Models of Institutional Control

Models of institutional control refer to non-engineered instruments applied by administrators to minimize the chances of human resource conflicts. The primary goal of institutional control models is enhancing performance of the organizational publics. Institutional control models include the control model, the responsibility model, and the consensual model. Each of these models can be used to handle various issues in the organization; however, some models are more suitable in managing particular tasks than others.

The control model deals with the regulation and monitoring of activities and the institutional publics. Administrators develop goals of performance and direct the employees to work towards the achievement of those goals (Jones, Andrew & MacColl, 2006).  Employees may have diverse viewpoints on proper approaches to tasks. Institutional administration institutes the elements of control in the organisation in order to seek the equilibrium between conflicting viewpoints while providing for each stakeholder’s interests (Lane, 2009). The responsibility model requires the institutions to specify parties who are accountable to particular tasks. This model separates the performance tasks and allocates each to the specified performers. For example, a typical institutional structure of a university identifies holders of the offices of the Chancellor, Vice-chancellor, Deputy Vice-chancellors and the heads of departments (Jones, Andrew & MacColl, 2006). Each of these parties has specific responsibilities to handle within the institution. The responsibility model helps to eliminate possible role conflicts in the organization. The consensual model aims at promoting consensus democracy in the institutions. This model creates opportunities for all institutional stakeholders to participate in management decision making. The consensual model reduces the adversities of autocracy and promotes unit among the institutional publics. For example, most institutions have adopted bottom-up approach in their administrative practices to seek consensus from all workers during the process of decision making.

Effective institutionalization results from application of proper models of institutional control (Lane, 2009). The models of institutional control include the control model, the responsibility model and the consensual model. The consensual model is the most effective in institutional administration because it guarantees prevalence of democratic elements. Presence of democracy in institutions ensures proper control of the institution and promotes responsibility among the institutional publics.

References

Jones, R., Andrew, T., & MacColl, J. (2006). The institutional repository. Oxford: Chandos Publishing.

Lane, J. E. (2009). State management: An enquiry into models of public administration. London: Routledge.