Principles of Hotel Management

A
IMS
 
AND
P
URPOSES
Controls are intended to serve several purposes. However,
the basic purpose is to ensure actions and behaviour in line with
the desired results. Briefly, the principal objectives of control are
as follows:
1. To direct the activities according to plans.
2. To establish coordination between objects, means and
efforts of the organisation.
3. To know the progress of the activities on the basis of
standards fixed.
4. To find out deviations and try to remove these deviations.
5. To get the knowledge regarding quality cost and time
of work performed.
6. To regularise actions and behaviour.
7. To prevent dishonesty and establish order and discipline.
8. To maintain flow in activities of the business.
9. To stop wastage and to minimise the cost.
10. To make decentralisation and delegation of authority
successful.
11. To motivate employees.
12. To ensure efficient and effective use of organisational
resources.
Control is an important element of the management process.
Without control, manager cannot complete the process of
management. He cannot get the things done and achieve desired
goals results. Robbing and Coulter state, “Control is important

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58
Principles of Hotel Management
because it is the final link in the functional chain of management
activities. It is the only way managers know whether or not
organisational goals are being met and why or why not.” Briefly,
the importance of control is described in the following sub-
heads.
According to Peter Drucker, “Control maintains the equilibrium
between ends and means, output and effort.” When there is
such an equilibrium, enterprise functions smoothly. In other
words, a sound control system ensures smooth functioning of
the enterprise. It ensures achievement of long- term and short-
term goals by maintaining equilibrium between ends and means
and output and effort.
Modern large organisations have got a lot of complexities.
They produce large variety of goods and services. They use
automatic and computerised techniques of production. They
cover vast geographical market area and use complex distribution
network. Thus, their working is influenced by many factors
simultaneously. In such a situation, uniformity of actions and
behaviour in entire organisation can be ensured only through
effective control system.
To become competitive is one thing. But to remain competitive
over a long period of time is a big challenge. Maintaining
competitiveness requires effective control. Through effective
control, managers may use their available resources judiciously
and remain competitive.
Control is essential in order to attain organisation goals. An
effective control system ensures that activities are completed
in ways that lead to the attainment of organisation goals.
[Robbing and Coulter]
Control is the function intended to ensure that everything
occurs in conformity with the plans. Thus, control is the essential
to the success of planning. Without effective control, no plan
can be successful. Terry and Franklin have rightly pointed out

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Basics of Management
59
that “failure of controlling means sooner or later failure of planning
and success of planning means success of controlling.”
It has been rightly said that executive decisions are primarily
control decisions. Control system finds deviations in actual
performance from the standard. Managers have to decide how
to correct the deviations. Thus, control system facilitates
managers to decide about follow up actions. Control system is
essential for the success of delegation and decentralisation of
authority. No delegation or decentralisation of authority can
produce desired results without proper control system. Moreover,
a manager remains responsible even after delegation. Hence
for meeting this responsibility, he has to control the actions of
the delegate.
According to Peter Drucker, ”The synonymous to control is
direction.” It means, effective control means effective direction.
Through control process management can ensure that actions
are efficiently and effectively directed towards objectives of the
organisation.
Effective control system ensures unity of direction. This, in
turn, ensures unity and uniformity of actions and behaviour.
These develop spirit of cooperation among the employees. This
ultimately promotes coordination of efforts among all employees
and departments.
An effective control system is vital to the employee motivation
and morale. Controlling helps employees to do their work better,
to win respect. It serves, as challenge and opportunity to improve
performance. Employees never like a situation that is out of
control because in such a situation they cannot predict what will
happen to them. They become victims of caprice of managers
rather than the beneficiaries.