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Outline six factors that should be taken into account when designing an effective control system.

      

Outline six factors that should be taken into account when designing an effective control
system.

  

Answers


Kavungya
1. Controls-tailored to plans and positions
Control techniques and systems should reflect the plans they are designed to follow.
Every plan or -every phase of a plan will have its unique-characteristics. Controls reflect
the organization pattern i.e. the roles of people in the organization. These roles show
where responsibility for various activities lie. The more the controls reflect the positions
where responsibility lies the easier it is to correct deviations.
2. Controls should be tailored to individual managers and their personalities
Control system should be designed to help individual managers carry out their functions.
Therefore there is need for the controls to be understood by the various managers. People
in different fields will have their information in different ways e.g. statisticians will want
controls expressed in complex tables. Control information must be simple enough to be
understood by those who are to use it.
3. Controls should point exceptions at critical points
If controls are to be efficient and effective they must be able to point out exceptions at
critical points. Some deviations from standards have little meaning while others have
serious effects on performance. The points at which deviations occur are important.
4. Controls should be objective
Although management contains many subjective elements, good performance should
ideally not be a matter for subjective determination. Objective standards can be
quantitative such as costs or labour hours or even sometimes quantitative but the standard
should be determined and verifiable.
5. Controls should be flexible
Controls should be adjustable to changing plans and circumstances. For example, in
production management the production manager must prepare for failures occasioned by
machine breakdown or from illness of one or more workers. Flexibility in control can be
provided by having alternative plans for various probable situations.
6. Control systems should fit the organizational climate
Organizational climate refers to the general mode of orientation e.g. have people been
given freedom, and is there participative management and free communication. An
organization which allows greater freedom would not suit tight controls. A dictatorial
climate would be unsuitable for a permissive or relatively free control system.
7. Controls should be economical
Controls must be worth their cost, but will vary with the importance of the activity, the
size of the operation etc. Small companies will of course not afford the extensive control
systems of large companies.
8. Controls should lead to corrective action.
The essence of controls is corrective action. Adequate controls should indicate where
failures are occurring and those who are responsible. Control is justified only if indicated
deviations are corrected through appropriate planning, organizing, staffing and leading.
Kavungya answered the question on May 18, 2019 at 07:45


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