Define feedback control

Employee evaluations are a common control mechanism used by managers.

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A manager’s responsibility is to get her team to achieve the organization’s goals. The four functions of a manager are to plan, organize, lead and control her team. Feedback control is a process that the manager uses to help her carry out those functions. This process gives the manager the necessary information to better execute her control function, allowing the team to meet the standards set by the manager’s plans.

Four Functions of Management

Any manager, regardless of the business or position, has four responsibilities she must carry out if she is to fulfill her role. She must determine what her group needs to achieve and come up with an appropriate plan on how to achieve those goals. She must organize her subordinates so that they can execute her plan by putting them in the best position to succeed. The manager must lead her team by counseling each individual on how to execute her plan and then motivate team members to work efficiently. She must evaluate the team’s progress in achieving its goals. If the results are found to be lacking, the manager must make the appropriate changes in either process or staffing. This last objective is known as controlling.

Feedback Control Defined

Feedback control is a process that managers can use to evaluate how effectively their teams meet the stated goals at the end of a production process. Feedback control evaluates the team’s progress by comparing the output the team was planning on producing to what was actually produced. If what is produced is less than the planned amount, the expectation is that the manager can adjust the work process to increase productivity. Feedback control also allows the manager to better lead her team. The manager can use the data to inform team members of their individual performance. By isolating individual performance, the manager can better instruct team members and motivate them to improve.

Drawbacks of Feedback Control

The downside of this process is that the changes can be made only after a portion of production already has been completed. Depending on when feedback occurs, the entire process can be completed before the manager is notified of any inefficiency. Therefore, feedback control may not be useful for one-time, unique projects. Feedback control would be especially effective in measuring processes that are often repeated by a business over time.