Like the idea of motivation, control is a topic that implies manipulation of workers but need not. The goal of management should not be one of compliance. Employees are individuals with feelings, opinions, and beliefs and controlling them is not the issue. Unfortunately, many managers believe that employees are out to get them and that an employee is not capable of making good decisions. This type of person makes a terrible manager and probably isn t very good at being a parent either.
Control is necessary.
Picture yourself planning a vacation trip to Disneyland. You may develop a strategy for driving there in the family car, complete with maps, planned rest stops, reservations at motels along the way, and so on. But getting to Disneyland requires much more than planning the trip, organizing all of the details, assigning roles to family members, and leading songs and games in the car to keep everybody happy along the way. Unforeseen events can occur along the way that may require a change in the plan, reorganizing, or change in leadership style. In short, we have to look out the front window as we drive and react to changes or obstacles that may prevent us from achieving our mission.