In simple words, span of control means the manageable number of subordinates of a superior. Typically, we see comprehensive span exercises reducing at least one layer in an organization. Let us define the principle in the words of nicholas henry. The two diagrams below illustrate two different spans of control. Results in multiple spans of control only one aspect of the management process how many workers can one supervisor effectively supervise or control at lower levels the number may be higher sergeants can effectively supervise 7 10 officers lieutenants between 3 5 chiefs between 2 3 span of management more suitable terrm. What does it mean for a manager to have a wide span of. Span of control australian public service commission. Span of control and unity of command are two important principles in management. It also poses a very different challenge for the organizations leaders, while small organizations are build for innovation, large are meant for operational efficiency. Haimann and scott defined span of control as the number of subordinates who can be effectively supervised and managed. Proportional control, in engineering and process control, is a type of linear feedback control system in which a correction is applied to the controlled variable which is proportional to the difference between the desired value setpoint, sp and the measured value process variable, pv. The basic concepts and principles of unity of command and the.
Span of control and span of attention working paper harvard. Span of control determines the structure of an organization, a narrow span of control results in hierarchal organization while broad span of control leads to flat structure. It is the number of subordinates which are directly under their superiors. Understand traceability requirements and how they are maintained. However, in terms of management and administration, it means the maximum extend or the number of people that can be reached by.
Read this article to learn about the definition and evaluation of span of control in administration. Calibration principles after completing this chapter, you should be able to. Pdf for both practitioners and researchers, span of control plays an important role in defining and understanding the role of the ceo. What are the advantages and disadvantages of narrow span in. This concept affects organization design in a variety of ways, including speed of communication flow, employee motivation, reporting relationships, and administrative overhead. Finally, by rightsizing spans of control, you can free up resources to invest in higher value activities. This means the maximum number of subordinates the team leader can. The paper uses the empirical approach to propose a method of defining optimal span of control for an enterprise, and leads to a conclusion, that efficiency of organizational function performance within company management can be estimated. Pdf the span of control expresses how many subordinates correspond to one. The term refers to the number of subordinates a supervising manager has or is designated to be reported to. For example, in a company with 5,000 employees, a manager who supervises 30 people could have a relatively narrow span of control. Before determining the span of control that makes sense for the managers within your organization, its a good idea to consider the options. So, span of control means the number of subordinates whom a superior manager or administrator can effectively supervise. There are no specific numbers that define a wide or narrow span of control, as these can be relative to the size of the organization.
As an example, a manager with five direct reports has a span of control of five. While we are addressing span of control, lets also broaden our understanding to see it in the context of the organizational structure levels of hierarchy. A span of control is a concept that describes the number of people that are managed by someone. This gives rise to a flat organizational structure. Pdf span of control and span of activity researchgate. This paper argues that the span of control is a useful concept for measuring the closeness of contact between a superior and his subordinates. The firm with wide span of control has more number of subordinates reporting directly to the manager. Span of control can be used as an optimization criteria for estimating the number of employees as well as the amount of hierarchical levels. Span of control law and legal definition uslegal, inc.
Span of control is very simply defined as the number of subordinates a manager within an organization has reporting to him or her. Span of control means that a manager can properly control only a limited number of subordinates, after a certain number is exceeded, communication of commands grows increasingly garbed and control. The span of management is related to the horizontal levels of the organization structure. Organizations size and span of control practical management. In this lesson, youll learn about span of control and unity of command and be provided some examples of. Although a wide span of control can save money, budget developers must be careful about cutting costs when it comes to management.
Span of control or span of management is a dimension of organizational design measured by the number of subordinates that report directly to a given manager. Contrast this with a span of 3 below, which would be considered narrow narrow span of control. It is important to determine the ideal span of control so as to obtain the right balance of effectiveness. Wide span of control means a single manager or supervisor oversees a large number of subordinates. It is a chain of command notion where the number of subordinates are properly identified to understand a managers reach. Spans literary meaning says, it is the distance between the tip of a thumb and small finger when palm of hand is fully stretched out. The number of subordinates that a manager or supervisor can directly control. Simply, span of control refers to the number of subordinates under the managers direct control.
