Team-work Forces Employees to Internalize Managerial Controls - Essay Example

Team-work Forces Employees to Internalize Managerial Controls Control is one of the processes that managers are required to perform. It is a process of supervising the work in the workplace so as to ensure that it is done in such a way that the goals of the company are being accomplished. “Management control is used here to describe all the policies and procedures put in place by a government or by the managers in the various entities of the government, to ensure the proper and effective functioning of the overall government or the individual entity. A synonym often used for management control is internal control.” (Havens, 1) The manager is the one that is normally in charge of this work. As he monitors the activities, he is able to make changes or corrections wherever he sees it necessary. This work of control helps the company know how well they are performing in connection with the goals of the company. Control helps the organization to adjust to the change of environment, reduce the build-up of error, cope with the complexities of the organization, and lastly to reduce the costs. In order for control to be successful, certain steps have to be followed. Standards have to be established, performance of the workers should then be measured, then a comparison between performance and standards should be done, and lastly, the manager should determine if there is need for modification of behaviour. The scope of the control involves a variety of areas. There is the control over the organizational policies; most companies will testify that this is done through their policy manuals. Then there is control over the organization or the company, and this is done through the chart or manual of the company. Then there is control over the employees, this is because the basic definition of management is getting the work done through the people that are working for the company. There is also control over the income or salaries of the employees; this is done through the personnel department. There is also control over the costs, this work is done through the cost accountant, it is this individual who sets the cost for the materials and labour, and he does this by comparing it with the standard costs. There is also control over methods; this is done by holding a periodical inspection of the work of each department. Then there is control over capital spending, this is done through grading different projects and determining where the capital should be spent. There is also control over the production, it is in this area that effort is exerted to make simple and explain the line of products. There is also control over research and since this work is technical in its essence, no direct control is given to it. There is also control over external relations; this work is done through the public relations department. And lastly, there is overall control, this is done through a master plan, all the departments are obliged to participate in this overall procedure. As the years have gone by, management control strategies have also improved. “Organizations often use standardized documents to ensure complete and consistent information is gathered. Documents include titles and dates to detect different versions of the document. Computers have revolutionized administrative controls through use of integrated management information systems, project management software, human resource information systems, office automation software, etc. Organizations typically require a wide range of reports, e.g., financial reports, status reports, project reports, etc. to monitor whats being done, by when and how.” (Mcnamara, 1) This and many other technological improvements that have come due to the growth of technology have helped modify and make better the management control system. And hence, it has proven to be a very effective and reliable system, one that is able to ensure that all the goals of the organization are met in a short period of time. Unlike the previous years where the progress of organizational goals was very slow. This only proves that this is a system that should be kept regardless of the opposition. As the work-force starts to work together in teams, it has been realized that they are beginning to internalize the managerial controls. They are contemplating whether it is the best way for the organizations to handle affairs, or whether there is a better way of doing it. Managerial controls have been in effect for a very long time, and people are employees are beginning to realize that it is a good program that actually helps protect them from malpractice. If an accident or problem takes place in the workplace, authorities will be less inclined to accuse or prosecute the employees because of the system of controls. The manager is supposed to oversee the workplace and ensure that no instance of malpractice or accidents occurs. This benefits are also leading the company leaders to realize that, managerial controls, although a simple concept, is starting to prove to be of great benefit. The workers are beginning to realize the benefits that such a program is bringing to the organization as well as themselves. When this program was first instituted across companies some years back, it was not well received among the employees. They thought it was a sign of lack of trust from the organizational leaders. But as time has progressed, they are beginning to see its beauty and are starting to appreciate it. It has been seen that, “while most organizations use a mix of methods to control employee’s behaviour (including outright coercion), the use of values to motivate employees internally is generally on the rise” (Cheney, 27). When the employees realize that certain company values are at stake while they work, they will be more cautious with how they work. For example, certain organizations are well known for top class products. Therefore, the employees working for such companies should be taught that nothing less than perfection is needed from its workers. When this mission is well received by the workers, the presence of managerial controls will not seem strange to them, on the contrary, they will welcome them, for they do not want to do anything wrongly and jeopardize the reputation of the company. In addition to the promotion of the core values of the organization, its mission, there is “high degree of coordination, elevated levels of training, and the implementation of the team concept” (Cheney, 27). Every aspect of the organization is elevated to its highest capacity so as to ensure that perfection is attained from all the aspects of the company. This is necessary so as to ensure that the organization attains all the goals it has set. The team concept is incorporated by the managers to teach the workers that they should not view their work from an individual view point, but rather as part of a whole. The organization is a family, so each person should be concerned about the welfare of their fellow worker as well as of the organization as a whole. This is because; the success of the organization and the success of the individual worker are connected. If the organization is earning big profit, then they will have enough money to pay the workers and even give them raises. But the opposite is also true. If the company is not earning enough, then there will be likelihood for the leaders to reduce the salary of their workers, or in some extreme instances, lay off some of its workers. Because of this, “programs centered on employee empowerment and a common vision based on core values may also involve