Chapter 16 question 1
Describe the following 3 “types of controls used at Outback: Feedforward, Feedback, and concurrent.
Provide specific examples from the case study,
Feedforward control are used by managers to help focus on preventing future problems in the company.
Feedforward work by collecting performance information about past performance and improvising that
information to come up with a plan that will help avoid pitfalls and roadblocks before beginning a
project or task. Nestle is a good example of a company that uses feedforward control to help improve
their company. By working with local farmers to improve the quantity of their products and improving
their environment, nestle can produce high quality raw materials. In the Outback case study, the three
founders used the experience they brought from their previous company they were able plan out a
strategy that would help them be successful. The article also stated that “Tim brought with him
recipes drawn from 25 years of experience”. They understood that as people aged so did their
taste bug so they created their food flavor according to that this are examples of feedforward
control use to improve the company.
Feedback controls are used in large degree by supervisors and managers. This is the process of
collecting information about a performance after the task or project has already been completed.
The information collected from the performance is then used to make corrections or
improvement on future tasks and projects. Feedback varies, from receiving rating for a
performance to customer giving you advises on how to improve future customer services. The
main problem with feedback control is the timing. Most feedbacks occur after the task is
completed so you can’t really improve the current task, only the future ones. The location of new
outback restaurants was influenced by the feedback from previous failed location for company.
Another thing they did was research. They went to different restaurants to see what people were
eating and spoke with different industries to see what helped them be successful.
Concurrent control is a technique used by management to monitor processes and behaviors to