This meaning of control is not sufficient enough and we need to look further at what control is. Control is predictability, security, consistency and order. It is therefore necessary that we have control. Control helps things to run smoothly and most people like a degree of security in their lives, whether at work or at home control is one-thing humans like to have. Control is important both socially to ensure there is not a breakdown of the fabric of society and the government successfully fills this role. Control is important psychologically as it gives humans a state of security in which they can go about their daily routines.
A dearth of control leads to chaos, anarchy and disorder. Lack of control from the point of trade unions and management leads to unofficial postal strikes. Control is therefore necessary for our existence to avoid the confusion which chaos would create. People could drive on the wrong side of the road and ignore traffic light signals; such actions would lead to depressingly heavy consequences. Control also has connotations of: “Coercion, domination, exploitation and manipulation. The absence of control from this point of view means freedom, individuality, discretion, responsibility and autonomy.
” (Huczynski A & Buchanan D, 1991) This shows that control is a balance. Humans like order but do not like the idea that they are constantly dominated every day. Order and reliability are desirable both socially and psychologically, but domination and exploitation do not appear so desirable, even though some body always dominates humans whether it is the government or the BBC. The trick of control is to balance it so that there is enough not to be a lack of control, so that control doesn’t seem forced it seems natural. Control restricts our freedom and sets us in a routine which we do not always wish to function in.
There is a thin line between control and disorder. There is also a debate on how much control is enough, and should anyone tell another person what to do? Yes, if it is in their best interests as a population. Control, or management control, is very important in organisations. Management control is where management impose their will on the workforce to ensure the success of the organisation. Without control, the organisation could simply fall into a state of disrepair. In organisations, control ensures efficiency and makes sure that resources are not under utilised.
Control highlights the social separation between management and workers. Control also provides conditions where workers are able to work effectively where they are protected from the outside chaos a lack of control would create. Too much control, however, can lead to hostility and rebellion. Control has therefore to be enough to get the job done but not enough to stifle motivation. Management can control by several different means. Control can be achieved through the organisational structure, that is, the structure of the organisation, which is often bureaucratic.
The employee is provided with a job description upon starting work in the organisation, and this states what the employee is (and in doing so what the employee is not) able to do when at work for the organisation. If the employee is wondering whether they can do something, they can provided that it is also on their job description. The job description incorporates the employee into the hierarchy of the organisation and makes them aware of those above them in the hierarchy whom the responsibility of their work lies with.
Control can also take the form of timesheets that are set into the bureaucracy of the organisation. The drawback of using bureaucracy to control is that the organisation may become too rigid. Control can be exercised over the workers by selective recruitment and selection procedures. This is demonstrated where organisations: “Recruit only those individuals with the technical competence and professional interest to perform on their own the necessary tasks to the required performance levels. ” (Huczynski A ; Buchanan D, 1991)
To keep the stability and order in the organisation that is part of control, unstable people are not selected for the job during the recruitment and selection process because they would bring a lack of control to the organisation. Only selecting the right candidate helps the managers and other workers in their jobs. People whose belief systems fit in with the organisational culture are also more likely to be selected. Greene King is well known for controlling workers through recruitment and selection. They achieved this by employing members of the same families in order that the family members would keep one another in order.
A Kenyan security company employed 90% of their workers from the same ethnic group to keep them all under control, and making them understand that they all had collective responsibility for each other. Recruitment and selection of the right people can be a good method of organisational control. The drawback of this method of control is that an otherwise acceptable employee may not be considered on the grounds that they do not fit in with the organisation. This can make the recruitment and selection process more difficult, and longer and this makes it more expensive for the organisation.
