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Setting plans, establishing the structure and directing the people do not guarantee that every thing in the organization is going well. We must make sure that all the work activities are going as they were determined in the plan and through the channels which have been established.
Thus, control process is very important for all types of organizations (profit or nonprofit, industrial, agricultural, commercial, or scientific, large or small, public or private.
What is control? (Meaning and nature)
The function of management control is regarded as one of the most difficult tasks that focus the executive functioning in the modern business world. Meanwhile, there are no common agreement regarding the definition of control as each researcher or writer has his/ her own definition. However, among the most common definitions are:
· Control is making sure that something happen the way it was planned to happen. As implied in this definition, planning and controlling are virtually inseparable functions. (Certo, 2000, p. 422).
· Control is the task of ensuring that the activities are providing the desired results. (Omran, 2001, p. 162).
Based on this, control involves:
1. Setting a target (criteria),
2. Measuring the actual performance. and
3. Taking the corrective actions.
Why control is important (its necessity)?
If you could be sure that every task you assigned would be perfectly executed, you really would not need to control. But things rarely go this smoothly. Most plans are executed by people, and people vary widely in their abilities, motivation, and honesty. Furthermore, plans themselves become outdated and require revision. For these reasons and more, control is an important management function.
Control applies to controlling every task - whether it was large or small - you delegate. Thus, for every task you delegate, you should establish a control mechanism, and the way of ensuring that performance is in line with plans.
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