Following are the relationships between Planning and Controlling
Select the incorrect statement:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Standards of performance which serve as the basis of planning are provided by controlling.
Note: The given answer is as per the official NTA Answer Key. However, more than one answer is possible: Option (1) and Option (3) are both correct, as explained below.
Option (1) Standards of performance which serve as the basis of planning are provided by controlling. — Correct. This statement is false. The roles are swapped. Planning provides the standards, and these standards serve as the basis of controlling. Controlling then measures actual work against them. Without a plan there is nothing to control, so the standards cannot come from controlling.
Option (2) Planning based on facts makes controlling easier and effective. — Incorrect. This statement is true. When plans rest on facts, the standards are realistic, and it is easier to judge whether work is going as planned.
Option (3) Planning is a forward-looking function while controlling is a backward-looking function. — Should also be correct, though not the answer given by NTA. This common saying is only partially correct. Planning is guided by past experience, and the corrective action of controlling aims to improve future performance. So both functions look backward as well as forward. A statement that is only partly true is not a correct statement.
Option (4) Controlling improves future planning by providing information derived from past experience. — Incorrect. This statement is true. What controlling learns from past results is fed into the next plans.
Advice for the exam: When more than one option is correct, mark the one that answers the question most completely as per the NCERT book, here Option (1), which is false in every part, while Option (3) is only partly false. If NTA’s provisional answer key marks a different option, challenge it during the answer-key challenge window, giving proper reasoning. NTA does revise its key when a challenge is well justified, so a sound challenge can raise your marks.
NCERT (2026-27 Edition): “Relationship between Planning and Controlling Planning and controlling are inseparable twins of management. A system of control presupposes the existence of certain standards. These standards of performance which serve as the basis of controlling are provided by planning. Once a plan becomes operational, controlling is necessary to monitor the progress, measure it, discover deviations and initiate corrective measures to ensure that events conform to plans. …” “It is often said that planning is looking ahead while controlling is looking back. However, the statement is only partially correct. Plans are prepared for future and are based on forecasts about future conditions. Therefore, planning involves looking ahead and is called a forward-looking function. On the contrary, controlling is like a postmortem of past activities to find out deviations from the standards. In that sense, controlling is a backward-looking function. However, it should be understood that planning is guided by past experiences and the corrective action initiated by control function aims to improve future performance. Thus, planning and controlling are both backward-looking as well as a forward-looking function. Thus, planning and controlling are interrelated and, in fact, reinforce each other in the sense that |