Controlling

The last function of management tends to get a bad reputation, because many people think about control as that domineering manager, breathing down your neck and monitoring your every move (think of a micromanager for whom you may have worked). However, there are many different ways a manager can utilize the function of control to assist in achieving organizational goals. Developing a budgetary plan and evaluating whether the plan was accomplished or not can be considered control. In fact, planning and controlling go hand in hand.

Imagine that our class decides to start up a new custom T-shirt company. As part of our planning process, we decide we want to sell 1,000 T-shirts in our first month of operation. Obviously, the planning function prepares us to make and sell 1,000 T-shirts. So, we all go about doing our jobs:

• Pass out flyers in local neighborhoods and advertise in the local papers. Establish a social media presence and website with discounts (marketing).
• Order and pay for the supplies, make the T-shirts, and deliver/ship them (operations).
• Keep track of our expenses, sales volume, and so forth (budgeting).

At the end of the month, we determine that we only sold 800 T-shirts and lost money! What went wrong? Was it that we didn't plan correctly and overestimated what we could actually sell? Did the lower sales volume have something to do with our operations? We may have had too much raw material waste or high fuel expenses from delivering T-shirts. This process of measuring output (sales volume) against inputs (supplies, marketing, other expenses) is called control. If we did not perform this function, we would have a tough time figuring out where problems may exist—whether the problem lies with our planning process (overestimating) or an operational problem within our custom manufacturing business (leading and organizing).