Features of Controlling
Management is essential to the success of organizations in an ever-changing and complex world of business. In order to ensure the envisioned objectives are achieved and resources are utilized optimally, controlling is an essential function of management.
To keep the performance of an organization aligned with predetermined standards and goals, controlling involves monitoring, evaluating, and regulating various aspects of the organization’s performance in an iterative and systematic manner.
The control function allows managers and decision-makers to understand how well the organization is progressing towards its objectives. Controlling allows for the identification of deviations, both positive and negative, and facilitates the implementation of corrective actions if necessary. By comparing actual performance with predetermined standards, it helps identify deviations, both positive and negative.
Organizations can adapt swiftly to changing circumstances and improve efficiency and effectiveness by being able to respond to deviations in real-time.
Some of the features of controlling are as follows:
1. Establishing Standards:
Setting clear, realistic standards is the foundation of controlling. Performance standards may be quantitative or qualitative, and they serve as benchmarks against which actual results are compared. Quantitative standards might include output levels, sales targets, budgets, and profit margins.
The factors that may be considered as qualitative standards include customer satisfaction, product quality, employee morale, and safety. Performance evaluation should be guided by specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound standards (SMART).