Span of Control

Span of Controlin management and administration thus

refers to the total number of people (here, subordinates or
employees working under) whom a manager or an
administrator can effectively control and supervise.
Span of Control is also referred by many other names. It is
often known as
'Span of Supervision' or
Span of Management' or
'Span of Attention'.
However, the term 'Span of Management' suits as the most
appropriate name, since control and supervision are the
elements of management.
 Definitions of Span of Control

According toLouis Allen,

"Span of control refers to the number of people that a
manager can supervise."
According toProf. Dimock,
"The span of control is the number and range of direct,
habitual communication contacts between the Chief
Executive of an enterprise and his principal fellow officers."
 Advantages of Appropriate Span of
Control

1. Better supervision and control

2. Increases efficiency
3. Increases goodwill
4. Good professional relations
5. Team spirit and morale
6. Good communication and co-ordination
7. Facilitates quick action
8. Less labour absenteeism and turnover
9. Develops discipline and mutual trust
10. Superiors can concentrate on important work
 Factors affecting Span of Control

1. Qualification and Qualities

2. Level of Management
3. Nature of Work
4. Superior - Subordinates Relationship
5. Degree of Centralisation
6. Use of Communication Technology
7. Financial position of the Organisation
8. Clearity of Plans and Responsibilities
9. Time available for Subordinates
10. Faith and Trust in Subordinates
 Graicunas Theory of Span of Control

Direct Single Relationships,

Direct Group Relationships, and
Cross Relationships.
Example of Graicunas Theory
V.A. Graicunas Theory can be explained with the help of this
simple example.
For example, considerGaurav(G) is a superior (boss)
andManoj(M) andSameer(S) are his subordinates (juniors
or lower-grade employees).
According to V.A. Graicunas, Gaurav (G) has to control
following three types of relationships, with or among Manoj (M)
and Sameer (S):-
(a) Direct Single Relationships:-
G with M, and G with S, i.e. a total of 2 direct single
relationships.
(b) Direct Group Relationship:-
G with M in presence of S, and G with S in presence of M, i.e. a
total of 2 direct group relationships.
(c) Cross Relationships:-
M with S, and S with M, i.e. again a total of 2 cross relationships.
Therefore, total number of relationships which Gaurav (G) has
to control are:- 2 + 2 + 2 = 6 relationships.
 If the span of control is narrow, then there will be many
management levels. That is, there will be many managers.
This organisation structure is called "Tall Organisation
Structure.
 Advantages of Tall Structure
The quality of performance will improve due to close
supervision.
Discipline will improve.
Superior - Subordinate relations will improve.
Control and Supervision will become easy and convenient.
The manager gets more time to plan and organise the
future activities.
The efforts of subordinates can be easily coordinated.
Tall Organisation encourages development of staff.
There is mutual trust between superior and subordinates.
Disadvantages / Demerits / Limitations of
Tall Organisation
Tall Organisation creates many levels of management.
There are many delays and distortion in communication.
Decisions and actions are delayed.
It is very costly because there are many managers. The
managers are paid high salaries.
It is difficult to coordinate the activities of different levels.
There is strict supervision. So the subordinates do not have any
freedom.
Tall Organisation is not suitable for routine and standardised
jobs.
Here, managers may became more dominating.
 If thespan of controlis wide, then there will be fewer levels
ofmanagement. In other words, there will be fewer
managers. Thisorganizationstructure is calledFlat
Organisation Structure.
 Advantages of Flat Structure
Flat Organisation is less costly because it has only few
managers.
It creates fewerlevels of management.
Quick decisions and actions can be taken because it has only
a few levels of management.
Fast and clear communication is possible among these few
levels of management.
Subordinates are free from close and strict supervision and
control.
It is more suitable for routine and standardised activities.
Superiors may not be too dominating because of large
numbers of subordinates.
 Limitations of Flat Structure
There are chances of loose control because there are many
subordinates under one manager.
The discipline in the organisation may be bad due to loose control.
The relations between the superiors and subordinates may be bad.
Close and informal relations may not be possible.
There may be problems of team work because there are many
subordinates under one manager.
Flat organisation structure may create problems ofcoordination
between various subordinates.
Efficient and experienced superiors are required to manage a large
number of subordinates.
It may not be suitable for complex activities.
The quality of performance may be bad.