Control in an Age of Empowerment (HBR OnPoint Enhanced Edition)

This is an enhanced edition of the HBR article 95211, originally published in March/April 1995. HBR OnPoint Articles save you time by enhancing an original Harvard Business Review article with an overview that draws out the main points and an annotated bibliography that points you to related resources. This enables you to scan, absorb and share the management insights with others. A problem facing managers in the 1990s is how to exercise adequate control in organizations that demand flexibility, innovation, and creativity. How do senior managers protect their companies from control failures when employees are encouraged to redefine how they do their jobs? Today's managers must permit employees to initiate process improvements and new ways of responding to customers' needs--but in a controlled way. Fortunately, the tools to reconcile the conflict between creativity and control are at hand: Belief systems communicate core values and inspire all participants to commit to the organization's purpose. Boundary systems establish rules and identify pitfalls. Diagnostic control systems allow managers to ensure that employees are meeting goals efficiently and effectively. And interactive control systems enable top-level managers to focus on strategic uncertainties.