FEATURES OR CHARACTERISTICS OF CO-ORDINATION

An analysis of the above definitions indicates that co-ordination has certain characteristics. They are,

1.   

2.    It provides unity o faction in pursuit of a common purpose. Unity of action is considered to be the heart of the co-ordination process

3.    It aims at achieving the common purpose of the enterprise through the orderly synchronization of the efforts of the subordinates.

4.    It is a process whereby an executive develops an orderly pattern of group efforts for accomplishing the common objectives of the enterprise.

5.    The task of co-ordination is a managerial responsibility; co-ordination can be made effective only if an executive makes conscious efforts

6.    It is a continuous process

STEPS Or PROCESS OF CO-ORDINATION.

Co-ordination cannot be achieved through orders. It is a process which can be achieved through managerial functions. It is a by-product of good management. When all the functions are carried out properly then co-ordination will come by itself. Co-ordination may be achieved through following processes:

Through Planning: The planning is the elementary stage of achieving co-ordination. When various functions are properly planned and various policies are integrated then co-ordination will be easily achieved. If the production manager is to plan for his development then it will be better to consult purchase manager, personnel manager, finance manager, sales manager also. When production is planned with the consent of other concerned managers then co-ordination takes place at planning level. If other managers feel some difficulties then they will explain it and mutually accepted decisions will resolve the differences. Co-ordination can certainly be achieved at planning stage. According to Mary. Follett, planning stage is the ideal time to bring about co-ordination and they must see to it that various plans are properly inter-related.

1.    Through Organization: Co-ordination is an essential part of organization. Money considers co-ordination as the very essence of organization. When a manager groups and assigns various activities to subordinates, the thought of co-ordination will be upper most in this mind. The related activities are placed together to avoid delays & confusions.

2.    Through Directing: When a manager directs his subordinates he will be coordinating their work. He will give them directions, guidelines and instructions for doing a job assigned to them. He will direct in such a way that the achievement of overall organizational objectives is ensures

3.    Through Controlling: The manager is required to control the work of everyone in the organization so that all efforts are directed towards main goals. There may be instances when performance of subordinates is not up to the mark or it is not in the direction in which it should have been. The manager will take corrective measures as and when required.

4.    Through Staffing: The staffing function can also help in proper coordination. While staffing, the manager should keep in mind the nature of jobs and the type of persons required for managing, them. He should- ensure the right number of executives in various positions for proper performance of their functions. The executives are of such a .quality or are given such a training that they are able to co-operate and co-ordinate their efforts.

5.    Through proper communication: Effective communication is of utmost importance for achieving better co-ordination. There should be a regular flow of information among various persons so that they are given required information for proper co-ordination. The personal contact is the most effective type of communication. Other methods like reports, procedures, bulletins, etc., can also be used properly.

What is Coordination ?

MEANING

Co-ordination is the process of synchronizing activities of various persons in the organization in order to achieve goals. Co-ordination undertaken at every level of management. At the top level the chief executive will co-ordinate the activities of functional or departmental managers. If there is lack of co-ordination between production and sales departments then either production will suffer or sales will suffer. Similarly I personnel department will like to know the manpower needs of various departments. No department will be able to function with a proper co-ordination with finance department. At middle/lower levels of management the deputy managers / foreman / supervisors will co-ordinate the work of persons working under them. The purpose of co-ordination is to create team work and harmony in the enterprise. It is the blending of human efforts in order to achieve better organization goals.

Co-ordination crease a mental awareness among all employees and their efforts are directed in unison. An organization is like a human body. As various parts o the body combine together to do a work, similarly the different segments of the organization should work in unison so that task is completed in a better way.

DEFINITIONS

A number of authors have defined co-ordination differently. The views of some of them are given here in order to know its exact nature.

HENRY FAYOL: "To co-ordinate is to harmonize all the activities of a person in order to facilitate its working and its success." Co-ordination is necessary to enable a person to improve his functioning. Without co-ordination, working cannot be harmonized.

ORDWAY TEAD: "Co-ordination is the effort to assure a smooth interplay of the functions and forces of all the different component parts of an organization to the end that its purpose win be realize with minimum of friction and maximum of collaboration effectiveness." The purpose of the co-ordination is to synchronize the functions of various departments for achieving organizational goals with minimum efforts

WHAT IS Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) & Critical Path Method (CPM) ? 

