ABSTRACT
The purpose of management control is to correct implementation of the management plan so that it conforms to predetermined standards. This cannot be achieved, however, without first identifying and measuring actual performance and comparing the results with other standards. For this reason monitoring and control are often considered two halves of the same function. The object of monitoring is to identify and measure change. It is a continuous process which may be linked to a control system but is aimed, primarily, at forecasting and anticipating the eventual outcome of current events. For example, a tachograph in a lorry or coach monitors and records the essential signs of the progress of the vehicle. The records may be used for future decisions concerning the way in which the vehicle is employed; they may also be used to analyze particular events which occurred during the time to which the records apply. It is important to bear in mind, however, that statistics are not, in themselves, indicators of performance. They must be related to specifically stated objectives if they are to be useful in appraising performance.
