CO-ORDINATION

If work activities are divided and departmentalized, it is necessary for managers to

coordinate these activities to achieve organizational goals.
The ability of managers to achieve effective coordination depends in part on the
number of subordinates reporting to them.
The number of subordinates reporting to one manager constitutes his or her
management or span of control. The larger the span the more difficult it may be to
coordinate and supervise the activities of subordinates.

Coordination is an orderly arrangements or pattern of group effort to ensure unity

in achieving common objectives. According to Fayol to coordinate is to harmonise
all activities of an organization to facilitate its working and success.
Coordination is the process of integrating the objectives and activities of the
separate units (departments) of an organization in order to achieve organization
goals effectively.
Without coordination, individuals and departments would lose sight of their roles
within the organization.
Co-ordination is the linking of activities in the organisation that serve to achieve a
common goal or objective. As task activities are divided in the organisation
managers must attempt to develop mechanisms that will link the task’s together so
that a desired goal is accomplished.

The need for coordination depends upon the nature and communication
requirements of the tasks performed. It also depends on the degree of
interdependence of the various subunits performing them.
A high degree of coordination is also likely to be beneficial for
1. work that is non routine and unpredictable.
2. Work where environmental factors keep changing
3. work in which tasks are highly interdependent (i.e when one unit cannot
function without receiving inputs from another unit)
4. organizations that set high performance objectives.
NEED AND SIGNIFICANCEOF COORDINATION
Coordination becomes necessary because of
1. Increase in the size and complexity of operation i.e growth in
organization leads to employment of many people.
Personal contact therefore becomes impossible thus need for coordination.

2. Specialization
Division of work into specialized functions in an organization may lead to
lack of uniformity.
It becomes necessary to synchronise these activities of various units to create
unity.
3. Clash of interest
Individuals join organization to fulfill their personal goals.
They may resume these goals at the expense of the organizational goals.
This creates a conflict.
Coordination helps avoid this conflict.
4. Different outlook.
Every individual has his own of way of working and approach towards
problems.
Capacity, talent and speed of people differ widely. It’s important to reconcile
these differences to secure unity of action.
5. Interdepence of unit.
Different units in an organization depend upon one another for their
successful function.
The output of one unit serves as input of another unit. There’s need to
coordinate this interdependence.
6. Conflict
There may be conflict between line managers and workers. This is where
line managers want to concentrate on their area of interest and avoid
activities of others.
Coordination helps avoid potential source of conflict.
7. Coordination avoids overlapping and duplication of work.
8. It improves human relation.
 TYPES OF COORDINATION.
1. Internal and external coordination.
 Internal coordination is coordination between units.
 Coordination between organization and its environment is called
external coordination e.g. government, customers.

2. Vertical and horizontal coordination.

 Vertical coordination is coordinating between two different levels of
organization. It is ensured through delegation of authourity.
 Horizontal coordination is between different departments and other
units at the same level of management.
3. Procedural or substantive coordination.
 Procedural coordination is the specification of the organization in
itself i.e. generalized description of behaviour and relationship of the
members of the organization’s organizational chart.
 Substantive coordination is concerned with the content of the
organizational activities e.g. blue print of an engine being
manufactured.
Principles of coordination. (requisite for effective coordination )
Mary parker follet has laid down four principles of effective coordination.
These are:
1. Direct personal contact .
Coordination is best achieved through direct personal contact with the
people concerned.
Direct communication is the most effective way to convert ideas and
information.
2. Early beginning .
Coordination can be achieved more easily in its early stages of planning and
policy making.
3. Reciprocity
This principle states that all factors in a given situation are reciprocally
related.
E.g. in a group every person influences all others and is interinfluenced by
others. When people appreciate reciprocity relations then coordination
becomes easier.
4. Continuity
 Coordination is an ongoing or process rather than a once for all activity. It
cannot left to chance but management has to strive for it constantly.
Sound coordination is not firefighting i.e. resolving conflicting as they arise.

Essentials of effective coordination.

1. Sound planning
Unity of purpose is the first essential condition of coordination.
Goals organization and goals of its units must be clearly defined.
2. Simplified organization.
A simple and sound organization is an important means of coordination.
The line of authourity and responsibility from the top the bottom has to be
clearly defined.
3. Effective communication
Open and regular communication is the key coordination. Interchange of
opinion and information helps in resolving and in creating mutual
understanding.
4. Effective leadership and supervision.
Effective leadership ensures coordination of effort. A good leader can direct
the activities of his subordinates in the right direction.
This leadership can persuade subordinates to have identity of interest and to
adopt a common outlook.
5. Chain of command
Authority is the supreme coordinating power in an organization.
Exercise of authority through the chain of command is the best means of
coordination.
6. Indoctrination and incentives.
Indoctrinating employees with the goals and missions of the organization
can transform a neutral body into a committed body or organization.
Incentives may be used to create neutrality of interest and reduce conflicts.
Problems in Achieving Effective Co-ordination
(a) Differences in orientation towards particular goals:
members of different departments develop their own views about how best to
advance the interests of the organization. Accounts may see cost control as most
important to the organization's success, sales people may see product features as
more important than product quality etc. i.e. people are buried in departmental
attachments.
(b) Differences in time orientation
time periods mean different things for the various specialists e.g. research people
may be pre-occupied with problems that will take years to solve while production
managers may be concerned with problems that must be solved immediately.
(c) Differences in interpersonal orientation
members of different departments may have different approaches to interpersonal
relationships and especially to communication. Some may adopt a relaxed attitude
to communication while others are abrupt and quick in decision-making.
(d) Differences in formality structure
each type of unit in the organization may have different methods and standards of
evaluating progress toward objectives and for rewarding employees.
Note:
Division of work involves more than a difference in precise activities. It also
influences how we perceive the organization, how we perceive our role in it and
how we relate to each other.
Such differences are essential as they enable the organization to match individual
talents, skills and perspectives to the specialized needs of different tasks and
activities. Coordination must be achieved where necessary without reducing the
differences that contribute to task accomplishment.
Division of work and specialization are desirable to help the organization use its
resources most efficiently. Differentiation encourages conflict among individuals
and organizational subunits. Various members of the organization present their
view points argue them out openly and make sure they are heard and that way they
force managers to consider the special needs and knowledge of different
departments when problems arise.
Achieving Effective Co-ordination
Communication is the key to effective coordination
Coordination is basically information processing task—the greater the uncertainty
of the task to be coordinated the greater the need for information. The three
approaches to achieving effective coordination are as follows:

 The first employs the basic management techniques:

the managerial hierarchy, plans and goals to give general direction to activities
and rules and procedures to guide these activities.
 The second approach becomes necessary when the organization's various
subunits become more interdependent, expand in size and the basic
coordination mechanisms of managerial hierarchy, rules and procedures, and
goal setting become inadequate. The approach focuses on increasing the
coordination potential by investing in: (communication)
 vertical information system e.g. the modern MIS—a means of which data are
transmitted across the levels of the organization.
 By creation of lateral relationships i.e. cutting across the chain of command by
permitting information to be exchanged and decisions made at hierarchical
levels where the needed information actually exists e.g. direct contact between
individuals who must deal with the same situation.
 The third approach to achieving effective coordination is by reducing the need
for coordination. This may be done through:

 Creation of slack resources—additional resources give extra leeway to

working units e.g. providing more workers, materials or time can ease
problems.
Creation of self contained jobs—each unit is provided with all the resources and
information needed to function without having to share resources with other units.