Question

What are your thoughts on the difference between control and inspiration? Provide examples of effective measures you can use to control employee/team member. Discuss what works in holding people accountable and what is not effective.

Answer 1

Difference between Control and Inspiration:

Control:

Controlling or Monitoring of employees means ensure surveillance all the time to ensure that they are productive, use office equipment only for office use, ensure that they are paid for what they deliver and are ethical and responsible. Controlling misuse of office data, restricted information is not passed on for monetary or other benefits. Controlling is done either one-to-one or through remote devises such as computers, cameras and reporting lines.

Inspiration

Inspiration is getting the work done through monitory benefits or otherwise. Employees are trained as to ethical means of achieving results and set as role models for gaining recognition and rewards. There are many ways of inspiring people at work. When an employee is inspired, he needs little supervision.

The Basic difference between Control and Inspiration are :

Control	Inspiration
Supervision is direct -Employee centered	Indirect and work oriented
Employee feels that he is under surveillance 24/7	Employee feels that he needs to live up to expectations
Employee is under constant fear	Employee is relaxed
Personal freedom is absent	Full personal freedom
Results are monitored and rewarded accordingly	Results are not monitored. Employees themselves deliver results
Losses may be less	Losses may be more
Attrition may be more	Attrition is almost negligible
Can be adopted where employees need constant vigil, training and monitoring due to expensive items used in production	Highly skilled, motivated and well educated employees need less monitoring and generally well motivated.

Effective measures to control Employee/Team member

1. Monitoring employees productivity through TCS-Time Check system on their computers

2. Accounting the units produced vs. time spent

3. Monitoring telephone calls/web sites used in the office/emails/internet usage

4. Number of breaks taken other than permitted

5. Monitoring employees using office vehicle/time through GPS

6. Team/one-on-one meetings.

What works in holding people accountable

1. Clarity of work/deliverables- Employees must know what is expected of them-no ambiguity

2. Employees capability-Right man for the right job- Experience, skills and personal integrity

3. Clarity in productivity-employees to know that their work /productivity is of good quality

4. End results-evidence of time and product and what to expect if results are met and what if they are not-What is the rewards and recognition program

5. Feedback-fair and impersonal feed back is effective

what is not effective.

1. Ambiguity in communication-measuring results

2. Bias based on race, religion, language, proximity, and other consideration by supervisor

3. Backbiting, politics and unethical means are counter productive