The Primary Types Of Organizational Control

There are three primary types of organizational control: strategic control, management control, and operational control.

*Strategic control, the process of evaluating strategy, is practiced both after the strategy is formulated and after it is implemented.

* Management control focuses on the accomplishment of the objectives of the various substrategies comprising the master strategy and the accomplishment of the objectives of the intermediate plans (for example, "are quality control objectives being met?").

* Operational control is concerned individual and group performance as compared with the individual and group role prescriptions required by organizational plans ( for example, "are individual sales quotes being met?").

Each of these types of control is not a separate and distinct entity and, in fact, may be indistinguishable from others. Moreover, similar measurement techniques may be used for each type of control.

Strategic Control

Strategic control is concerned with tracking the strategy as it is being implemented, detecting any problems areas or potential problem areas, and making any necessary adjustments.

Newman and Logan use the term "steering control" to highlight some important characteristics of strategic control Ordinarily, a significant time span occurs between initial implementation of a strategy and achievement of its intended results. During that time, numerous projects are undertaken, investments are made, and actions are undertaken to implement the new strategy.

Also the environmental situation and the firm's internal situation are developing and evolving. Strategic controls are necessary to steer the firm through these events. They must provide some means of correcting the directions on the basis of intermediate performance and new information.