| Sumario: | We are often told that "To manage is to control." This phrase fuses two different concepts into synonymy. The bulk of the writing on management-control makes it evident that this construct is not a conjunction of two classes of administrative behavior. It is employed to exclude a distinguishable management function. In the language-in-use, the managerial function is exhausted by the concept of control. This is associated with elaborate technical routines, and an extra- ordinary emphasis on mechanical methods. In examining management curricula and practice, it is reasonable to conclude that all a good manager has to do is to learn a set of control procedures and insure that these are complied with. But control is a function of knowledge, and in uncertain environments knowledge often does not exist. It is necessary therefore, to manage, i.e., assume more flexible responses than are possible in a rigid control mode. The article examines the implications of the management/control confusion as an analogue to Type II statistical error.
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