In a management environment, personal control is a complex and controversial issue. Personal control can impose significant restrictions on the work process, and it is not always a good motivation for employees. Thus, workers may resent scrutiny and only perform better when they have greater personal freedom. The desire for personal control can also negatively affect managers in situations where there is a lack of objectivity or fairness in discussing and evaluating performance. However, there are also positive aspects influenced by the desire for personal control among managers. First of all, this process can help the manager monitor the effectiveness of planning and the activities of the leadership in the working environment of the team. Secondly, due to controlling, the manager determines the performance score and, if necessary, can take action to adjust the plans (Young et al., 2021). Therefore, the desire for personal control is that the manager can personally verify that individual employees are behaving following both the organization’s goals and mission.
Nevertheless, for the effectiveness of the work of different structures of the organization, the manager must balance personal control with other control systems of the organization. Thus, in conjunction with personal control, the output will help the manager quickly track whether the performance meets expectations. In the case of behavioral control, personal control will allow managers to establish tighter control over the management of actions. For example, some companies prohibit employees from smoking during the working day. Personal control can help managers be confident that company standards are being followed. Moreover, clan control, combined with a personal one, can help managers balance employee values and norms in the organization. Hence, creativity is vital in many organizations, and many rules are irrelevant. However, with the help of personal control, the manager can balance the fulfillment of the assigned tasks and the norms necessary for specific projects.
Reference
Young, K. A., Hassan, S., & Hatmaker, D. M. (2021). Towards understanding workplace incivility: gender, ethical leadership and personal control. Public Management Review, 23(1), 31-52. Web.