subject: Qualities of Effective Control: A Business Analysis [print this page] Qualities of Effective Control: A Business Analysis
Introduction
The control function just like planning, leading and organization is one of the components of good management system. Effective control should not be separated from other components rather should be applied together and their effectiveness entails the success or failure of business. Business managers should undergo monitoring of the various activities and see if everything is going according to the plan, if there is a deviation a solution should be put in place to address the problem. The control process, in general for many organizations involve measuring actual performance of business, comparing it with set standards, taking relevant managerial action and finally correcting the deviations or adjusting the standards if they are really to high or misrepresenting the actuality of happenings. However, organizations do differ in the type of controls they use, depending on the nature of business, business strategies among other considerations, and they do commonly use some controls more often than others thus controls are linked to business ethics.
Every supervisor or manager is ultimately responsible for the work of others. This takes skill and experience, yet most co-op supervisors end up in their positions without training or clear expectations of their role, Colter (1986). Some of the difficulties are compounded when some workers to be supervised were formerly co-workers on an equal footing. Setting of work standards is very critical to a manager for the people being led. Standards define the quality and quantity of regular work that an employee is expected to maintain on the average. Failure to meet standards indicates that an employee is unable or unwilling to do the job. Important to note is also conflict resolution, developing and implementing the standards and motivating workers.
There are various basic control tools and techniques used in organization to ensure effectivesness and avoid fraud and other white collar crimes. The tools and techniques include addressing information controls, behavioural controls and financial and operations controls, such controls refers to communication nextwoks, employee character and the finance and operations handling.
Qualities of Effective Control
The management of any organization must develop a control system tailored to its organization's goals and resources. Effective control systems share several common characteristics. The characteristics include focus on critical points, integration into established processes, acceptance by employees, availability of information in time of need, feasibility in economic terms, accuracy, comperensibility, organizational realistic, flexibility, coordinated with the organisation's work flow, and prescriptive and operational. If the control system involves the above characteristics it is effective. A discussion will be made for five characteristics of effective control.
(1) Accuracy of Information
For a control system to be effective, it must be based on accurate information. Information is very critical to an organisation especially when it is correctly communicated and is correct. Information on performance must be accurate, Barnat (2005). Managers should evaluating the accuracy of the information they receive and this is one of the most important control tasks that managers face. Effective control systems provide factual information that's useful, reliable, valid, and consistent. This implies that managers should avoid giving employees incomplete information, and information should have a reliable base containing facts. Even if assessing employees the manager should make sure the incorporation of all relevant factors.
(2) Timely
The issue of time should also be considered critical. A manager should work with time efficiently and respond to matters that are timed. Information must be collected, routed, and evaluated quickly if action is to be taken in time to produce improvements.
In an effort to manage time and ensure effective control in the organization, current information and also important information is constantly sent to all employees through e-mails, notice boards, meetings and immediate supervisors. The information includes adjustments to be made, exchange rates to be used, treatment of various commodities, banned procedures and uplifted controls. To ensure that information is universally accepted it is endorsed with the manager's signature and date of issue. The organization has also a website which is constantly updated, and many of the information related to work can be obtained. There is also information desk which also provides information. There are also monthly bulletins with information on the targets to be achieved, employee performance among other various information to be given to the employees. These are various ways that management has put in place to ensure effective controls.
(3) Economically Realistic
Realism in the economic sense is also an important characteristic of effective control. This implies that whatever the manager decide to implement should be of economic nature, so that employees will get the essence of the measure to be undertaken. The cost of implementing a control system should be less than, or at most equal to, the benefits derived from the control system, Barnat (2005). Just like any decision or project the cost and benefit analysis should be taken into account to measure the effectability. If cost are greater than benefits then there is no worthiness to talk of, the implementation of a control system should be cost effectiveness. However, evaluation should consider many factors including the importance or costs in the short term, medium term and long term to the business.
A manager may get to know the economic nature of his way of control through economic analysts preferably before implementation. If there is economic sense to a way of doing things there is increased acceptance by everyone and hence elimination of resistance in the organization.
(4) Organizational Realistic
The control system has to be compatible with organizational realities and all standards for performance must be realistic, Barnat (2005). While it is true that every employee knows the organization goals and how they should be met through his job description, the control system in place should conform. If it diverts or seems not to be compatible to organisation's realities the system is no longer effective control.
(5) Focused on Strategic Control Points
Strategical control points or critical points are very crucucial and worth to be considered in the control system for it to be effective. This implies that control system should be focused on those areas where deviations from the standards are most likely to take place or where deviations would lead to the greatest damage. Controls should be applied where failure cannot be tolerated or where costs cannot exceed a certain minimum amount. Critical points in an organization include all the areas of an organization's operations that have direct effect to the success of key operations.
Conclusion
Although we can isolate the different characteristics of en effective control system, the same characteristics should be applied in tangent so as to yield an effective control system. These characteristics should also be applied to controls at all levels of the organization to ensure business survival and profitability.
Eugene Jennings of Michigan State University conducted a study of 2700 supervisors selected as most effective by both top management of their companies and by the people who worked under them. These supervisors also met effectiveness criteria in terms of department productivity, absentee rate, and employee turnover.
