5.2 Steps of managerial control
Control is a basic managerial function involving setting standards, evaluating against standards and taking corrective action. It is the process of regulating service activities so that your performance conforms to expected standards and goals, and it ensures that the necessary corrective action is taken whenever deviations occur.
In managerial terms, control ensures that your health work is accomplished according to agreed action plans. It is a process of ensuring that the work that you do produces the desired results. Control is a continuous activity. As a Health Extension Practitioner you will need to control your local primary healthcare services and the resources you have in order to minimise mistakes, inefficiency and wastage.
If there are things going wrong with your services, monitoring will point the way to timely corrective action which should lead to an improvement in the performance of your health team.
How can monitoring information accurately help maintain effective control?
From the previous section, you know that monitoring performance on a regular basis helps you to know where you are in term of work progress, staff performance and service achievements.
As a Health Extension Practitioner you will be involved in the four steps of controlling. First of all, you should establish the necessary standards required to ensure that achievements are in accordance with your overall plan. In the second step, you measure performance. In the third step you compare that performance with the predetermined standards. If there is any deviation you will be able to take corrective action, which is the final step in the controlling function.
5.1.4 Supervision