Underlying Forces of Organisational Control on Administrative Behavioural Theoretical Insights

Control, for a long time, has been a constitutive aspect of organisational sociology. However, much of the scholarly account on the concept has overlooked a critical character of discretion in organisational discourse. By meticulous application of Herbert Simon’s theory of administrative behaviour, this theoretical piece reveals the interesting dynamics of organisational control to bring the enduring significance of discretion in the control of subordinates at work. The analysis draws on the idea that control is not merely about the predetermination of goals that are achieved at the lower level. In views of this, the research advances a primary conceptualisation of control as double-edged model, adding the application of discretion that, occasionally, makes subordinates lead and encourage vital control practices that drive the life of the organisation