To make the control process possible and worthwhile, the performance standard should be relevant, realistic, attainable and measurable.

A performance or control standard is a planned target against which the actual performance will be compared.

Control means revised planning and revised allocation of resources.

Activities should be quantifiable and reliable before any valid comparison can be made.

The collection of information and reporting on actual performance are continuous activities

Observation and measurement must be carried out at the strategic points and according to the standards determined by the control system.

In large organisations the principle of control by exception is applied, in which only important and exceptional disparities between real and planned achievement are reported to top management

It is important to know why a standard has only been matched and not exceeded, or why performance has been much better than the standard.

This step comprises the determination of the performance gap between the performance standard and actual performance.

The nature and scope of the deviations responsible for the performance gap may have various causes.

Upper and lower limits should be set for each deviation, and only those deviations that exceed the limits should be subject to further examination.