3.2 Prerequisites of the Control System

Two major prerequisites must exist before any manager can devise or maintain a system of control. These prerequisites are:

3.2.1 Control Requires Plans

It is obvious that before a control technique can be used or a system devised, control must be based on plans, and that the clearer, more complete, and more integrated plans are, the more effective controls can be. It is simple as this:

There is no way that managers can determine whether their organizational unit is accomplishing what is desired and expected unless they first know what is expected.

This simple truth means several things in practice:

First: All meaningful control techniques are, in the first instance, planning techniques.

Second: It is fruitless to try to design control without first taking into account plans and how well they are made.

The relationship between planning and control can be shown in Figure 3.1.