Span of control, a management and leadership theory. It is a chain of command notion where the number of subordinates are properly identified to understand a managers reach. The concept of span of control is an important concept in business. The functions of management are planning, organizing, directing, coordinating, and control. Tmt examines the effects of demographic diversity of senior managers on organizational. Police management studies from the 1950s through the 1980s featured the span of control concept. This module provides an insight into the span of control through its concept, types, factors affecting, advantages, limitations and v. Span of control and span of attention working paper harvard. Economic consideration economic considerations also determines the span of control. How to identify the right spans of control for your. The article discusses the authors opinion on the span of control principle of organization conceptualized by vytautas andrius graicunas. Span of control, sometimes known as span of management, is measured by the number of subordinates that report directly to a manager. Graicunas and the span of control academy of management. Span of management span of control span of authority.
This paper examines emergency management span of control nationally, surveys emergency management directors in four new england states, and proposes a regional construct for emergency management in vermont, to enable effective emergency management during the next manmade or natural disaster. What are the advantages and disadvantages of a narrow span. The addition of new hierarchical layers makes the organisational structure steeper. The basic concepts and principles of unity of command and the. The span of control is the number of employees a manager can supervise as effectively as possible.
Span of control theory there is no standard for span of control. Span of control is the term commonly used in business management and public administration. Management, firms, ceo, productivity, firm activities. Journal of nursing management span of control increases, the leaders sense of attachment to the.
Whereas, with the narrow span, the hierarchical levels increases, hence the. Span of control 5 things every leader should know forbes. Simply, span of control refers to the number of subordinates under the managers direct control. When a span is too wide, upper management is not connected to frontline issues, which can create increased stress at managerlevel due to excessive workload, reduced opportunities for continuous oneonone performance feedback, and potential for greater need for assistants or chief of staff roles. 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. Workers are engaged in groups on a repetitive operation and control of the work is exercised by individual output figures. It is very important to understand span of control and organizational structure when describing an organization. Span of activity provides a direct measure of the ceos management style, including the attention devoted to specific subordinates and functions, the time devoted to individual work and outside. 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. A span of control tool for clinical managers article pdf available in nursing leadership toronto, ont.
The number of people who report to one manager in a hierarchy the more people under the control of one. We typically see an opportunity to save between 10 to 15 percent of managerial costs by rightsizing spans and layers. The span of management can be determined on the basis of a number of relationships that a manager can manage. Span of accountability, in contrast, represents the range of tradeoffs inherent in 2 2. Later in the 20th century, flatter organizational structures became more common, and the ideal span of control rose to between 15 and 25, with a corresponding ideal of not more than five. In a wider span of control, a manager has many subordinates who report to him. 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. Al though control is listed last, it certainly is not the least important. Determination of span of control is one of the results of organizing and it is defacto manifestation of formal organizational structure. 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. At least since fayol 1918 the notion of span of control has occupied a central position in management, both in scholarly analysis and practical implementation.
Pdf span of control and span of activity researchgate. Read on to learn what it is and how it impacts a companys results. Pdf the span of control expresses how many subordinates correspond to one manager. Span of control is the term now used more commonly in business management, particularly human resource management. 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. In business, the principle does not apply at the lowest level of supervision.
In the 19th and middle of 20th century, management writers determined 5 or 6 as the optimum number that a manager could effectively manage at the upper level. The concept is the central theme of the classical theory. In the hierarchical business organization of some time in the past. In a classical type of organizational structure, which is the most common form. It also poses a very different challenge for the organizations leaders, while small organizations are build for innovation, large are meant for operational efficiency. In many industrial operations, an unofficial leadership. Proper span of control is considered necessary for effective coordination. Pdf span of control in teamwork and organization structure. Pdf span of control, unity of command, coordination adnan. With the wider span, there will be less hierarchical levels, and thus, the organizational structure would be flatter. This is emphasized repeatedly in the literature and in particular by jurisdictions that that have visited or revisited the question the concept of an ideal range often stated as 57, or 68 originates in the pioneering span of control research that took. As an example, a manager with five direct reports has a span of control of five.
A narrow span of control describes a situation where a manager. Multiple people in a department deal with a single superior. This is a crucial information for managers since they need to understand which are. In the span of control example below we could say that the it manager has a span of control of 3, as they have 3 subordinates reporting to them. This article describes span of control in a practical way. Span of control, a management and leadership theory toolshero. Span of management or span of control management study hq.
A large span of control leads to a flatter organisational structure, which results in lower costs. After reading you will understand the basics of this powerful management and leadership theory. The span of management is related to the horizontal levels of the organization structure. 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 refers to the number of subordinates an executive can supervise. 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. Graicunas theory on the span of management theories. Within an organization, taller organizational structures are relatively more expensive than flatter and wider organizational structures due to the increased number of managers required. Typically, it is either narrow or wide resulting in a flatter or more hierarchical organizational structure. Thus, for any individual job, span of control can be either wide, indicating control of a wide range of resources, or narrow, indicating that a manager has direct control of relatively few resources. Span of management, also known as span of control, refers to the number of people a manager directly manages. Each type has its inherent advantages and disadvantages.
Graicunas as well as some commentary and a historical note about graicunas. 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 is a term that describes the number of subordinate workers organizational units under a single manager. Typically, we see comprehensive span exercises reducing at least one layer in an organization. There are advantages and disadvantages to having a narrow span of control. As more of the workforce has moved from manufacturing and production industries to servicedriven and knowledgebased sectors, the oldschool notion of span of control has become increasingly challenged. Organizations size and span of control practical management. As we know that small span of control requires more economic resources and vice versa. Pdf span of control, unity of command, coordination. A span of control is a concept that describes the number of people that are managed by someone. Span of control refers to the number of subordinates that can be managed effectively and efficiently by supervisors or managers in an organization.
The term span of control is made of two words, viz. In january of 1998, i posted a comment about the span of control and the formulas of v. In a narrow span of control, a manger has fewer subordinates under him. The span of control refers to number of employees that directly report to a single manager. Jul 26, 2018 hello learners, this video consists of the full description of span of control also known as span of management. In order to understand how people use our site generally, and to create more valuable. Span of control for law enforcement agencies police chief.
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. In simple words, span of control means the manageable number of subordinates of a superior. Span of control is very simply the number of subordinates that report to a manager. Span of control plays an important role in organizations and has implications for organizational structure, how. As there are levels of management, or hierarchy, an organization may be tall. It refers to how many workers a manager is supervising. The span of control is a perennial topic in discussions of management. What are the factors determining span of management.
Graicunas fred nickols 422011 this paper presents the formulas for determining a managers span of control as set forth by v. Span of control refers to the number of subordinates a supervisor has. This concept affects organization design in a variety of ways, including speed of communication flow, employee motivation, reporting relationships, and administrative. Sep 15, 2016 in such cases wide span of control is suitable and the supervisors can manage and control large number of subordinates at one time. Finally, by rightsizing spans of control, you can free up resources to invest in higher value activities. The number of subordinates that a superior can effectively supervise is known as span of management or span of control. Span of control in management has implications for work flow, communications, and opportunities for promotion in a company. What is span of control and organizational structure.
The larger an organisation, the more management layers it has. With the current manner of managing an organization, the age of the. Evolution of our thinking on managers and management. What are the advantages and disadvantages of a narrow span of.