Question

Think about your current or former job. If the organization where you were working were to go off track strategically, was there any readily available control mechanism to alert management of the deviation?

Reference please!

Answer 1

Strategically speaking, going off the track can prove very costly for any organization. This is where control mechanisms can prove very important. In this regard my organization has been able to use two types of controls very effectively. One is quality control and then other is proactive. Proactivity is a type of strategic control that keeps the organizations from going off track strategically. For this purpose it has used both concurrent controls and feedback mechanisms to help keep things on track inside the organization. Concurrent control is a type of real time control that can be used to address the problems in real time. However, it requires monitoring for problems all the time. The concurrent controls inside our organization allow people to raise a red flag whenever anyone feels that a significant deviation has occurred. It is not just the supervisors but the other employees too which can raise a red flag before the management to highlight a significant deviation. If the deviation is minor and does not require immediate attention, it can be raised before the supervisor to be addressed. However, behind such controls, there is the power of organizational culture. An organization that has established a culture of innovation and empowerment finds it easier to apply such mechanisms or controls that allow people to bring significant matters immediately to light. An organizational culture can be a more pointed tool for control and can ensure that everyone remains focused in the strategic direction of the organization. Strategy is crucial for organizations but even crucial is to remain on track after having formulated a strategy. For this purpose the organizations should apply proper controls to enable the employees and projects to remain strategically on track.

APA Ref.

Simons, R. (1994). Levers of control: How managers use innovative control systems to drive strategic renewal. Harvard Business Press.

Palmer, I., & Hardy, C. (1999). Thinking about management: Implications of organizational debates for practice. Sage.