CONTROLLING ( MEANING AND

ITS LIMITATIONS )

MEANING OF CONTROLLING

It refers to bring the actual result closer to the

desired results.

In management, control means that in order to achieve the

desired objectives efficiently , economically ,and successfully the real
progress of the work should be assessed time to time so that the
actual progress of the work in accordance with the expected progress.
Controlling is the management function of establishing
performance standards, measuring actual performance activities to
see if the standards have been met, and taking corrective action. The
purpose of controlling is to determine whether people and the
various parts of the organization are on

target and achieving the progress toward the objectives that

they planned to achieve.

DEFINITION OF CONTROLLING

“ Control is the management of accomplishment against the

standard and the correction of deviations to assure attainment
of objectives according to plans .”
- Koontz and o’Donnell

➢ “ Control is the process of taking steps to bring actual results and

desired results closer together.”
- Philip Kotler

In 1916, Henri Fayol formulated one of the first definitions

of control as it pertains to management:
According to HENRY FAYOL
Control of an undertaking consists of seeing that
everything is being carried out in accordance with the plan which has
been adopted, the orders which have been given, and the principles
which have been laid down. Its object is to point out mistakes in
order that they may be rectified and prevented from recurring.

CHARACTERISTICS / FEATURES OF
CONTROLLING
❖ Controlling is a fundamental management
function – There are many functions of management – like
 planning, organizing ,staffing , directing and controlling. Out of
these functions controlling is the most important. It means that
all the plans that had been formulated , the post created for
their implementation ,the people appointed to fill up these
posts and the leadership provided to all the people working in
the enterprise will all become waste.

❖ Controlling is an essential function of every

manager – The second feature of controlling is its
performance at all managerial levels. It is that function of
management under which every manager at every level assures
that the actual progress is in conformity with the plans.

❖ Controlling is the continuous activity – Control

does not mean any activity which is preformed only for once or
is repeated after a long interval but is needed at all times.

❖ Dynamic activity – control involve continuous review of

standards of performance. Control results in corrective action
 that leads to change in other functions of management .The
process of management should be modern and dynamic so as to
cope with new business environments.

❖ Forward looking approach – The process of

controlling starts immediately after the actual performance. It
compares actual results with the expected results and
determines the deviation between two. Control is futuristic as it
is to conform to plans.

❖ Action oriented process- Control is an action oriented

process in the sense that it starts after the actual performance of
activities . Controlling has no meaning if corrective action not
taken on the basis of adverse deviation.

❖ Controlling is not necessarily looking back, it

is looking forward also – Controlling is called process of
looking back because under it the actual results are measured
with the expected results.

❖ Highly correlated with planning – Controlling is

based on planning. Planning and controlling go side by side .
Planning laid down the attainable standards against which the
actual performance is measured for controlling function.

❖ Normative force - Control sets the norms fpr

performance. The result of an operation cannot be positive in
the absence of proper control. Control canalizes the efforts and
energies of human efforts towards expected standards.

❖ Controlling is exercised on all the factors of

production whether living or non- living -
 Controlling is exercised not only on human resources but also on
material ., machines etc. so their optimum utilization is made.

❖ Controlling is needed for two reasons – These

reasons are :
➢ To establish co-ordination among different people and the
organization
➢ To adopt the various changes

OBJECTIVES OF CONTROLLING

✓ To evaluate the work progress – The aim of control

is to evaluate the actual work progress so that deviations
can be known by comparing it with the pre – determined
standards.

✓ Apply to corrective measures – The second chief

objective of control is to find deviation in the actual results
and the desired results and to apply corrective measures. It
is important to do so because it is only by corrective
measures that the mistakes committed earlier are
prevented from recurring.

✓ To gain maximum cooperation of human

resource – Human resource is the major resource among
all the available resources in the enterprise because all the
work is completed with the help of this resource.
Therefore, its help is of utmost necessity in the
accomplishment of the objectives of the business and the
 cooperation of human resource can be obtained through
control.

✓ To optimum utilization of resource – It is also a

major objective of control to make possible the maximum
use of material and machines along with the human
resource. The misuse of these resources can be prevented
through control.

✓ Fix to responsibility – The objective of control is to

determine the authority to be given to different people in
the organization connected with their work and to fix their
responsibility regarding the success or failure of work
performance.

✓ To motivate employees – Through the medium of

control an effort is made to motivate the employees. The
information regarding the implementation of a control
system makes the employees work with complete
dedication .

✓ To make decentralization possible –

Decentralization is required for the successful work
performance of all the works. Any action that increases the
importance of the subordinate is called decentralization.
This arrangement can be successful only when some watch
is kept.

✓ To face the changing environment – business

situations continue changing and plans have to be changed
accordingly. These changes can be known with the help of
control.
 LIMITATIONS OF CONTROLLING

➢ Difficulty in setting quantitative standards – It is

noted that the setting of standard is possible if the nature of
work is quantitative but in respect of work which is qualitative in
nature , the setting is rather difficult and therefore , for their
measurement the help of some indirect standards is taken .

➢ No control over external factors – It will not be true to

say that a manager by completing the function of controlling will
be able to establish complete discipline in the organization. A
manager can control internal factors only but it is impossible to
control external factors, like –
▪ Government policies
▪ Technical changes
▪ Competition
➢ Resistance from employees – Business environment is
dynamic . Latest techniques of controlling have to be used
in order to face this changes. However, the employees
oppose these changes.

➢ Expensive process – Control is an expensive process

because sufficient attention has to be paid to observe the
performance of the subordinates. It costs both money and
time to fix and measured standard performance and actual
performance.

➢ Difficulty in measurement – Sometimes, the task

performed by the employees can not be measured
accurately. Loyalty of workers, morale of employees etc.
are not measurable in quantitative terms .

➢ Lack of flexibility in standards – The standards

should be altered from time to time to confirm to the
present requirements. But in reality , it is seen that once
the standards is fixed , it cannot be easily changed.

➢ Lack of knowledge in controllers- Sometimes

people engaged in the process of control themselves
become a hindrance in it because they are not fully
equipped with information regarding control.