Span of Control - by Razia

(sometimes called span of management) refers to the number of workers who report to one manager. For hundreds of years, theorists have searched for an ideal span of control. When no perfect number of subordinates for a manager to supervise became apparent, they turned their attention to the more general issue of whether the span should be wide or narrow. A wide span of management exists when a manager has a large number of subordinates.

Generally, the span of control may be wide when:
(i) The manager and the subordinates are very competent.

(ii) The organization has a well-established set of standard operating procedures.

(iii) Few new problems are anticipated.

(iv) A narrow span of management exists when the manager has only a few subordinates.

The span should be narrow when:
(i) Workers are located far from one another physically.

(ii) The manager has a lot of work to do in addition to supervising workers.

(iii) A great deal of interaction is required between supervisor and workers.

(iv) New problems arise frequently.

(v) Keep in mind that the span of management may change from one department to another within the same organization.

(iv) Capacity of subordinates: If the subordinates are skilled, efficient and knowledgeable, they will require less supervision. In such a case, the superior may go in for a wider span.

(v) Effectiveness of communication: If there is an effective communication system in the organization, it favours large number of levels because there will be no difficulty in transmission of information in spite of a large number of intervening layers.

(vi) Control devices: The span of control also depends upon the control practices being followed.

(vii) Organisational assistance available to the manager: Staff functions such as training, recruiting and quality control free the managers from frustrating routine work and permit them to increase their span.

(viii) Degree of supervisory co-ordination needed: The lesser co-ordination needed, the broader the span. Similarly the lesser the planning required, the larger the span. Activities like launching a new product, surviving in a highly competitive environment demand careful planning whereas activities like filing, indexing, dispatching require little planning.

(ix) Geographic proximity: The closer a work group is located physically, the larger the span.

(x) Similarity of functions: The more similar the functions performed by the work group, the larger the span.