PERT: It is useful at several stages & project management starting from early planning stages when various alternative programmes have been considered to the schedule place, when time and resources schedules are laid              to final stage in operation, when used as control device to measure actual against plant programmes. It is useful completing a project on schedule (time) by co-ordinating different jobs involved in its completion.

Feed Back – Control:

It is a system & controlling which tries to rectify the deviations after they have occurred. It is like a post-mortem analysis which aims at identifying the point & cause of deviation.

Feed Forward – Control

It tries to prevent the deviations rather than correcting them, critical areas are identified at the planning stage itself where deviations may occur and special care is taken to avoid such deviations. The approach is diagnostic rather than post-mortem.

    Human Resources Accounting: The American Accounting Association has defined human resources accounting as “the process of identifying and measuring data about human resources and communicating this information to interested parties”.

    Responsibility Accounting: Responsibility Accounting is defined as “a system designed to accumulate and report costs by individual levels of responsibility. Each supervisory area is charged only with the cost for which it is responsible and over which it has control.”

WHAT IS MODERN TECHNIQUES ?

1.   Financial Statement Analysis: Financial statements are a means of managerial control. They can be used by the management for measuring and controlling the profitability, liquidity and the financial position of the business. By comparing the financial statement of the current year with those of the previous years and also by comparing the financial statement of their concern with those of other concerns engaged in the same industry.

2.   Return on Investment Control: Profits are the measure of overall efficiency of business. Profit earned in relation to the capital employed in a business is an important control device. ROI is used to measure the overall efficiency of a concern. It reveals how well the resources of a concern are used, higher the return better are the results.

3.   Management Information System (MIS): Management Information System (MIS) is an approach of providing timely, adequate and accurate information to the right person in the organisation which helps in taking right decisions.

4.   Management Audit: Management audit is an investigation by an independent organisation to find out whether the management is carried out most effectively or not. In case there are drawbacks at any level then recommendations should be given to improve managerial efficiency.

5.   Zero-Base Budgeting (ZBB): In the words of Peter A Pyher, “Zero-base budgeting is a planning and budgeting process which requires each manager to justify his entire budget request in detail from scratch and shifts the burden of proof to each manager to justify why he should spend money at all. The approach requires that all activities be analysed in ‘decision packages’ which are evaluated by systematic analysis and ranked in order of importance”.

     From his definition, it is clear that Zero-base budgeting is a technique of preparing the budget in which the previous year is not taken as the base, and every year is taken as a new year for preparing the current year’s budget.

WHAT IS TRADITIONAL TECHNIQUES

• 1.  Budgetary Control: According to J.A. Scott, “Budgetary control is the system of management control and accounting in which all operations are forecasted and so far as possible planned ahead, and the actual results compared with the forecasted and planned ones”.
• 2. Standard Costing: According to the ICMA, England, “Standard cost is a pre-determined cost which is calculated from management’s standards of efficient operation and the relevant necessary expenditure”.
• 3. Break-even Analysis or Cost-Volume-Profit Analysis: Cost-Volume-Profit Analysis or Break-even Analysis is the study of the interrelationship between the cost (i.e., cost of production), volume (i.e., the volume of production and sales), the prices and the sales value, and the profits.
• 4. Inventory Control: Inventory is the stock of raw materials, work-in-progress, finished goods, consumable stores and spare parts and components at any given point to time. So, inventory control means control over different items of inventory or stock. “It is defined as physical control of stock items and implementing the principles and policies relating thereto”.
• 5. Internal Audit: Internal audit is a continuous and systematic review of the accounting, financial and other operations of a concern by the staff specially appointed by the management for the purpose. In other words, it is the auditing for the management conducted by the staff specially appointed for the purpose to ensure that the work of the concern is going on smoothly, efficiently and economically.
• 6.  Statistical Data Analysis: It is a technique under which statistical data of the past and the present relating to the important aspects of the business are used for managerial control. The statistical data are collected from books and registers of the concern and presented to the management in a systematic manner in the form of tables, charts, graphs, etc.,
• 7. Personal Observation: Under the technique of personal observation, the managers keep a close personal observation of the employees. In other words, the manager observes whether the workers are doing what they are expected to do.
• 8.  Production Planning and Control: According to S. Elon, “Production planning and control may be defined as the direction and co-ordination of the firm’s material and physical facilities towards the attainment of pre-specified production goals in the most efficient and valuable way”. 

