Question 4 (b)

Managerial control and its process

9 marks

Time to write
About 18 minutes
Topic
Controlling: process and measures
Notes
Crux notes

Question

Question 4 (b) · 9 marks

Explain Managerial Control and elaborate on its process.

Reworded from the university paper; the task is the same. The original paper belongs to the University of Delhi. See DU's question bank.

Before you write

Read off the question and its marks

18 minfor 9 marks

Read from the question

  • processA process: the steps in order, one heading each.

What the paper leaves open

The cover prints the course as B.Com. (Hons) CBCS with maximum marks 75. This is read as a misprint: the paper carries the UGCF code for this course (2412081101) and five questions of 18 marks each (90), so it is treated as the December 2025 UGCF paper.

Write it in this order

  1. Read; underline the asks; jot your points 1 min
  2. 1 Meaning of managerial control 1½ marks 1 min
  3. 2 Features 1½ marks 3 min
  4. 3 Process of control steps 5 marks 10 min
  5. 4 Example and conclusion 1 mark 2 min
  6. Check: every ask answered, key terms underlined 1 min

Easy marks

  • Meaning of managerial control (step 1, 1½ marks): a clear definition and a line on what it covers. It opens the answer, so it takes a minute or two.

Short on time? Keep step 1 short. Trim steps 2 and 3 evenly rather than skip one: each is capped at its own marks. End with step 4 in a line or two.

Try it first. About 18 minutes for 9 marks. Write it out, then open the solution.

Solution

Hover or tap a marked figure, like 72,000, to see how it is made and where else it appears.

Meaning of managerial control

Controlling is the managerial function of ensuring that actual performance conforms to planned performance. It involves setting standards, measuring actual results, comparing them with the standards and taking corrective action where there are deviations. Control is the counterpart of planning: planning sets the course, control keeps the organisation on it.

Picture itManagerial control and its process

1The standard goes on the wall: 98 parcels in 100 delivered within two days.

Deciding the yardstickA courier company sets a standard of 98 per cent of parcels delivered within two days.

2The weekly report brings the branch in at 90—she reads it twice.

Finding out what actually happenedWeekly reports show a branch at 90 per cent.

3She walks the yard and finds the why: two vans with their bonnets up.

Asking whyAnalysis shows two delivery vans out of service.

4Hired vans roll in, routes are redrawn, and the branch climbs back to standard.

Putting it rightThe manager hires temporary vans and reschedules routes, and the branch returns to standard.

Features

  1. Action-oriented. Control is complete only when corrective action is taken.
  2. Linked to planning. Without plans there is nothing to control against; without control plans remain wishes.
  3. Faces both ways. It corrects past deviations and helps prevent future ones; feedforward and concurrent controls act before or during work, feedback control after it.
  4. Never finished. It is not a one-time act but a constant cycle.
  5. Every manager's job. Every manager at every level controls the work under him or her.
  6. Aimed at objectives. It exists to make sure that objectives are achieved.

Process of control

  1. Deciding the yardstick. The yardsticks are what results against which results are judged. They should be specific, measurable where possible, and realistic: for example, units produced per hour, cost per unit, sales per month, rejection rate, delivery time. Qualitative areas use indicators such as customer complaints or staff turnover. Strategic control points are chosen so that attention is focused where it matters.
  2. Finding out what actually happened. A manager walking the shop floor, a weekly sales report, a random check of a few pieces from a batch, or a live dashboard can all supply the figures. Whatever the method, the result has to be expressed in the same terms as the yardstick, pieces per hour against pieces per hour, or the two cannot be set side by side.
  3. Spotting the gap. Actual results are set against the yardsticks with standards to find deviations. Small deviations within an acceptable range are ignored; under the principle of control by exception, only significant deviations are reported to higher management. Critical points (such as safety) get attention even for small deviations.
  4. Asking why. The causes of significant deviations are found, unrealistic standards, faulty methods, poor equipment, untrained staff, inadequate supervision, or changes in the environment, and the deviation is traced to the unit or person responsible for that part of the work, so that the right manager acts on it.
  5. Putting it right. Depending on the cause, managers retrain workers, repair equipment, improve methods, reassign tasks, add resources or, where the standard itself was wrong, revise the standard or the plan. Corrective action also feeds into future planning.

Example. A courier company sets a standard of 98 per cent of parcels delivered within two days. Weekly reports show a branch at 90 per cent. Analysis shows two delivery vans out of service; the manager hires temporary vans and reschedules routes, and the branch returns to standard.

Conclusion

Managerial control turns plans into results. A good control process is timely, economical, focused on critical points, understood by those controlled, and followed by action.

Where the 9 marks sit

#ComponentMarks
1Meaning of managerial control1.5
2Features1.5
3Process of control (steps)5
4Example and conclusion1
Total9
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