It is a particularly important concept for small business. The basic concepts and principles of unity of command and. Span of control definition in the cambridge english. Organization structures can be described as wide with larger span of control or narrow with smaller span of control.
Span of control, a management and leadership theory toolshero. A span of control of 7 would be considered to be quite wide. The concept span of control has been interpreted so widely. The number of people who report to one manager in a hierarchy the more people under the control of one. Read on to learn what it is and how it impacts a companys results. It is a particularly important concept for small business owners to understand because small businesses often get into trouble when the founder ends up with too. In a narrow span of control, a manger has fewer subordinates under him. Span of management, also known as span of control, refers to the number of people a manager directly manages. The firm with narrow span ten to have narrow structures i.
Span of control financial definition of span of control. This is a crucial information for managers since they need to understand which are. Span of control is indicative of the quality of leadership. If a subordinate has the required ability and skill to perform the task assigned to him, he need not frequently meet his superior for instructions and guidance. Pdf span of control, unity of command, coordination adnan. Introduction to ics introduction to the incident command system purpose and scope this section will introduce you to and define ics. How to identify the right spans of control for your.
A narrow span of control creates more levels in the organisational hierarchy than the wide span of control. So span of control as we see is an individual characteristic depending upon type of organizational structure as well as upon individual features of a certain company. The smaller a managers span of control, the less subordinates he can lead. Each type has its inherent advantages and disadvantages. The addition of new hierarchical layers makes the organisational structure steeper.
Organizations size and span of control organizations size is determined by number of its employees, the largeness of its operation, and its market reach and share. Describe differences between bench calibration and field calibration. Span of control meaning in the cambridge english dictionary. What are the factors determining span of management. Longenecker simply defined span of control as the number of immediate subordinates reporting to a given manager.
With the wider span, there will be less hierarchical levels, and thus, the organizational structure would be flatter. It is therefore very important for span of control and scope of control to be in harmony with each other. The number of subordinates, over whom control is to be exercised, should be reasonable. The difference between a narrow or wide span of control may be determined by a managers rank. Span of control refers to the number of subordinates that can be managed effectively and efficiently by supervisors or managers in an organization. Span of management or span of control management study hq. The extent or measure of space between two points or extremities, as of a bridge or roof. Home school of advanced military studies monographs span of control and the operational commander. To define, explainand demonstrate the roles played by the two basic concepts and principles of unity of command and span of control in organizations iii. What are the advantages and disadvantages of a narrow span of. Span of control determines the structure of an organization, a narrow span of control results in. Span of control is the term now used more commonly in business management, particularly. The span of supervision depends on the following factors. Meeting and exceeding expectations, a vice president, for instance, usually manages fewer than four people while the lowerranking assembly line supervisor might manage oversee 15.
Span of control in management has implications for work flow, communications, and opportunities for promotion in a company. We typically see an opportunity to save between 10 to 15 percent of managerial costs by rightsizing spans and layers. Defining optimal span of control for an enterprise. The span of management can be determined on the basis of a number of relationships that a manager can manage. Pdf span of control in teamwork and organization structure.
The section will provide you with a brief history of ics and its evolution into an effective system for emergency management. Traditionally, span of control is defined and measured as the number of direct subordinates a manager supervises. A large span of control leads to a flatter organisational structure, which results in lower costs. Span of control description the full technique overview is available for free. It is the maximum number of nonqualified individuals that a qualified individual can direct and observe performing a covered task. Describe characteristics of a good control system technician. The span of control is the number of subordinates for whom a manager is directly responsible. Organizations and teams can possess either a wide or a narrow span of control, and each has.
The topdown assignment of managerial span of control, based on external comparisons, misses the specificity critical to designing something that is right for each companys context and strategy. Dowling the authors thank professor howard aldrich for comments on an earlier draft. A higher span of control implies fewer layers or levels of management. Information and translations of span of control in the most comprehensive dictionary definitions resource on the web. A lower number of reports per manager results in a taller organizational structure and more management direction and input. The average span of control in most state and local agencies actually ranged from 5 with most agencies close to 6 or 7. The concept of span of control, also known as management ratio, refers to the number of subordinates controlled directly by a superior.
