Managerial control plays an essential role in any organisation or entrepreneurial endeavour achieving its goals. Such control enables managers to generate appropriate levels of subordination and loyalty within their workforce, which produces knock-on benefits in terms of increasing productivity. However, these simple assertions leave many questions unanswered. Foremost amongst those questions are issues relating to identifying the sources of the so-called right to manage, evaluating the best philosophies and techniques that can be applied to achieve managers goals regarding their workforce, and investigating the constraints under which managers operate. This paper addresses those issues by reviewing relevant literature on the theory and practice of workforce management. It commences with a discussion of the basis of managerial authority that reviews the philosophical underpinnings of such authority and the legal principles that have been claimed to be its sources, tracing its roots to antiquated notions of property. The paper then outlines four management philosophies (dictatorial, paternalistic, constitutional and democratic) and describes traditional and modern labour management techniques, highlighting some of their strengths and weaknesses. Finally, it introduces some of the constraints that must be considered by any managers looking to wield their right to manage effectively. The paper concludes by emphasising the importance of entrepreneurs meeting the needs of their staff as a way of helping to ensure their subordination, loyalty and productivity. In that context, contemporary human resource management techniques such as team working and task participation are identified as effective means to alleviate the pressures that modern managers operate under, such as globalisation, government legislation and the demands of trade unions. The findings of this paper will be of interest to scholars engaged in the study of management theory and practitioners aiming to increase productivity and achieve entrepreneurial goals whilst dealing with the challenges of modern workforce management.