Some Aspects of the Meaning of Control.

Abstract The article informs that the purpose of this article is threefold. First, to explore some of the uses of the word "control" in the area of management. Second, to attempt to evaluate these uses in the light of their respective contributions to a logical and orderly structure from which one may view the job of management. Third, to assess what significance, if any, a concept of control might have on the field of accounting. In pursuing these ends, the paper will be developed in the following manner. The first section will examine the common classifications of the managerial functions in order to provide a certain amount of necessary background. The second section will present the most frequent concepts of control found in the management literature. The problem of definition will then be discussed and a criterion for the subsequent analysis will be established. The fourth section will provide an analysis of the conjunction of the management functions and the concept of control in the light of the criterion developed in the third section. Finally, some consideration will be given to the relationship between the function of control and accounting. In examining the common definitions of control, one is struck by two points.