Essentials of Good Control System

To make a control system more effective, an organization must follow the following essentials or requirements:

1.      Focus on Objectives:

    The control system should always focus on objectives. It should aim at the accomplishment of organizational goals.

 2.      Prompt:

    An effective control system should promptly help to recognize deviations and to take quick and corrective steps.

 3.      Critical Point Control:

    It may be neither desirable nor economical to control each activity. Therefore, an organization should be selective in control matters. A good control system should focus on critical factors or areas, where control is vital to ensure success.

 4.      Forward-Looking:

    A good control system should help the organization to plan their activities for the future.

 5.      Control by Exception:

    The control system should enable an organization to focus its attention on exceptional or significant deviations. The senior managers should control major or exceptional deviations. The junior managers should be allowed to control routine matters.

 6.      Suggestive:

    The control system must be suggestive. It should indicate where the problem is, who is at a fault, and what should be done to correct the faults if any.

 7.      Objectivity:

    It means that the system should be definite and verifiable. Performance standards must be objective and specific. They may be qualitative or quantitative.