CONTROLLING

• Controlling is the use of formal authority to assure the achievement

of goals and objectives. Here, performance is measured and
corrective action is taken to ensure the accomplishment of
organizational goals. It is also involves assisting, regulating,
monitoring and evaluating individual and group performance

• The control or coordinating function of management can be critical

determinant of organizational success.
Function Of Control
• Control serves both as means and an end. It promotes effective use of
resources, provides professional reinforcements, and maintains
activity and expectations.
Principles of Controlling
1. A Critical Few, meaning that fewer people involved in control
brings about the best results. The principles unity of direction or
unity of command is at play.

2. A defined Point of Control or a centralization or decentralization

of authority.

3. Self- Control or Discipline, which translates to personal

acceptance of responsibility and accountability.
Kinds of Formal Control
1. Pre-action Control
Personal supervision and utilizing control checks consisting of
policies and procedures for any given task or function.

2. Post-action Control
controlling as the ask or function is being performed or may
have been performed and correcting deviations from standards or
plans.
Types of Control
1. Feedforward Controls
Focus on operations before they begin, their goals is to
prevent anticipated problems.

2. Concurrent Control
Apply to processes as they are happening, enacted while work
is being performed.

3. Feedback Controls
Focus on the results of operations, they guide future planning,
inputs, and process designs.
Characteristics of Effective Controls
1. Control systems must be designed appropriately to be effective.

2. When control standards are not flexible or unrealistic, employees

cannot focus on the organization’s goals.

3. Control System must prevent, not prevent, not cause, the problems
they were designed to detect.
Designing Effective Control System
1. Controls at all levels in the health care delivery system. All
nursing units must have a standard control system.
2. Acceptability of those who will enforce the decisions.
3. Flexibility of the enforces and the implementors to enforce decision
based on practical situations.
4. Accuracy. Steps or mechanism of control must be clear and vivid
with significant implications.
5. Timeless. Activities are planned with time target set.
Designing Effective Control System cont.
6. Cost Effectiveness. Resources used are well maintained and
enough or adequate to meet the needs of the unit.
7. Understandability. Policies and procedures are simple, easy to
understand and can be implemented with less difficulty.
8. Balance between Theory of objectivity and Subjectivity, and
practice-based system.
9. Coordinated with planning, organizing and leading.
THE CONTROL PROCESS
Steps in the Control Process
1. Establish and Specify Criteria and Performance Standards
Serve as the criteria against which performance is measured, and give an idea of the
level of performance that managers can expect of a person. This consist of the
following.

 Standards. Created when objectives are set during the planning process.

 Time Controls. Relate to deadlines and times constraints.

 Financial Controls. Facilitate achieving the organization’s profit motive.

 Statistical Process Control. The use of statistical or mathematical methods
and procedures to determine whether production operations are being
performed correctly.

 The Just-in-Time (JIT) System. Timely application of materials for the use in
case nurses need it for patient care such as giving of medication for the
illness of a patient.
Steps in the Control Process
2. Monitor and Measure Performances of Nursing Care Services and
Evaluate it against the Standards through Records, Reports, and
Observation

 Nursing Rounds. Pay particular attentions to issues of patient care and

nursing practice.

 Quality Assurance. Monitors compliance of nursing personnel with

established standards in terms of nursing care given to patients.
 Nursing Audit. Documentation of the quality of nursing care in relation to
the standards established by the nursing department.
A. Nursing Audit

 Prioritizes nursing care by promoting optimum nursing care.

 It can identity deficiencies in the promoting in the organization and
administration of nursing care.
 It may also be used to increase performance to assure that
improvements have been maintained.
 Written data might include time cards, production tallies, inspection
reports and sales ticket.
 Personal observation, statistical reports, oral reports and written
reports can be used to measure performance.
Steps in the Control Process
3. Compare Performance with Standards, Models or Criteria to
Determine deviation or Differences in Performance
 Necessary to ensure that tasks are being carried out as planned.

There are ways or techniques for such corrections and improvements of performance
based on feedback.

A. The Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT). Employs a matrix that uses
network of activities represented in a chart.

B. Benchmarking. Seeks out the best so as to improve its performance.

Steps in the Control Process
4. Enact Remedial Measures or Steps to Correct Deviations or Errors
 Corrections of Deviation or Errors. In the performance of any given
functions or task.

 A Master Control Plan. Used by Manager’s depicting its functions, goals,

and objectives to be accomplished.

 Take Necessary Action. The supervisors find the cause of performance

deviation from standard, then takes action to remove or minimize the
cause.
Characteristics of the Control Process

1. The Control Process is cyclical which means it is never finished.

 Controlling leads to identification of new problems that in turn need

to be addressed through establishments of performance standards
and measuring performance among others.
Characteristics of the Control Process

2. Controlling often leads to management expecting employee

behavior to change.

 Often view controlling negatively, no matter how positive the changes

may be for the organization.
Characteristics of the Control Process

3. Control is both anticipatory and retrospective.

 The process anticipates problems and takes preventive action with

corrective action, the process also follows up on problems.
Characteristics of the Control Process

4. Ideally, each person in the health care delivery views control as his
or her responsibility.

 The organizational culture should prevent a person walking away from

a small, easily solvable problem because “that isn’t my responsibility”.
Characteristics of the Control Process

5. Controlling builds on planning, organizing and leading.

 Controlling is related to each of the other functions of management.