Exam 16: Control

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There are five methods of control available to managers and organizations: bureaucratic,objective,normative,concertive,and self-control (self-management).At the most basic level,all of these are examples of the regulatory process of control,which involves establishing standards that will achieve organizational goals,comparing actual performance to those standards,and then,if necessary,taking corrective action to restore performance to those standards.Within the five methods,there are some specific similarities and differences.Bureaucratic and objective controls are top-down,management- and measurement-based.Normative and concertive controls represent shared forms of control because they evolve from companywide or team-based beliefs and values.Self-control,or self-management,is a control system in which managers largely,but not completely,turn control over to the individuals.
Bureaucratic control is based on organizational policies,rules,and procedures.Objective controls are based on reliable measures of behaviour or outputs,and are frequently differentiated as either behaviour control or output control.Normative control is based on strong corporate beliefs and careful hiring practices.Concertive control is based on the development of values,beliefs,and rules in autonomous work groups.Self-control is based on individuals setting their own goals,monitoring themselves,and rewarding or punishing themselves with respect to goal achievement.
The selection of particular methods of control to use under particular circumstances should not be a random matter.There are more or less appropriate circumstances for using each of these control methods.For example,bureaucratic control tends to be more appropriate when it is necessary to standardize operating procedures,and it is also necessary to establish limits.Behaviour control is appropriate to use when it is easier and more effective to measure what workers do than what they accomplish,and when clear cause-effect relationships between behaviour and work success are known.Output control is more effective when such cause-effect relationships are unclear,when it is easier and more effective to measure outputs than behaviour,and when it is possible to set clear goals and standards for worker output.Normative control tends to be more appropriate under circumstances when it is difficult to create good measures of worker behaviour and output,and organizational culture,values,and beliefs are strong.Concertive control should be considered when management desires a strong form of worker-based control and wants workers to take ownership of their behaviour and outputs while delegating responsibility for task accomplishment to autonomous work groups.Self-control is appropriate under circumstances when it is difficult to create good measures of worker behaviour and output,and when workers are intrinsically motivated to do their jobs well and have or are taught self-control and self-leadership skills.While student answers need not go into this level of detail on these contingencies for selecting one control method over another,they should demonstrate a general understanding of using a contingency approach to the selection of any given method.