Techniques of Control are:

1. Traditional or Conventional Techniques &
2. Modern or Contemporary Techniques

Classification of Control Technique into Traditional and Modern Techniques:

As stated above, the various techniques of control can be classified into categories, viz., (1) Traditional or Conventional techniques and (2) Modern or Contemporary techniques.

The important Traditional or Conventional techniques are:

1. Budgetary Control
2. Standard Costing
3. Break-even Analysis
4. Inventory Control
5. Internal Audit
6. Statistical Data Analysis
7. Personal Observation
8. Production Planning and Control

The Important Modern or Contemporary techniques are:

1. Financial Statement Analysis
2. Return on Investment Control
3. Management Information System
4. Management Audit
5. Zero-base Budgeting
6. Pert & CPM
7. Human Resources Accounting
8. Responsibility Accounting

Characteristics and steps in controlling process

Characteristics of Control   

1. Managerial Function
2. Forward Looking
3. Continuous Activity
4. Control is related to planning
5. Essence of Control is Action

Steps in Controlling Process

1. Setting of Control Standards
2. Measurement of Performance
3. Comparing Actual and Standard Performance
4. Taking Corrective Action.

Techniques of Control or Methods of Establishing Control

A number of techniques or tools are used for the purpose of managerial control. Some of the techniques are used for the control of the overall performance of the organisation, and some are used for controlling specific areas  or aspects like costs, sales, etc

1.    Budgetary control technique

2.    Non-budgetary control techniques

1.    Budgetary control technique

The technique of budgetary control refers to the use of budgets as the means for controlling the activities of a business.

1.    Non-budgetary control techniques

Non-budgetary control techniques refer to all techniques of control other than the technique of budgetary control. Non-budgetary control techniques include techniques such as:

a.    Standard Costing

b.    Break-even analysis

c.    Inventory Control

d.    Internal Audit

e.    Statistical data analysis

f.     Personal observation

g.    Production planning and control

h.    Financial statement analysis

i.      Return on investment control

j.      Management information system

k.    Management audit

l.      PERT & CPM

m.   Human resources accounting

n.    Responsibility accounting

It may be noted that this type of classification of control techniques (i.e., classification of control techniques into budgetary control technique and non-budgetary control techniques) is not quite common.

CONTROLLING

Control is one of the managerial functions. These functions start with planning and end at controlling. The other functions like organizing, staffing, directing act as the connecting like between planning and controlling. Planning will be successful only if the progress planning and controlled, Planning involves setting up of goals and objectives while controlling seeks to ensure

Definitions                                            

Knootz and O'Donnel: -

“The measurement and correction of the performance of activities of subordinates in order to make sure that enterprise objectives and plan devised to attain them are being accomplished." The accomplishment of organizational goals is the main aim of every management. The performance of subordinates should be constantly watched to ensure proper implementation of plans. Co-ordination is the channel through which goals can be achieved and necessary

Henry Fayol:

"In an undertaking, control consists in verifying whether everything occurs in conformity with the plan adopted, the instructions issued and principles established". It has to point out weakness and errors in order to rectify them and prevent recurrence. It operates on everything:

Making: communication effective or overcoming / gate ways to communication

1) Clarity and Completeness: In communication effectively, it is very essential to know the 'audience' for whom the message is meant. The message to be conveyed must be absolutely clear in the mind of the communicator because if you do not understand an idea, you can never express it to someone. The message should be adequate and appropriate to the purpose of communication. The purpose of communication, itself, should be clearly defined.

2)  Proper Language: To avoid semantic barriers, the message should be express in simple, brief and clear language. The words or symbols selected for conveying the message must be appropriate to the reference and understanding of the receiver.

3)  Sound Organization Structure: To make communication effective, the organization structure must be appropriate to the needs of the organization. Attempt must be made to shorten the distances to be traveled for conveying information.

4) Orientation of Employees: The employees should be oriented to understand the objectives, rules, authority relationships and operations of enterprise. It will help to understand each other, minimize conflicts and distortion of messages.

5) Emphatic Listening and Avoid Premature Evaluation: To communicate effectively, one should be a good listener. Superior should develop the habit of patient listening and avoid premature evaluation of communication from their subordinates. This will encourage free flow of upward communication.

