Ways to Overcome Resistance to Control

Resistance to control can be overcome by adopting the following measures:

1.    Explain to workers the need for controls:

Workers should understand that controls are not just the means to achieve organizational objectives; they satisfy their needs as well. If workers perform upto the standards of performance, they will be rewarded and rewards are always viewed as need satisfying motivators.

2.    Change in workers’ attitude:

Understanding that control is a positive and not negative activity can change workers’ attitude towards their work environment and superiors. The focus of control should be the right target. Right focus on physical, financial and human resources can change workers’ attitude towards controls from negative to positive.

3.    Realistic control:

Inadequate or excessive controls (under-control and over-control) affect organizational goals. While under-control gives excessive autonomy to work, over-control restricts the freedom to perform better. Managers must, therefore, exercise realistic controls which optimize workers performance.

4.    Reasonable standards of performance:

Over-optimal or sub-optimal standards of performance which are either difficult to achieve easily should be avoided. Standards must be realistic which motivate the workers to perform better.

5.    Revaluation of controls:

Control process should be evaluated form time to time. If controls seem to be inappropriate at any point of time, alternate control system focuses on improvement of behavior rather than deviations.

6. Focus of attention:

Controls should focus more on the end results and outcomes of activities rather than the way these results are achieved. They should focus on improvement of behavior rather than deviations.

7. Flexible controls:

Controls may not always get desired results from workers. Faulty standards can also cause deviation in performance rather than performance. Standards should be subject to change.

8. Participation of employees:

When employees participate in designing the control system they develop better understanding of the standards and self-assess their performance. Self-control is the best controls.

9. Controls should be associated with a system of reward:

Rather than penalizing negative deviations, managers should reward employees who report acceptable performance. This will reinforce their behavior and motivate other workers also to achieve the standard performance. Measures like appreciation and rewards rather than threats and punishments.

10. Range of control:

Howsoever hard workers try to achieve the targets, some amount of deviation in the performance still may occur. Rather than commanding exact conformity to standards, a range of deviations should be allowed. Deviations of =5%, for example, may be ignored by managers. The percentage of deviation depends on the nature of product. Costly products (for example, diamonds) will have a very small percentage of deviation as range of control.

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