After reading this article you will learn about the principles and factors affecting the span of control. The principle of span of control means the number of subordinates or the units of work that an officer can personally direct, control, and supervise. Span of control soc refers to the number of people reporting directly i. The levels in case of organisation b5 where span of control is 4 appears as follows. In the hierarchical business organization of some time in the past. The recommended span of control ranged from 612 or more. The span of control is the number of employees a manager can supervise as effectively as possible. The span of control refers to number of employees that directly report to a single manager. Span of control 5 things every leader should know forbes. This work was supported by a grant from the national science foundation, sociology section, which is gratefully acknowledged. Whereas, with the narrow span, the hierarchical levels increases, hence the.
The number of people who report to one manager in a hierarchy the more people under the control of one manager the wider the span of control less means a narrower span of control example below shows a span of control of 4 for the marketing manager marketing manager market researcher telesales supervisor customer care. A higher number of reports per manager results in a flatter organizational structure and fewer opportunities for promotion. Here the capacity means the ability of a superior to comprehend the problems quickly and gel up with the staff such that he gets respect from all. Budget consultants tend to cut employees in middle management, but widening the span of control can create more problems than the cost savings is worth. Span of control is the range or extant of effective control and supervision of the work done by the subordinates. Span of control is the number of staff members that report to a manager. It is the ratio of management to staff in an organization. The span of 4 prevails for each functional area at each level. For example, locating underground pipelines is a covered task with a 1. This section will also introduce the ics organization and describe each.
Span of control simply refers to the number of employees that a manager can supervise effectively at any given time without compromising his or her own performance, or that of the employees he or she manages hindle, 2008. Ability and skills of subordinates determines span of supervision. Span of control and span of activity centre for economic. Traditionally, span of control is defined and measured as the number of direct subordinates a manager. It refers to how many workers a manager is supervising. Typically, it is either narrow or wide resulting in a flatter or more hierarchical organizational structure. There is an inverse relation between the span of control and the number of levels in hierarchy in an organization, i. Span of control, a management and leadership theory. It is very important to understand span of control and organizational structure when. Span of control is the term now used more commonly in business management, particularly human resource management. Add span of control to one of your lists below, or create a new one. Since all managers manage at least one subordinate, span of control applies to managers at all levels throughout the organization. There are advantages and disadvantages to having a narrow span of control. What is span of control and organizational structure.
In the hierarchical business organization of some time in the past it was not uncommon to see average spans of 1 to 4 or even less. Span of control refers to the number of subordinates a supervisor has. In a wider span of control, a manager has many subordinates who report to him. Defining the span of control stanford graduate school of. Two classic mechanical examples are the toilet bowl float proportioning valve and the fly. Distinguish between narrow and wide span of control. Get an answer for what are the advantages and disadvantages of narrow span in management. What does it mean for a manager to have a wide span of control. It is a particularly important concept for small business owners to understand because small businesses often get into trouble when the founder ends up with too wide a span of control. Within an organization, taller organizational structures are relatively more expensive than flatter and wider organizational structures due to the increased number of managers required. Span of supervision meaning need determining factors. The firm with narrow span of control has less number of subordinates reporting directly to the manager. The uses of the concept, span of control, have become so varied over the past years that in its present form it is no longer useful as a means of communicating information between scholars.
In this lesson, youll learn about span of control and unity of command and be provided some examples of each. Unity of command and span of control the two basic concepts and principles of unity of command and span of control will be looked at separately in. It is also a wellknown fact that a manager with a large span of control has a lot of people under him. The paper uses the empirical approach to propose a method of defining optimal span of control for an enterprise, and leads to a conclusion, that efficiency of organizational function performance within company management can be estimated with the use of span of control criteria. The term span of control is made of two words, viz. It doesnt take into account how each department and team should perform their work to accomplish their collective performance and health goals.
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