Relationship between Planning and Controlling

Planning and controlling are often called the inseparable twins of management. The reason is simple: one cannot work without the other. A system of control must have standards to compare against, and those standards come from planning. Once a plan is put into action, controlling steps in to monitor progress, measure actual performance, spot deviations, and take corrective action so that events stay on track. Without a plan, there is nothing to control; without control, a plan is just a wish.

Why planning is a prerequisite for controlling

If standards of performance are not set in advance, managers have no benchmark to judge actual results. No plan means no basis for control. It is impossible to accomplish controlling without planning because there is no predetermined understanding of what "desired performance" looks like. Planning is prescriptive — it decides the right course of action. Controlling is evaluative — it checks whether decisions have been turned into action.

The forward-looking and backward-looking nature

It is often said that planning looks ahead while controlling looks back. This is only partially correct. Plans are prepared for the future based on forecasts, so planning is indeed forward-looking. Controlling examines past activities to find deviations from standards, making it backward-looking. However, planning itself is guided by past experiences, and the corrective action taken through control aims to improve future performance. So both functions are actually backward-looking and forward-looking at the same time.

How planning and controlling reinforce each other …