CONTROLLERSHIP BEYOND COMMON SENSE
The issue of controllership & monitoring (previous post: Controllership Beyond Accounting) reminded me of an experience in a corporation where I used to work.
The work ethic and corporate culture were that no one paid attention to the regular office hours of 9 to 5. Managers & staff would arrive an hour or 2 before official start. Lights in many offices stayed on into the night with people working to meet deadlines or serving clients requirements. People took cat naps on their couches when needed and would leave for home to catch some sleep when the task had been accomplished or the report submitted –even before the end of office hours. There were no daily time cards and no requirement to sign in or out. Overtime charges were at a minimum. Complaints about unmet deadlines or unfinished work were at a minimum.
The controller noted the coming in and going out of the office at all hours of the office day and decided to crack the whip. He instituted daily time cards for the staff and managers had to sign in and out.
Where previously there were no long queues at the elevators at 9 in the morning and at 5 at the end of the office day, long queues began to be experienced. Overtime charges shot up, so did the complaints about unmet deadlines and unfinished work.
Image from Microsoft Clipart
