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Describe the interrelationship between planning and controlling.
Describe the interrelationship between planning and controlling.
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Explain both directions of the relationship: planning enables control, and control improves planning — use an example to tie it together.
Updated On: Sep 23, 2026
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Solution and Explanation
Step 1: Calling them the 'Siamese twins' of management:
Management textbooks often describe planning and controlling as inseparable twins, because one cannot exist meaningfully without the other — plans without control cannot be verified, and control without plans has nothing to measure against.
Step 2: The feedback loop view:
Picture a continuous loop: Plan → Act → Measure (control) → Feedback → Re-plan. Planning kicks off the loop by setting the target; controlling closes it by checking the result and feeding lessons back into the next planning cycle.
Step 3: Why treating them separately would fail:
An organisation that plans without controlling risks drifting away from its goals unnoticed; one that tries to control without planning has no yardstick to control against — both functions are therefore essential to each other's success.
Final Answer:
Planning and controlling function as one continuous cycle — planning sets the standards control needs, and control's feedback continuously refines future planning, making the two functions mutually dependent.
Management textbooks often describe planning and controlling as inseparable twins, because one cannot exist meaningfully without the other — plans without control cannot be verified, and control without plans has nothing to measure against.
Step 2: The feedback loop view:
Picture a continuous loop: Plan → Act → Measure (control) → Feedback → Re-plan. Planning kicks off the loop by setting the target; controlling closes it by checking the result and feeding lessons back into the next planning cycle.
Step 3: Why treating them separately would fail:
An organisation that plans without controlling risks drifting away from its goals unnoticed; one that tries to control without planning has no yardstick to control against — both functions are therefore essential to each other's success.
Final Answer:
Planning and controlling function as one continuous cycle — planning sets the standards control needs, and control's feedback continuously refines future planning, making the two functions mutually dependent.
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