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2 Theory of Control
Control is operated in various fields, such as psychology, economics or military. Due to this
fact many different definitions of control exist.
In the psychological aspects Max Weber (1964) defines power and control
as the ability to
monitor other people, events, or resources; to make happen what one wants to happen in
spite of obstacles, resistance, or opposition. Power is a thing that is held, coveted, seized,
taken away, lost, or stolen, and it is used in what essentially adversarial relationships are
involving conflict between those with power and those without'. In comparison, Karl Marx
(1973) consider social classes and social systems rather than individuals.
Referring to the Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms (2005), control is described
as `authority that may be less than full command exercised by a commander over part of the
activities of subordinate or other organizations'. Pressure, either physical or psychological,
are applied to ensure that the group will respond as directed.
Considering the economic definitions the Oxford Dictionaries (2013) concluded control as
the power to influence or direct people's behaviour or the course of events.
2.1 Control Procedure
According to Gerrig and Zimbardo (2002) control procedures are consistent processes for
giving instructions, scoring responses, and holding all other variables constant except those
being systematically varied.
However, going more into detail, Simon (2006) defines 4 steps of control procedure, Figure
1. First level is the determination of results which address the current situation, followed by
the contrast with agreed objectives, which describes the expected situation. A further step is
the analysis of objective deviations. This includes the comparison of the current and
expected objectives. After the analysis is done, corrective actions need to be reviewed and
introduced. This steps of control procedure can also be compared to the classical
management cycle.
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Figure 1: Control Procedure, Source: Simon, 2006
2.2 Control Forms
Simon (2006) points out five distinct forms of control as shown in Figure 2. Process control
occur when manager constantly control how employees manage their tasks. In comparison,
task control focus on whether the employee understand the task. Control of conduct is
based on employees' attitude to the task. Within the result control only the outcome is
monitored. At the last level, employees control themselves without being monitored by
managers.
Trust and mistrust are essential aspects within the different control forms. Starting with
process control, where there is a high level of mistrust, the trust is gaining in importance
down to the self control form. Here, employees obtain higher radius of operation. The high
or low level of trust depends on the distance to the happenings. A manager will rather
mistrust to the employees when he or she is not familiar with the recent circumstances.
Figure 2: Control Forms, Source: Simon, 2006
1. Determination of results
2. Comparison with agreed
objectives
3. Analysis of objective deviations
4. Review and introduce corrective actions
Process Control
Task Control
Control of Conduct
Result Control
Self Control
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With the chosen control form the leader determines the leadership style within the entire
organisation.
2.3 Control Methods
Every control form uses different methods of control. It needs to be distinguished between
direct versus indirect control and regular control versus samples (Simon 2006).
The direct control refers to the measured data. On the other hand the indirect control deal
with customer complaints or customer acknowledgements. Regular control exists when the
employee is monitored constantly, once a week or ones a month whereas the worker knows
the dates of inspection rounds. In the case of samples the manager control within an
irregular period of time. This method might be more effective as the employee does not
know when he or she will be controlled and is going to do his or her task well permanently.
Uhlendorf, Jaeger and Koesling (2003) complement the methods with total control. This type
of control should only be conducted by exception since it requires an ongoing observation.
As noted by Simon (2006), the range of control is set to be no more than twelve employees
per manager, whereby the optimal number is five to six. The scientific determination of
range of control is comparable with military tactics. In the military one platoon has between
twelve and sixteen soldiers usually commanded by company-grade officer (Frisbee 2013).
The military background shows where the definition of scientific range of control comes
from.
Own example: Process Control: A catering company "Star" is working at the international
exhibition and maintain 5 different customers, such as AUDI, Volkswagen, Fiat etc. Every
customer has an own "Star" team working at their exhibition area. There is only one
manager who is responsible for all 5 teams. As this manager has many responsibilities and
limited time only, he will use process control to monitor how the employees manage
their task. There will be low level of trust. The low level of trust can also be a result of the
short term of the exhibition as many catering companies recruit new employees for a
short term only. As the manager is not familiar to the new employees, he will trust them
less.
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2.4 Control as a Source of Conflict
There are different sources of conflict regarding control. It can either be fear, mistrust or
misunderstanding. Fear describes a situation where the person is only afraid of performing
inappropriate or insufficient. At the next stage mistrust plays an important role, which can
be seen as an activity. A person tries to receive secret information because he or she does
not confide to another person and simply has to verify.
