Management Chapter 18: Monitoring and Controlling

Chapter 18: Monitoring and Controlling

• Controlling is a management function focused on monitoring, comparing, and correcting work performance.
• The control process is a four-step process:
  • Setting a standard: Managers determine the standards to use in the organization; a benchmark for comparison; aspirational. This can be a budget or a forecast of results.
  • Measuring actual performance: Evaluating actual performance using different sources.
    • Sources of information
      • Personal observation, statistical reports, oral reports, and written reports.
    • Control criteria are factors like employee satisfaction, turnover, absenteeism, costs, output, and sales.
    • Advantages and drawbacks of each measurement source:
      • Personal observation: firsthand knowledge, intensive coverage, easy to visualize relationships. Disadvantages: subject to biases, time-consuming, obtrusive.
      • Statistical Reports: visualizing relationships, fast to gain information, comprehensive, formal, easy to file. Disadvantages: limited information, subjective factor ignored, information filtered, takes more time to prepare.
      • Oral Reports: Fast, use of verbal and nonverbal feedback. Disadvantages: information filtered, not documented.
      • Written Reports: Comprehensive information, formal, easy to file/retrieve. Disadvantages: information is filtered, take time to prepare.
  • Comparing actual performance against the standard: Evaluating performance against previously set standards, taking into account a range of possible variation.
  • Taking managerial action: Depending on the comparison, managers take actions to correct deviations or inadequacies:
    • Do nothing (if variance is acceptable.)
    • Immediate corrective action (quick fixes.)
    • Basic corrective action (examining the root causes of deviations.)
    • Corrective actions (changing strategy, structure, compensation schemes, training programs, redesigning jobs, or firing employees.)
    • Revising the standard: Evaluating the standard's realism, fairness, achievability, validity (adjusting goals if performance is consistently above or below expectations). This must be done carefully; cautions about lowering the standard.
• Organizational performance is the combined results of all organizational activities.
• Measures of organizational performance include:
  • Productivity: quantity of goods or services produced in comparison to the inputs used.
  • Effectiveness: appropriateness of organizational goals and the degree to which they're accomplished.
• Controlling employee performance:
  • Disciplinary action: Measures taken to enforce organizational standards/regulations.
  • Progressive disciplinary action: A penalty system targeting the minimum appropriate penalty for each infraction, escalating when needed.
• Types of control:
  • Feedforward control: Takes place before an activity occurs(anticipating problems).
  • Concurrent control: Takes place during the activity (correcting problems as they happen).
  • Feedback control: Takes place after the activity (correcting problems after they occur.)
  • Management by walking around is used by managers to interact with employees

This quiz focuses on Chapter 18 that covers the management function of monitoring and controlling. It delves into the four-step control process, including setting standards and measuring performance. You'll explore various sources of information and their advantages and drawbacks in assessing organizational effectiveness.