REVIEW AND APPLICATIONS CHAPTER SUMMARY

REVIEW AND APPLICATIONS

CHAPTER SUMMARY

1. 
   Explain the nature and importance of control. Control is the management function that involves monitoring activities to ensure that they’re being accomplished as planned and correcting any significant deviations. As the final step in the management process, controlling provides the link back to planning. If managers didn’t control, they’d have no way of knowing whether goals were being met. Control is important because (1) it’s the only way to know if goals are being met and if not, why; (2) it provides information and feedback so managers feel comfortable empowering employees; and (3) it helps protect an organization and its assets.
   
2. 
   Describe the three steps in the control process. The three steps in the control process are measuring, comparing, and taking action. Measuring involves deciding how to measure actual performance and what to measure. Comparing involves looking at the variation between actual performance and the standard (goal). Deviations outside an acceptable range of variation need attention. Taking action can involve: do nothing, correct the actual performance, or revise the standards. Doing nothing is self-explanatory. Correcting the actual performance can involve different corrective actions, which can either be immediate or basic. Standards can be revised by either raising or lowering them.
   
3. 
   Discuss the types of controls organizations and managers use. Feedforward controls take place before a work activity is done. Concurrent controls take place while a work activity is being done. Feedback controls take place after a work activity is done. Financial controls that managers can use include financial ratios (liquidity, leverage, activity, and profitability) and budgets. One information control managers can use is an MIS, which provides managers with needed information on a regular basis. Others include comprehensive and secure controls such as data encryption, system firewalls, data backups, and so forth that protect the organization’s information. Also, balanced scorecards provide a way to evaluate an organization’s performance in four different areas rather than just from the financial perspective.
   
4. 
   Discuss contemporary issues in control. Adjusting controls for cross-cultural differences may be needed primarily in the areas of measuring and taking corrective actions. Workplace concerns include workplace privacy, employee theft, and workplace violence. For each of these, managers need to have policies in place to control inappropriate actions and ensure that work is getting done efficiently and effectively.
   

To check your understanding of outcomes 13.1 – 13.4, go to mymanagementlab.com and try the chapter questions.

1. 
   What is the role of control in management?
   

2. 
   Describe four methods managers can use to acquire information about actual work performance.
   

3. 
   How are planning and control linked? Is the control function linked to the organizing and leading functions of management? Explain.
   

4. 
   In Chapter 7 we discussed the white water rapids view of change. Do you think it’s possible to establish and maintain effective standards and controls in this type of atmosphere? Discuss.
   

5. 
   Why is what is measured in the control process probably more critical to the control process than how it is measured?
   

6. 
   Why do you believe feedback control is the most popular type of control? Justify your response.
   

7. 
   “Every individual employee in an organization plays a role in controlling work activities.” Do you agree with this statement, or do you think control is something that only managers are responsible for? Explain.
   

8. 
   How could you use the concept of control in your personal life? Be specific. (Think in terms of feedforward, concurrent, and feedback controls as well as specific controls for the different aspects of your life—school, work, family relationships, friends, hobbies, etc.)
   

Disciplining employees is probably one of the most difficult things a manager does. However, it’s an important managerial tool. This instrument is based on the literature defining preferred discipline techniques. It’s not a precise tool, but it will give you some insights into how effective you might be in using discipline in the workplace.

To understand how discipline works, it is important to have a foundation in how humans learn. Learning is going on all the time. A more accurate definition of learning, therefore, is any relatively permanent change in behavior that occurs as a result of experience.

How do we learn? Learning is built upon the law of effect, which says, “Behavior is a function of its consequences.” Behavior that is followed by a favorable consequence tends to be repeated; behavior followed by an unfavorable consequence tends not to be repeated. Consequence, in this terminology, refers to anything a person considers rewarding (i.e., money, praise, promotions, a smile). If your boss compliments you on your sales approach, you are likely to repeat that behavior. Conversely, if you are reprimanded for your sales approach, you are less likely to repeat it.

Teaching Notes

The keys to the learning process are the two theories, or explanations, of how we learn. One is shaping and the other is modeling.

When learning takes place in graduated steps, it is shaped. Managers shape employee behavior by systematically reinforcing, through rewards, each successive step that moves the employee closer to the desired behavior. Much of our learning has been done by shaping. When we speak of “learning by mistakes,” we are referring to shaping. We try, we fail, and we try again. Through such series of trial and error, we master skills like riding a bicycle, playing a musical instrument, performing basic mathematical computations, and answering multiple-choice tests.

In addition to shaping, much of what we have learned is the result of observing others and modeling our behavior after them. Whereas the trial-and-error learning process is usually slow, modeling can produce complex behavioral changes quite rapidly. For instance, most of us, at one time or another, when having trouble in school or in a particular class, look around to find someone who seems to have the system down pat. Then we observe that person to see what he or she is doing that is different from our approach. If we find some differences, we then incorporate them into our behavior repertoire. If our performance improves (a favorable consequence), we are likely to make a permanent change in our behavior to reflect what we have seen work for others. The process is the same at work as it is in school. A new employee who wants to be successful on her job is likely to look for someone in the organization who is well respected and successful and then try to imitate that person’s behavior.

Although the learning process clearly works better when there is positive reinforcement, sometimes discipline does need to occur. It is important to understand what the potential side effects are of punishing workers.

Exercises

1. 
   WRONG! Start a class discussion on a timely management topic. Ask the students questions. For those that respond to the questions, have some sort of mild “punishment” for them. Tell them their answer was wrong, interrupt them, or do other things that insure nobody else wants to participate. After doing this for a while, switch your method to “reinforcement.” You can do this by giving out a small reward, such as candy, or you could give a few bonus points. You should see much more participation, which clearly illustrates the laws of effect.
   

2. 
   Small Group Sharing. Divide this class into small groups. Have them discuss various experiences that they have had with being disciplined. This can be work or non-work related. Have them compare how the various methods influenced their future behavior, both short and long-term.