Importance of Controlling

Control is not optional in management — it is indispensable. Without it, even the best-laid plans can go wrong. A good control system helps an organisation in six specific ways, each explained below.

(i) Accomplishing organisational goals

Controlling measures progress towards the organisation's goals. It detects any deviations from the planned path and signals the need for corrective action. In this way, control keeps the organisation on the right track and ensures that goals are actually achieved, not just set.

(ii) Judging accuracy of standards

A sound control system allows management to check whether the standards it has set are accurate and objective. Because the environment and the organisation itself keep changing, an efficient control system monitors those changes and helps review and revise standards accordingly. Without this feedback, standards can become outdated or unrealistic.

(iii) Making efficient use of resources

Through control, a manager actively reduces wastage and spoilage of resources. Every activity is performed according to predetermined standards and norms. This ensures that resources — whether materials, money, or manpower — are used in the most effective and efficient manner possible.

(iv) Improving employee motivation

A good control system tells employees in advance what they are expected to do and what standards of performance will be used to appraise them. This clarity motivates them and helps them perform better, because they know exactly what is expected and how they will be judged.

(v) Ensuring order and discipline

Control creates an atmosphere of order and discipline in the organisation. By keeping a close check on employees' activities, it helps minimise dishonest behaviour. For example, an import-export company used computer monitoring as part of its control system to track dishonest employees, as the Control Through Computer Monitoring box alongside describes. …