Monitor and control process is an essential step in regulating the overall performance of a firm’s sales force. One should be aware the developing step involves nine critical stages. These include identifying the process, defining measures, setting a measurement system and standards, obtaining results, comparing the outcome, communicating, generating alternatives, and taking action. The example company will be the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), which is one of the largest management consulting service providers.
To develop a monitor and control system for improving a firm’s performance, it is essential to follow the nine steps. First, one needs to identify the process to control to specify the approach (Capon, 2016). For example, BCG operates on a project-based pattern, where each one of them is tied with a client in the form of an organization or department (Keenan et al., 2015). Second, it is vital to decide and define measures, which allows the system to track the appropriate metrics (Capon, 2016). In the case of BCG, these elements can be customer satisfaction, project completion time, and change in customer performance after the implementation of recommendations.
Third, a precise measurement system needs to be developed, which will dictate whether the overall performance is improving. For instance, the monitor and control process can record the client’s feedback, adherence to deadlines, and outcome differences before and after the consultation. The fourth stage involves setting standards to identify desirable results (Capon, 2016). For example, BCG can set such components by requiring 9 out of 10 customer satisfaction, complete adherence to the schedule, and at least a 10% performance increase regarding the client.
The following fifth critical step revolves around measuring the results. In the case of Boston Consulting Group, the results might be 8 out of 10 customer feedback, 2 missed deadlines out of 10 projects, and 23% percent performance improvement among the clients. The sixth stage is the comparison of outcomes with standards to observe key gaps and variances (Capon, 2016). The provided example shows that customer satisfaction and deadline adherence do not match the required norms, whereas the last metric exceeds them. The seventh step includes understanding and communicating performance gaps to inform the company or firm (Capon, 2016). For example, a BCG analyst can assess the obtained data and present information to upper management for further discussions.
The eighth element of developing a monitor and control system is generating and evaluating alternatives. For instance, the top management alongside the analyst can decide that customer satisfaction and deadline adherence metrics require major structural improvements due to the possibility of the two being interlinked. The last step is selecting alternatives and taking action, which is designed to eliminate the outlined issues (Capon, 2016). In the case of the BCG example, the plausible option or solution might be manifested in cutting bonuses or imposing penalties for non-adherence to deadlines, which can also improve customer satisfaction. Therefore, these nine critical measures can ensure that any firm’s sales force will enhance its performance.
In conclusion, the monitoring and control process is a vital part of enhancing the overall performance of a company or firm by increasing its sales force. To develop the system, it is important to undergo nine essential elements. They are determining the process, defining and setting measurements and standards, gathering the results and comparing them to the requirements, and communicating information for further action.
References
Capon, N. (2016). Managing marketing in the 21st century (4th ed.). Wessex Press.
Keenan, P., Bickford, J., Mingardon, S., Wong, T., & Tankersley, J. (2015). Connecting business strategy and project management [PDF document]. Web.