What are the principles of control in management?

Following are the principles of control:

Principles of assurance of objective : The task of control is to ensure that plans succeed by detecting deviations from plans and furnishing a basis for taking action to correct potential or actual deviations.

Principle of future-directed controls: The more a control system is based on feedforward rather than simple feedback of information, the more managers have the opportunity to perceive undesirable deviations from plans before they occur and to take action in time to prevent them. Control, like planning, should ideally be forward-looking, because of time lags in the system of information feedback. Hence control should be directed towards the future by devising proper information, forecasting, early warning and rapid response mechanisms.

Principle of control responsibility: The primary responsibility for the exercise of control rests in the manager charged with performance of the particular plans involved. There is unity of planning and control in each managerial position.

Principle of efficiency of controls: Control techniques and approaches are efficient if they detect and illuminate the nature and causes of deviations from plans with a minimum of costs or other unsought consequences. The results of control should be worth their costs—both in monetary and human terms. The adverse human consequences of control have especially to be guarded against.

Principle of direct control: Higher the quality of every manager in a managerial system, they would ensure a high quality of managerial decision making and action behaviour.

Principle of reflection of plans: The more the plans are clear, complete and integrated, and the more the controls are designed to reflect such plans, the more effectively controls will serve the needs of managers. Clear, complete and integrated plans facilitate better control.

Principle of organisational suitability: The more that an organisational structure is clear, complete and integrated, and the more that controls are designed to reflect the place in the organisation structure where responsibility for action lies, the more they will facilitate correction of deviations from plans. Responsibility for execution of plans and for correction of deviations must be pinpointed clearly in the organisational structure.

Principle of individuality of controls: The more that control techniques and information are understandable to individual managers who must utilise them for results, the more they will be actually used and the more they will result in effective control. Control techniques should be tailored to the personality and orientations of managers; atleast they should be intelligible to them and within their power of understanding.

Principle of standards: Effective controls require objective, accurate and suitable standards. Measurement of performance by reference to standards should be verifiable, specific and simple. Standards should earn the respect of people who have to abide by them.

Principle of critical point control: Effective control requires attention to those factors critical to appraising performance against an individual plan. Managers should concentrate on salient features of performance in selective areas, picked up as of strategic importance.

Principle of exception: The more managers concentrate control efforts on exceptions, the more efficient will be the results of their control. This principle suggests that managers should concentrate on significant deviations, both positive and negative, from plans.

Principle of flexibility of controls: If controls are to remain effective, despite failure or unforeseen changes of plans, flexibility is required in their design. Since plans have to be flexible to order to be effective, control has also to be flexible.

Principle of action: Control is justified only if indicated or experienced deviations from plans are corrected through appropriate planning, organising, staffing and leading. The principle affirms the essential unity of management.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *