A number of new management techniques have emerged during recent years.

These include Total quality Management(TQM),Activity Based Costing(ABC),Enterprise Resource Planning(ERP),Total Knowledge Management(TKM) etc. BASIC CONCEPTS The concept of control can be explained by some of the well known metaphors which are as follows: *Thermostat *98.6 Human Body Temperature *Driving System of Automobile *Traffic Control *Black Box In thermostat a predecided level of temperature is set and the device is designed in a way to get turn on or turn off when actual temperature deviates from the set standard. Thus it is an automatic control system.

A summary of all five metaphors can be given in form of a table. TABLE 1 METAPHORS OF CONTROL SYSTEM

Metaphor of Control Thermostat Body Temperature

Key Idea Engineering model of control Natures model of control,Homeostasis

Driving System
Traffic Black box

Man-Machine Control model

Yes-No control model Input-Output Model

We should also understand open-loop control system and closeloop control system. In control system engineering control system is defined as a group of components functioning together in coordination to perform a function. This function may be control of a physical variable such as speed ,voltage ,temperature, pressure, position etc. In the open loop system also known as non-feedback system , there is no provision within the system for the supervision of the output and no mechanism is provided to correct the system behaviour for any lack of proper performance of the system components .Such systems are represented by the following diagram: Input Variable Transfer Function Output Variable Illustrations of open loop system includes automatic city traffic system,alarm clock ,washing machine etc . In sharp contrast to open loop system,the closed loop systems are feedback systems.Such systems are driven by two signals ie the input signal and the feedback signal. Feedback signal is derived from the output of the system. The advantage of feedback signal lies in giving the system the capability to act as self correcting mechanism .

In the context of an organization of men and machines, control has four elements: 1.The measuring device which detects the actual state of the variable under control, sometimes called detector. 2.An assessing device which usually by comparing , show the difference or gap between the actual state and the desired state of variable under control, sometimes called selector. 3.An altering or corrective device which carries out the necessary alteration or correction in the actual state of the variables to achieve the desired state , sometimes called effectors. 4.Besides the above three, the control system also includes the means of communicating information such as directives ,guidelines , feedback etc among these elements. These elements of control system are shown by the following diagram:.

NATURE AND PURPOSE OF MANAGEMENT CONTROL:

At one point of time the concept of management was defined by a phrase POSDCORB indicating the role of manager in terms of Planning, Organising, Staffing, Directing ,Controlling ,Reporting and Budgeting. Anthony and Dearden (1981) provided the following definition: Management control is the process by which managers assure that resources are obtained are used effectively and efficiently in the accomplishment of organizations goals. This definition was later on modified and refined by Anthony Govindrajan (1994). The modified and refined definition is as follows: "Management control is the process by which managers influence other members of the organization to implement the organization's strategies". They further state: "Management control involves a variety of activities. These include: planning what organization should do, coordinating the activities of several parts of organization communicating information evaluating information deciding what, if any, action should be taken influencing people to change behaviour"

Table : Elements of Management Control Process

What the organization should do Communicating information, Evaluating information, Visioning Decision-making

Deciding what action should be taken

Influencing people to change their behaviour Leading

Table : Elements of Broad Areas of Management

Functions
Product (or service)

Resources
People Money

Processes
Objective setting

development
Operations Strategy formulation

Marketing / Sales

Machines

Control

Finance

Information

In the above classification, the focus is on : 1) Functions of basic management such as product (or service) development, operations, marketing, finance etc; 2) Resources viz. people, money, machines and information; and 3)Processes viz, objective setting, strategy formulation and control Merchant further develops his Management Control Systems framework in terms of three types of controls viz. Action Controls, Results Controls and Personnel and Cultural Controls. Following Figure provides this framework:

Action controls "involve ensuring that employees perform (or do not perform) certain actions known to be beneficial (or harmful) to the organization". Results controls focus on results and involve "rewarding individuals (and sometimes groups of individuals) for generating good results or punishing for poor results". Personnel and Cultural controls on taking steps that ensure "that employees control their own behaviour or control each others' behaviours". Such controls aim at helping employees do a good job and are based on employees' natural tendencies to control themselves. These controls imply self-monitoring that could include self-control , intrinsic motivation, ethics, trust, transparency etc. It may be indicated that Management Control Systems can also be viewed from functional perspective. In functional approach to Management Control Systems, the managerial functions of Marketing, Finance, Human Resource Development (HRD), Manufacturing, Research & Development, etc., constitute the primary basis for design of the management controls within each function.

Following Figure presents the conceptual framework of functional approach to control systems.

A)Planning, Measurement and Reporting Systems :. The Planning, Measurement and Reporting (PMR) cycle is at the heart of designing a management control system. Planning includes the projects, ideas, programmes and activities that organization intends to take up over its planning horizon. It articulates the "strategic intent" in an environment of "strategic uncertainties" created by the changes in the technology, consumer preferences, competitors' strategies etc. Strategic inputs from the top management are incorporated in the budgeting exercise in planning the activities for the year. Measurement process involves measurement of the actual performance against the targets. Reporting involves "achievement reporting" by comparing the actual achievement with the desired achievement as reflected by the targets and the budgets. The above PMR cycle is repeated every year. The cycle can also be repeated over shorter periods of time, say six monthly and quarterly to ensure corrective action on the part of the managers and also to ensure that the "drivers are reaching at the destination point in correct time",

B)Hierarchy of Control (Strategy, Management Control and Operational / Task Control)

Table : The Old and New Framework of Management Control

Old Framework Strategic Planning Management Control Operation Control

New Framework Strategy Formulation Management Control Task Control

Management Control and Strategic Planning and Control A quick comparison between strategic planning and control, and management control throws up the following points of distinction: Strategic planning focuses on a single aspect of the corporate life at a time whereas management control focuses on all the operations of different subdivisions or units of an organization. The acquisition and deposition of major facilities, creation of division or subsidiaries, research and development of new products, and sources of new permanent capital belong to the domain of strategic planning. The focus of management control extends to the total operations of divisions, plants, etc. The domain of strategic planning comprises unstructured or unprogrammed decisions whereas management control is predominantly rhythmic and regular. The nature of information required for strategic planning tends to be tailormade for the problem, largely external, futuristic and less accurate whereas management control requires integrated, largely internal, historical and accurate information. Strategic planning often uses techniques like SWOT analysis (Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats analysis) whereas management control relies on budgeting. Strategic planning is a creative and anlytical activity whereas management control is largely administrative and persuasive in nature. The time frame of strategic plans tends to be long, say beyond one year, whereas the management control operates by an year, quarter or even smaller time frames. The appraisal of strategic plain is extremely difficult compared to management control which is relatively easy to evaluate.

Management Control and Operational Control

Operational control is yet another category of control, which operates in organizations. In simple words, it ensures that the specific operations or tasks are carried out efficiently and effectively. Some of the ways in which management control differs from operational control are highlighted here under: Management control focuses on all the operations of a sub-division or unit of an organization whereas the focus of operational control is limited to a single task or transaction. Examples of activities for which management control is applicable are the total operations of most manufacturing plants, marketing function and the work of staff units of all types. Examples of tasks susceptible to operational control are the direct production operations of most manufacturing plants,production scheduling, inventory control, the order taking type of selling activity, and order processing, premium billing, payroll accounting and cheque handling. The domain of operational control involves little judgment and greater reliance on rules whereas in management control there is greater degree of judgment and subjective decision making

A)Integrating TQM and MCS Fundamental idea in TQM is the PDCA cycle. PDCA stands for Plan, DO, Check and Act. This idea has been extensively applied to the field of quality improvement. PDCA cycle provided foundation for the Total Quality Control (TQC). Subsequently, TQC was given a new name viz. Total Quality Management (TQM). Within the broad umbrella of TQM, a number of tools and techniques have been developed. They largely relate to improvement in Operational controls/Task control. The customer focus has been brought in sharply and the concept of quality has been redefined from the viewpoint of customer. TQM approach has helped in strengthening the feedback mechanism between the customer and the producer. It has also strengthened the coordination between the marketing and the manufacturing divisions with the organizations. Quality circles evolved as important instruments at the shop floor level to improve the task performance. The concept of Kaizen i.e. continuous improvement provided the foundation for search for ways to improve performance in relation to various tasks being performed by the work force. Thus, task control is facilitated through various techniques of TQM such as kaizen and quality circles. In the literature on TQM, three "managerial" functions have been clearly identified viz. innovation, kaizen (continuous improvement) and maintenance. Top management should focus on the innovation, middle management on kaizen and supervisors and workers on maintenance. Interestingly these three functions correspond to the "hierarchy of control" framework discussed earlier viz. strategy formulation, management control and the task control.

