To explore this issue, we devote the next four chapters to various aspects of controlling, the fourth major function of management. In this chapter, we consider the significance of control as a management process. We examine the control process itself and discuss how managers decide what to control. We also review the major types of controls and the appropriate times for instituting them. We then describe different approaches that managers can take in implementing controls, including how to do so without unduly hampering innovation. Finally, we analyze how managers can effectively assess the control systems that they use.