Management Control: a Study of a Highway Concessionaire in the Klang Valley, Malaysia

The proliferation of privatized toll highway companies is a new addition to the Malaysian business landscape. Many companies are given the rights to finance, design, construct, operate, maintain and collect toll charges from highway users for a specified period of time. This paper discusses management control in the organization of a toll highway concessionaire in the Klang Valley, Malaysia. Management control is measured by the standardization of work, rule observation, personal participation in decision making, hierarchy of authority, input control, and output control. Data for the study was collected through the questionnaire-aided sample survey. A total of 281 employees of KESAS Berhad responded to the questionnaire giving an 88.0 percent response rate. The data was subjected to statistical analysis including the use of mean scores and Pearson’s product-moment correlation tests. Among others, the findings of the study showed no evidence of a predominant form of control in the organization. It was discovered that power distribution in the organization influences the other forms of control in many ways. Personal participation in decision making process influences the level of standardization of work, input control and output control. On the contrary, hierarchy of authority influences the level of standardization of work and rule observation. The findings of the study provide strong empirical evidence that the various forms of control are interrelated.