Describe the various methods of control in tourism management
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Tourism Management is the leading international journal for all those concerned with the planning and management of travel and tourism. The journal takes an interdisciplinary approach and includes planning and policy aspects of international, national and regional tourism as well as specific management Now that we have a clear idea of how a control system works, we can look at the different ways in which managers can regulate the activities of individuals and units so that they are consistent with organization goals and standards. Here we review six main ways of achieving control: personal controls, bureaucratic controls, output controls, cultural controls, control through incentives, and market controls.
Personal Control System
PERSONAL CONTROLS
As the name suggests, personal control is control by personal contact with and direct supervision of subordinates. Personal control consists of making sure through personal inspection and direct supervision that individuals and units behave in a way that is consistent with the goals of the organization. Personal control can be very subjective, with the manager assessing how well subordinates are performing by observing and interpreting their behavior.
As a philosophy for control within an organization, personal control tends to be found primarily in small firms where the activities of a few people might be regulated through direct oversight. Bits nature personal control tends to be associated with the centralization of power and authority in a key manager, who is often the owner of the small business. Personal control may work best when this key manager is a charismatic individual who can command the personal allegiance of subordinates.
BUREAUCRATIC CONTROLS
The great German sociologist Max Weber was the first to describe the nature of bureaucratic controls. Writing in the early 20th century, Weber described how bureaucratic organizations emerged as a rational and efficient response to the problems of organizing large -scale economic and social activity. According to Weber, bureaucracies are goal-oriented organizations characterized by hierarchical management systems and extensive division of labor into specialized tasks.
OUTPUT CONTROLS
Output controls can be used when managers can identify tasks that are complete in themselves in the sense of having a measurable output or criterion of overall achievement that is visible. For example, the overall achievement of an automobile factory might be measured by the number of employee hours required to build a car (a measure of productivity) and the number of defects found per 100 cars produced by the factory (a measure of quality).
CULTURAL CONTROL
As noted already, organizational culture consists of the values and assumptions that are shared among employees of an organization. Cultural control involves regulating behavior by socializing employees so that they internalize the values and assumptions of the organization and act in a manner that is consistent with them. When this occurs, employees tend to engage in self-control —they regulate their own behavior so that it is congruent with organizational goals.
In enterprises with a strong culture where the values and assumptions of the organization are accepted by most employees and self-control is widely practiced, the need for other control systems, and particularly extensive personal and bureaucratic controls, is correspondingly reduced. By encouraging self-control, cultural controls reduce the monitoring costs associated with managing an organization.
CONTROL THROUGH INCENTIVES
Incentives are devices used to encourage and reward appropriate employee behavior. Many employees receive incentives in the form of annual bonus pay. Incentives are usually closely tied to the performance metrics used for output controls. For example, targets linked to profitability might be set to measure the performance of a subunit, such as a product division. To create positive incentives for employees to work hard to exceed those targets, they may be given a share of any profits above those targeted.
MARKET CONTROLS
Market controls involve regulating the behavior of individuals and units within an enterprise by setting up an internal market for some valuable resource such as capital. 20 Market controls are usually found within diversified enterprises organized into product divisions, where the head office might act as an internal investment bank, allocating capital funds between the competing claims of the different product divisions based on an assessment of their likely future performance.
Personal Control System
PERSONAL CONTROLS
As the name suggests, personal control is control by personal contact with and direct supervision of subordinates. Personal control consists of making sure through personal inspection and direct supervision that individuals and units behave in a way that is consistent with the goals of the organization. Personal control can be very subjective, with the manager assessing how well subordinates are performing by observing and interpreting their behavior.
As a philosophy for control within an organization, personal control tends to be found primarily in small firms where the activities of a few people might be regulated through direct oversight. Bits nature personal control tends to be associated with the centralization of power and authority in a key manager, who is often the owner of the small business. Personal control may work best when this key manager is a charismatic individual who can command the personal allegiance of subordinates.
BUREAUCRATIC CONTROLS
The great German sociologist Max Weber was the first to describe the nature of bureaucratic controls. Writing in the early 20th century, Weber described how bureaucratic organizations emerged as a rational and efficient response to the problems of organizing large -scale economic and social activity. According to Weber, bureaucracies are goal-oriented organizations characterized by hierarchical management systems and extensive division of labor into specialized tasks.
OUTPUT CONTROLS
Output controls can be used when managers can identify tasks that are complete in themselves in the sense of having a measurable output or criterion of overall achievement that is visible. For example, the overall achievement of an automobile factory might be measured by the number of employee hours required to build a car (a measure of productivity) and the number of defects found per 100 cars produced by the factory (a measure of quality).
CULTURAL CONTROL
As noted already, organizational culture consists of the values and assumptions that are shared among employees of an organization. Cultural control involves regulating behavior by socializing employees so that they internalize the values and assumptions of the organization and act in a manner that is consistent with them. When this occurs, employees tend to engage in self-control —they regulate their own behavior so that it is congruent with organizational goals.
In enterprises with a strong culture where the values and assumptions of the organization are accepted by most employees and self-control is widely practiced, the need for other control systems, and particularly extensive personal and bureaucratic controls, is correspondingly reduced. By encouraging self-control, cultural controls reduce the monitoring costs associated with managing an organization.
CONTROL THROUGH INCENTIVES
Incentives are devices used to encourage and reward appropriate employee behavior. Many employees receive incentives in the form of annual bonus pay. Incentives are usually closely tied to the performance metrics used for output controls. For example, targets linked to profitability might be set to measure the performance of a subunit, such as a product division. To create positive incentives for employees to work hard to exceed those targets, they may be given a share of any profits above those targeted.
MARKET CONTROLS
Market controls involve regulating the behavior of individuals and units within an enterprise by setting up an internal market for some valuable resource such as capital. 20 Market controls are usually found within diversified enterprises organized into product divisions, where the head office might act as an internal investment bank, allocating capital funds between the competing claims of the different product divisions based on an assessment of their likely future performance.
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