Industries use different types of control methods in management to keep employees

safe and accountable, maintain standards and ensure consistent quality control of
products. These controls can take place before, during or after any action in a
business.

When a clothing store receives a shipment of new jeans, those garments can be
inspected for defects before acceptance to ensure that customers get a consistently
superior product. The store's manager can monitor employees during sales efforts on
the floor to make sure they are courteous and helpful to customers. Keeping an
accurate inventory, tracking sales numbers, and using email lists and phone numbers
to stay in touch with customers are also examples of controls that can be used after a
purchase to monitor satisfaction and drive future sales.

Types of Control Methods in Management

There are three accepted types of control methods in management, identified by the
time that they take place: before, during or after a process. These types of controls
help managers gain feedback that can be used to maintain a consistent, safe and
profitable workplace.

Feedforward controls are also known as preliminary, preventive or pre-action

controls. As the name implies, these controls take place before a process to make
sure bad things do not happen in the first place. The controls identify actions to be
taken before a problem occurs.

Concurrent controls, also known as steering or preventive controls, are ongoing

controls that help maintain quality and consistency. They usually involve the
monitoring of employees directly involved with customers or the manufacturing
process. When developing concurrent controls, an employer sets a standard to
measure against and generates a set of guidelines or regulations that employees are
expected to follow.

Feedback controls, also known as post-action controls, are controls that occur after a
process to gain feedback or information that can determine whether performance
standards, sales quotas or other measurable criteria are being met.

Examples of Control Methods in Management

Feedforward controls are designed to anticipate problems or deviations from
standards in advance of their occurrence. They are broken into two categories:

 Diagnostic controls determine a deviation that is taking place or has taken

place already. A sales manager at a clothing store looking at a monthly sales report is
using a diagnostic control to determine if an employee has met a quota.
 Therapeutic controls are those that not only detect a deviation but attempt to
correct it at the same time. An automatic transmission in a vehicle senses when the
engine is working too hard and uses oil pressure to switch gears so that the engine runs
more efficiently. A coach notices when an athlete's form is incorrect and uses
instructions to help correct the deviation. 

Concurrent controls are commonly referred to as steering controls because they allow
an action to be taken while a deviation is occurring; a business representative can
quite literally steer the course of an interaction.

Concurrent controls are more common than you might realize. A restaurant waiter
must learn what is on the menu and what comes with the meal. A car salesman must
know the features of the vehicle he is trying to sell. Workers in factories employ
machines that measure products to make sure they meet standards of weight, size
and other criteria.

Managers may use feedback controls, or post-action controls, to identify a

salesperson whose quotas are consistently not being met and who needs
supplemental training or dismissal from his job. If several customers complain about a
loose part in a child's toy, the appropriate post-action control may be a recall to
prevent a choking hazard. If sales information shows that product inventory is
depleting quickly, it may be a sign that production needs to increase.