In management, which term best describes the ongoing activity of checking progress and performance over time?

• A. Planning
• B. Controlling
• C. Monitoring
• D. Budgeting

Answer: (C)

Monitoring is the ongoing observation and measurement of progress and performance over time. It involves regularly collecting data on key indicators, watching for trends, and comparing results to established standards or targets. This continuous activity lets you see whether activities are on track and spot deviations early, so timely decisions can be made. The other terms describe different aspects: planning sets goals and how to reach them; budgeting focuses on financial plans and resource constraints; controlling uses the information from monitoring to take corrective actions and steer performance back toward targets. In short, monitoring is the ongoing checking itself, while controlling is the response to what monitoring reveals.