How to control
Basically, you are seeking to control two areas – input and output
- and the relationship between them, which is productivity or
performance. All managers will know Murphy’s two laws: if
anything can go wrong, it will; and of the things that can’t go
wrong, some will.
The aim of good control is to protect your plans from the oper-
ation of these laws as far as possible; to detect trouble spots
before they erupt; to prevent those accidents which are just
waiting to happen. Prevention is better than cure.
ESSENTIALS OF CONTROL
Control is relative. It does not deal with absolutes, only with the
difference between good and not-so-good performance.
The basis of control is measurement. It depends on accurate
information about what is being achieved. This is then compared
with what shouldhave been achieved and with what has been
achieved in the past. But that is only a starting point. Good
control also identifies responsibility and points the way to action.
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