What type of control aligns with a system of rules and procedures?

Bureaucratic control is characterized by its reliance on established systems of rules and procedures to govern organizational behavior and decision-making. This type of control emphasizes formal mechanisms such as policies, regulations, and protocols that dictate how tasks should be performed and how various processes should be managed. The intention behind bureaucratic control is to ensure consistency, accountability, and efficiency within an organization, making it easier to achieve comprehensive compliance with the organization's goals.

In contexts where a detailed framework is necessary to guide employees’ actions and maintain order, bureaucratic control proves to be effective. It often manifests in the form of hierarchies, clear job descriptions, and specific guidelines that all employees must follow, allowing organizations to maintain structure and predictability in their operations.

While the other forms of control—personal, output, and cultural—play important roles in organizational management, they do not primarily focus on systems of rules and procedures. Personal control relies more on individual supervision and relationships, output control focuses on the results and performance outcomes rather than the processes leading to those outcomes, and cultural control emphasizes shared values and beliefs within the organization. Therefore, bureaucratic control is the most fitting answer for aligning with a structured system of rules and procedures.