Strategic evaluation and control can be defined as the process of determining the effectiveness of a given strategy in achieving the organizational objectives and taking corrective action wherever required. Operational control or task control is the process of assuring that specific tasks are carried out effectively and efficiently. The focus of operational control is on individual tasks or operations.
There are some differences between strategic control and operational control. These differences are shown below:
- Definition: Strategic control is the process of continually evaluating the strategy as it is being implemented, and take necessary corrective actions it required.
- Basic question: Are we moving in the right direction?
- Main concern: Steering the organization’s future direction.
- Focus: External environment.
- Time horizon: Long-term.
- An exercise of control: Exclusively by top management. They may take the lower-level support.
- Main techniques: Environmental scanning, information gathering, questioning, and review.
Operational control
- Definition: Operational control is the process of evaluating and correcting the performance of various organizational units to assess their contribution to the achievement of organizational objectives.
- Basic question: How are we performing?
- Main concern: Action control.
- Focus: Internal organization.
- Time horizon: Short-term.
- An exercise of control: Mainly by mid-level management on the direction of the top management.
- Main techniques: Budgets, schedules and MBO.
