Operational control
| Operational control |
|---|
| See also |
Operational control is the process of checking if specific tasks or transactions are delivered in efficient and effective way. All activities might be measured in terms of input (resources) and output (consumes: goods, services, other effects). The goal of operational control is find optimal solution. Relation between input and output[1]:
- is measured objectively,
- is comparable,
- uses scientific standards,
- takes into consideration impact of all observed circumstances (such as quality of machinery, materials, new techniques etc.),
- might be presented as measurable ratio.
Practical use of the operational control
In practice, the optimal solution for the company is combination of input (out of many combinations of inputs) that creates output at the lowest cost with all established assumptions - it is often called programmed cost or engineered cost. Actions related to operational control will be these which has measurable, direct characteristics, for example[2]:
- manufacturing,
- scheduling job,
- controlling job,
- procuring items from inventory,
- controlling personnel,
- taking an interview.
Management functions of the operational control
Turner J. R. in the research divides operational control into four functions[3]:
- Client management (for example identify new clients),
- Input management (for example ensure resources and skills),
- Process management (for example contribution of resources to the process, delivery of components),
- Output management (for example managing hand-over to the client).
Steps of designing operational control
Designing operational controls might be covered in the following steps[4]:
- Defining objectives of operational controls,
- Selecting system that supports operational controls,
- Establishing key issues in designing operational controls,
- Designing controls with necessary characteristics,
- Establishing duties, responsibilities, conflicts of interest if any,
- Creating framework of operational controls implementation,
- Implementing operational controls,
- Analyzing reality with frameworks,
- Measuring of controls,
- Preparing controls checklist,
- Establishing operational controls process with corporate policies, procedures and plans.
Author: Jolanta Lesnicka
Footnotes
References
- Bernstein E. S. (2012), The Transparency Paradox: A Role for Privacy in Organizational Learning and Operational Control in "Administrative Science Quarterly 57(2)"
- Ghosh N. (2005), Management control systems, PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd, New Delhi
- Kazmi (2008), Strategic Mgmt & Bus Policy 3E, Tata McGraw-Hill Education, New Delhi
- Kyriazoglou J., Nasuti F., Kyriazoglou C. (2012), Corporate strategic & operational, The Institute for Internal Controls, USA
- Turner J. R., Keegan A. (1999), The Versatile Project based Organization: Governance and Operational Control, in "European Management Journal Vol 17 No 3", Netherlands