6) Motivation and Mutual Confidence: The message to be communication should be so designed as to motivate the receiver to influence his behavior to take the desired action. A sense of mutual trust and confidence must be .generated to promote free flow of information.

7) Consistent Behavior: To avoid credibility gap, management must ensure that their actions and deeds are in accordance with their communication.

8) Use of Grapevine: Grapevine or the informal channels of communication help to improve managerial decisions and make communication more effective. Thus formal channels of communication must be supplemented with the use of grapevine.

9) Feedback: Communication is not completes unless the response or reaction of the receiver of the message is obtained by the communicator the effectiveness of communication can be judged from the feedback. Therefore, feedback must be encouraged and analysed.

10)Gestures and Tone: The way you say something is also very important along with the message for gestures such as a twinkle of an eye, a smile or a handshake, etc., Convey sometimes tone meaning then ever words spoken or written. Thus, one should have appropriate facial expressions, tone, gestures and mood etc., to make communication effective.

Barriers to communication and making 

Communication is the nerve system of an enterprise. It is said to be no. 1 management problem today. "It serves as the lubricant, fostering for the smooth operations of management process.

Barriers to communication

1)    Physical Barriers: A communication is two-way process, distance between the sender and the receiver of the message is an important barrier to communication. Noise and environmental factors also block communication.

2)    Personal Barriers: Personal factors like difference in judgement, social values, inferiority complex, bias, attitude, pressure of time, inability to communicate, etc. widen the psychological distance between the communicator and the communicate. Credibility gap, i.e., inconsistency between what one says and what one does, also, acts as a barrier to communication.

3)    Semantic or Language Barriers: Semantic is the science of meaning. The same work and symbols carry different meanings to different people. Difficulties in communication arise when the sender and the receiver of the message use words or symbols in different senses. The meaning intended by the sender may be quite different from the meaning followed by the receiver. People interpret the message in terms of their own behavior and experience. Sometimes, the language used by the sender may not at all be followed by the receiver.

4)    Status Barriers Superior-Subordinate Relationship: status or position in the hierarchy of an organization is one of the fundamental barriers that obstructs free flow of information. A superior may give only selected information to his subordinates so as to maintain status differences. Subordinates, usually, tend to convey only those things which the superiors would appreciate. This creates distortion in upwards communication. Such selective communication is also known as filtering sometimes, "the superior feels that he cannot fully admit to his subordinates those problems, conditions or results which may affect adversely on his ability judgement.

5)    Organizational Structure Barriers: Effective communication largely depends upon sound organizational structure. If the structure is complex involving several layers of management, the breakdown or distortion in communication will arise it is an established fact that every layer cuts off a bit of information.

6)    Barriers due to Inadequate Attention: Inadequate attention to the message makes communication less effective and the message is likely to be misunderstood. Inattention may arise because of over business of the communicatee or because of the message being contrary to his expectations and beliefs. The simple failure to read notices, minutes and reports also a con1ffion feature.

7)    Premature Evaluation: Some people have the tendency to form a judgement before listening to the entire message. This is known as premature evaluation. As discussed in the previous point, "half-listening is like racing your engine with the gears in neutral. You use gasoline but you get nowhere." Premature evaluation distorts understanding and acts as a barrier to effective communication.

9)    Emotional Attitude: Barriers may also arise due to emotional attitude because when emotions are strong, it is difficult to know, the frame of mind "of other person or group. Emotional attitudes of both, the" communicator as well as the communicatee, obstruct free flow of transmission and understanding of messages.

10)    Resistance to Change: It is general tendency of human beings to stick to old and customary patterns of life. 1bey may resist change to maintain status quo. Thus, when new ideas are being communicated to introduce a change, it is likely to be overlooked or even opposed. This resistance to change creates an important obstacle to effective communication.

11)    Barriers Due to Lack of Mutual Trust: Communication means sharing of ideas in common. "When we communicate, we are trying to establish a commonness." Thus, one will freely transfer information and understanding with another only when there is .mutual trust between the two. When there is a lack of mutual trust between the communicator and the communicatee, the message is not followed.

12)    Other Barriers: There may be many other barriers, such as unclarified assumptions, lack of ability to communicate, mirage of too much knowledge of closed minds, communication overload, shortage of time, etc., which cause distortion or obstruction in the free flow of communication and thus make it ineffective. Failure to retain or store information for future use becomes a barrier to communication when the information is needed in future.