Coordination, Control and Performance Management
Coordination
Coordination is the synchronisation of interdependent efforts. Mintzberg's mechanisms, increasing in complexity: mutual adjustment, direct supervision, standardisation of work processes, of outputs, of skills, and of norms. Horizontal devices - liaison roles, task forces, committees, cross-functional teams - cut across vertical lines. Coordination cost rises with interdependence: reciprocal interdependence needs richer mechanisms than pooled interdependence.
The control cycle
Control measures performance against standards and corrects deviation. Cycle: set standards, measure actual performance, compare, analyse the variance, take corrective action, follow up. Types by timing: feedforward (before - budgets, quality inputs), concurrent (during - supervision, live dashboards), feedback (after - reports, post-implementation review). Management by exception reserves managerial attention for significant deviations.
Performance tools
Budgetary control and variance analysis; ratio analysis (liquidity, gearing, activity, profitability); the balanced scorecard (Kaplan and Norton) balancing financial, customer, internal process, and learning and growth perspectives; benchmarking against best practice; 360-degree appraisal; KPIs that are specific and measurable.
Worked example
Standard: 2 kg at ₦500 per kg = ₦1,000 per unit. Budget output 1,000 units; actual output 900 units using 1,850 kg at ₦510 = ₦943,500. Flexed standard for 900 units = 1,800 kg at ₦500 = ₦900,000. Price variance = (500 − 510) × 1,850 = ₦18,500 adverse. Usage variance = (1,800 − 1,850) × 500 = ₦25,000 adverse. Total ₦43,500 adverse. Reasoning: comparing original budget ₦1,000,000 with actual ₦943,500 shows a misleading underspend; only the flexed comparison exposes the adverse material variance that justifies a control decision.
Traps
- Equating control with punishment or a one-off check.
- Treating feedback control as preventive - it detects after the event.
- Presenting the balanced scorecard as a financial-only tool.
- Comparing actual cost with the original budget when volume has changed.