a high degree of monitoring by top management” (Cheney, 27). It has been realized by many that, with the presence of top managerial control, there will be some issues to be faced. “A strong organizational culture, especially at the work group or team level can be both a source of employee motivation and a means of managerial control. Thus there can develop a somewhat oppressive regime of organizational values, with attempts to extend managerial control to the prescription of employee’s attitudes, identities and behaviours. The call for organizations to profess value commitments is not without risks. ” (Cheney, 27) Since the managers are also human, there are human tendencies that they may be at risk of manifesting. It is in man’s fallen nature to seek to lord over his fellow men. This is why values should be incorporated within the organization so as to ensure that the employers do not take advantage of their employees. These organizational values place restrictions upon the managers, and this will be for the good of everyone. Another problem that managerial controls can bring is that, it can stop the employees from exercising decision-making authority. There are organizations that allow their workers to make some autonomous decisions. But with the presence of many managerial controls, they will fear to use this privilege. “We communicated to employees extensively that you are empowered, you can circumvent controls, and we really want more exceptions. Yet, hesitance to deviate from standard protocols was pervasive.” (Campbell, 11) Another institution facing a similar situation stated the following, “Controls were extremely tight here. Our divisions were run as fiefdoms. You couldn’t even get a fee waived for a member without going through accounting.” (Campbell, 11) Though this tendency to stick to await the instructions of their superior and not venture to make some decisions may seem good at first due to the notion that error is limited, this can also weary the managers. Furthermore, the workers or employees will develop the habit of dependency and will not learn how to make decisions of their own. This problem may also escalate to the home. The worker may be so used to receiving instructions on how to do everything that he himself may not learn how to make decisions. Because of this, certain autonomy should be maintained in the workplace. Employees should be given opportunity to make independent decisions. This will prove beneficial in the long run because, the employee may learn the workings of the organization to such a level that the employers may see a need to promote him to their own level. This is good because it brings an extra intelligent mind to the table to help the employees make decisions for the organization. Some have ventured to say that, “internalization reduces shirking of outside parties and economizes on market-using costs, and this comes at a price of reduced flexibility, bureaucratic degradation, and the need of controlling internal management” (Boscheck, 14). This is true in a way because internalization allows the influence of outside parties to permeate to the structure of the organization. The market costs are also utilized as the basis for the standards for the labour and material costs in the organization. Therefore, the notion that, no man is an island holds true in this instance as well. We ought to work together for the common good. This unity of purpose ensures that organizations around the world flourish as they join together in supporting one another in every way possible. This is one of the reasons why many companies are entering into unions, because they know they will benefit more from it. Despite some of the benefits that managerial controls bring to the organization, some have ventured to propose changes in its structure. “Many people assert that as the nature of organizations has changed so must the nature of management control. Some people go so far as to claim that management shouldnt exercise any form of control whatsoever. They claim that management should exist to support employees efforts to be fully productive members of organizations and communities therefore, any form of control is completely counterproductive to management and employees. Some people even react strongly against the phrase "management control. The word itself can have a negative connotation, e.g., it can sound dominating, coercive and heavy-handed. It seems that writers of management literature now prefer use of the term "coordinating" rather than "controlling.” (Mcnamara, 1) This argument seems effective, and hence has been used by the people that do not favour management control. They accept the fact that management controls have contributed some good throughout past, by they suggest that, with the change of times, there should also be change of strategy. This argument is intelligent, but it undermines the dangers that will be brought to life if such a way of managing the workplace is changed or removed. There will be more errors, and furthermore, the goals of the organizations will not be achieved quickly because of the errors ad malpractices that slow it down. Due to the various complaints, employers have started delegating control tasks to employees. “Delegation is an approach to get things done, in conjunction with other employees. Delegation is often viewed as a major means of influence and therefore is categorized as an activity in leading (rather than controlling/coordinating). Delegation generally includes assigning responsibility to an employee to complete a task, granting the employee sufficient authority to gain the resources to do the task and letting the employee decide how that task will be carried out. Typically, the person assigning the task shares accountability with the employee for ensuring the task is completed.” (Mcnamara, 1) This cooperation between manager and employee is good because, “both the manager and the employee can exert costly effort to learn what the right course of action would be. In other words, the manager can now use the employee as a source of information instead of acquiring information herself, introducing a collaborative element to the manager-employee interaction” (Rantakari, 2). This is the beauty of this cooperation, because, as all the burden does not rest on the shoulders of the manager. He can confide the opinion of the employee in matters that he finds hard to solve alone. This is a good thing to organizations. As the employees begin to do these tasks, they will appreciate more the trust entrusted to them by their superiors, and furthermore, they will associate themselves more with the company. They will endeavour to ensure that the task given to them is carried out because they don’t want to disappoint their superior who has entrusted them with these big responsibilities. Works Cited: Boscheck Ralph. Strategies, markets and governance: exploring commercial and regulatory agendas. Cambridge University Press, 2008. Krausert Achim. Performance Management for Different Employee Groups: A Contribution to Employment Systems Theory. Illustrated. Springer, 2009. Cheney George. Values at work: employee participation meets market pressure at Mondragón. Cornell University Press, 2002. Havens Harry. “Management Controls, Audit, and Evaluation.” Adb.org. . Rantakari, H. “Employee Initiative and Managerial Control”. economics.unimelb. June 2011. . Mcnamara Carter. “Management Function of Coordinating / Controlling: Overview of Basic Methods”. Free Management Library. 2011. . Campbell Dennis. Employee Selection as a Control System. Harvard Business School. August 2010. . Read More