Table : An integrative View of TQM and MCS

Level of Management
Top management Middle management Supervisors and Workers

TQM
Innovation Kaizen Maintenance

MCS
Strategy Formulation Management Control Task Control

Integral View
Visioning DecisionAction Task Performance

B)JIT and MCS

More comonly known as JIT, Just in time philosophy aims at "eliminating waste by reducing the time products spend in the productive process and eliminating the time products spend on activities that don't add value". The essence of JIT philosophy and JIT production system is to eliminate waste and improve quality. In JIT system, an organization "purchases materials and parts and produces components just when they are, needed in the production process".

There are two approaches to business: 1) Produce, hold inventories and wait for customer orders. 2) Get the customer orders, then produce. For example, in case of book publishing the first approach may still be valid, particularly in those cases where a market is to be created for the book. In several other manufacturing situations, production process can be triggered on the basis of orders on hand. For example, a transformer manufacturing unit can design its production system on the basis of JIT approach, when it is in a comfortable order book position. In JIT system, the following are considered important : Reduction in production cycle time Production flow smoothening Quality Focus C)Benchmarking and MCS The idea of benchmarking was initially developed by Xerox to achieve "Leadership Through Quality". The word benchmarking is derived from the word benchmark used by surveyors to indicate "a mark in the stone or metal, or other durable material firmly fixed in the ground, from which differences of level are measured as in surveys or tidal observations". Thus, the "level difference" is the hall mark of benchmarking. The level of difference can be identified by comparing the performance with others.

Benchmarking has also been defined as "the identification and implementation of best practices to achieve customer results and business performance". The mission of benchmarking is to be"best-in-class". Benchmarking is broadly classified in following three categories: 1) Competitive benchmarking 2) Process benchmarking 3) Strategic benchmarking D)Activity Based Costing (ABC) and Management Control

It has been pointed out that the need for using activity as a basis for allocation of cost has arisen because direct labour hours are no more considered as reliable basis for arriving at the correct picture of product costs. Since, labour cost as percentage of total cost has been declining, labour hours as a basis for overhead allocation are likely to provide a distorted picture. Similarly, in case of service industries, machine hours as a basis for overhead allocation could lead to distortions. Activity based costing corrects such distortions by using activity as a basis for overhead allocation. Since ABC generates a more accurate picture of the product cost, it can provide critical insights to the cost basket of products that a company is producing. This information is useful for strategic purposes to realign the product basket. Hence, ABC is essentially a tool for strategic planning and strategic think.

IT, ERP, TOTAL KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT (TKM) AND MANAGEMENT CONTROL SYSTEMS : It may be indicated that "Computers and IT are integral parts of an ERP system; but ERP is primarily an enterprise-wide system, which encompasses corporate mission objectives, attitudes, beliefs, values, style and people who make the organization" During recent years, there has been a shift from data to information to knowledge. Hence, knowledge based systems are emerging as new tools to strengthen the information links between three levels of control hierarchy . Knowledge Management implies leveraging the organizational knowledge for achieving competitive edge. This is achieved through Knowledge Function Deployment (KFD) which implies the following: Building and managing customer relationship through knowledge. Educating customer by providing additional information and knowledge about products, process and people in the organization. Building Knowledge sharing culture within the organization and with the stakeholders. Networking and developing knowledge alliances for enhancing the net worth. Making organization a learning organization.

The overall environment in the nation is one of corruption and moral decay, leading to legitimization of unethical behaviour on the part of citizens. This model in its simplified version is as follows: Decide the desired state: Set the ethical goals in terms of compliance with all laws. Translate the ethical goals in terms of code of conduct and ethics policies. Measure the current state: Find the current state of compliance of laws, find the deviations from code of conduct. In essence, conduct an `ethical audit'. Initiate remedial action: Investigate the alleged violations and initiate a remedial action to ensure that the loose ends are tightened and to prevent reoccurrence of unethical practices, issue proper warning signals to prevent unethical behaviour, "It is better to foster ethical behaviour than to police, catch, and punish unethical behaviour". The following six step are framework for controlling ethical behaviour and preventing "ethical violations". Step 1: Goal setting: Achieve compliance with all law, ethical codes and policies of the organization Step 2: Sensitizing: Sensitize all managers and employees as to what kind of behaviour constitutes unethical behaviour. Step 3: Ethical audit: Audit the behaviour of employees with respect to norms, standards and code of conduct. Step 4: Reporting: Report significant deviations from ethical conduct. Step 5: Investigation: Investigate alleged violations. Step 6: Remedial Action: Implement decisions to correct improper behaviour. In respect of ethics, there are two types of organizations viz., reactive and proactive