Controlling is known as a backward-looking function because of which of the following?

It is like a post-mortem of the past activities

The true statement is: Option 2: It is like a post-mortem of the past activities

Controlling is like a postmortem of past activities to find out deviations from the standards. Controlling involves assessing past performance against standards or benchmarks, which is essentially looking back at what has already occurred. In this sense, it is akin to conducting a post-mortem or retrospective analysis of past activities to assess whether they were in line with organizational goals and objectives. Therefore, controlling is considered a backward-looking function because it primarily focuses on assessing past performance rather than determining future courses of action.

Let's analyze why the other options are incorrect:

Option 1 (It relates to future course of action): Controlling does use the information gathered to inform future actions and improve performance, but its primary function is to evaluate what already happened.

Option 3 (To find out deviation, it aims at improving future performance): While finding deviations and aiming to improve future performance are important aspects of controlling, they are secondary to the core function of evaluating the past