What does management control comprise and what are its aims? In order to grasp this notion, we need to draw on a broad definition of “control”, such as found in the Oxford
English Dictionary: “to determine the behaviour or supervise the running of, to maintain influence or authority over...to regulate...”, “to hold sway over, to dominate, to command. To hold in check or repress one’s passions or emotions; so to control one’s feelings, etc.” Some concrete examples of the use of the word “control” are: to control one’s breathing, air-traffic control, etc. In other words, it encompasses the idea of a deliberate intervention on the part of an agent in order to produce desired effects. Control is the opposite of chance, but is also at odds with an excessive dependence on external factors. It is related to the notions of command and regulation.
Planning objective - the kind of outcome or result desired, or a particular type of performance
-the level of performance desired
Action
Monitoring & Analysis of Results
The aim of planning is to anticipate, as much as possible, any potential difficulties in attaining objectives, by setting targets properly, by formulating coherent action plans and by allocating the necessary resource
The purpose of monitoring is not merely to “observe” whether targets have been reached or not. It is an integral part of overseeing the achievement of objectives: it is not done at the end of the time frames, but rather during the implementation of action plans, which gives the manager the chance to react “mid stream” if the final result appears to be in jeopardy.
Consequently, the “monitoring” of results strictly speaking is preceded by results progress tracking. Navigating the path towards goal achievement is done progressively through regular progress checks. Thus, if the time horizon for budget objectives is annual, then budget monitoring will generally be carried out on