.For example, the superior managers regulate the behaviors of their subordinates through such economic measures as bonuses and fines.The distribution policy linking bonus and performance within the enterprise, as well as the use of ideological work tools to form a good atmosphere and high quality values, can effectively control people's behavior, which belongs to indirect control.This indirect control method reduces the amount of information that needs to be processed, beats the enthusiasm of people in the enterprise, and is conducive to achieving better results in the entire economic system.[1]
Role of control
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（1） Effective control can ensure that the organizational plan adapts to the external environment
The organizational plan cannot be static, and almost all plans cannot be successfully implemented.Because any goals and plans are formulated at a specific time and under specific environmental conditions, once the environment changes, managers must adjust the plans through control activities.Especially in the complex and changeable market environment, it is difficult to accurately predict the future development and changes, so it is more necessary to adjust the plan according to the target standards at any time, so that the actual activities can adapt to the changed environment, implement the new plan requirements, and better achieve the goals.[1]
（2） Effective control can ensure that the plan is coordinated with the interests of all departments of the organization
The overall objective of the organization is composed of the objectives of each department. In the process of decomposition and implementation of the overall objective, managers must also carry out a lot of coordination work for each department and its activities to avoid departmentalism and ensure that each department can obey the needs of the overall situation.If there is no effective management control system, there may be a situation where each department is in charge of its own affairs, and the development of each department may deviate from the overall goal and plan, which in serious cases will lead to systematic confusion, and the limited human, material and financial resources cannot be reasonably allocated and effectively used.[1]
（3） Effective control can ensure that the organization plan matches the quality, ability and responsibility of personnel at all levels
Even with the correct plan, it is still uncertain that all work plans can be successfully completed.Work depends on people. People have different abilities, motivations and attitudes, and the completion of planned tasks requires different abilities and qualities of relevant responsible persons. Only through inspection and supervision can we find out the matching errors between planned tasks and responsible persons in time, analyze their own responsibilities, know their performance evaluation standards, and constantly compare and introspect;Therefore, managers also have a reference to examine the work performance of their subordinates, otherwise they may lose control.[1]