Misunderstanding is a phenomena since it happens accidentally due to lack of
understanding. The conflict occur with negative perception of the employee when he or she
feels monitored as shown in Figure 3 (Uhlendorf, Jaeger and Koesling 2003).
Figure 3: Misunderstanding, Source: Uhlendorf, Jaeger and Koesling 2003
This phenomena occurs occasionally in universities. When a professor wish to communicate
with students outside the lectures, students feel being monitored as they expect the
professor to spy on them. They do not trust the professor as he or she has an authoritative
position.
As an authority it is essential to get used to this matter, since you will lose the access to
people in the lower position.
Basis
· Determination of
results
Misbehaviour
· Incorrect behaviour of
superiors regarding control
Negative perception
· Employees feel monitored
Conflicts
occur
Own example: Being a supervisor at international exhibitions, firstly I was responsible for
10 employees. It was possible to have an overall overview. For the next exhibition the
number of employees I was responsible for increases to be 18. It was hardly possible to
be control every employee and give the right instructions to different tasks. I solve this
problem by dividing the big team into smaller teams according to the customer the team
was working for and named a team-leader who was then my contact person.
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2.5 Control in Management and Leadership
According to Kotter (1999), as there are differences between management and leadership,
there are also differences in control. Control in management occurs when routines and day-
to-day businesses are monitored. In contrast control in leadership means to have control
over uncertain, complex or risky situation
2.6 Control in Leadership Styles
Each of the three different leadership styles have different forms of control. An autocratic
leader is in a position of authority of control. He uses his power to command and control
others as well as to monitor the team for completion under close supervision. Additionally
those leaders have total authority and control over decision making.
On the other hand there is a democratic leadership style. Those leaders encourage open
discussions and involve entire tea in decision making. In comparison to the autocratic style,
there is less control in the democratic style.
Further style is laissez-faire where people are allowed to work on their own given least
possible guidance. The leader provides support only if it's needed but has to monitor the
performance and give feedback regularly (Murugan, 2005).
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3 Control & Command
Command means to give someone an order, and to control someone or something and tell
them what to do. The leader has a lot of power and control over the people and the
processes within the organisation. There is also a clear distinction between the executives
and the workers who work with standards, procedures and statistics.
As Anderson (2013) mentioned, the assumption is that leaders are considered as knowing
everything best, such as goals or the way to achieve the goals. Leaders are choosing the
command approach for the reason of safety, low risk and high productivity.
3.1 Criticism
However, this leadership style received a lot of criticism as it reduces creativity and
innovation, limited the flexibility and responsiveness to change. During a task unpredictable
changes might occur where the leader has to change and adapt. Nevertheless a leader with a
command approach mostly tries to stick to his or her plan which can lead to failure.
Employees are also negatively affected by this approach as they are less dedicated and do
not put much effort in their work.
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4 Control & Trust
Hagel (2002) describes that many leaders still think control is the only way to success in the
organisation as they rely on no one else and do not tolerate any exceptions.
However as businesses become more and more independent and new forms of
collaboration between suppliers and manufacturers arise there is a high need of trust. The
control-based style is not as effective as it used to be and leaders are expected to be
mentors rather than strict authorities. Employees are more willing to perform the less they
are monitored.
The trust style focus on mutual expectations and setting up incentive structures. As the trust
style provides a more flexible leadership strategy it enable to deal with unforeseen
circumstances.
According to Hyatt (2007), leadership is not about control, but about influence. It is hardy
possible to control everyone but it is possible to influence nearly everyone. There are 4 steps
how to become a person on influence instead of being a controller, Figure 4.
Figure 4: Steps to become a person of influence, Source: Hyatt, 2007
As Mahatma Gandhi's quoted `We must be the change we wish to see in the world' (Al Gore,
2013, p.14). It is vital to focus on yourself to give your followers the trustworthiness.
Furthermore take the initiative and the opportunities which are given, and do not sit back
and complain. Create a vision which you should follower so your followers have a direction.
Additionally the effort from your followers should be appreciated as they easily can switch
to another leader who appreciate it more.
1. Focus on yourself
2. Take the initiative
3. Case the vision
4. Appreciate the effort
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- , 2015, Leadership Skill - Control, Hamburg, Bedey Media GmbH, https://www.anchor-publishing.com/document/317161
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