Span of Management

Presented By:-

Rishit Desai
Prakhar Tiwari
Shriyansh Gupta
Rahul Bhokardankar
Surbhi Mittal
( MBA E-Com 5 Yrs ,II
Sem)
What does Span Mean ?

 At Organization Level it represents

supervisory capability
 At Manager Level it reflects reporting
structure,closeness of contact
 At Employee Level it represents employee
support
 Introduction To
Span of Management

Decentralization - structure in which

power and control are systematically
delegated to lower levels in the
organization.

Span of Management - number of

subordinates who report directly to a
manager. Affects the total number of
relationships within an organization.

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 Span of Management


 Number
Numberofofemployees
employeeswho
whoreport
reporttotoaasupervisor
supervisor
–
– Traditional
Traditionalview
view==seven
sevensubordinates
subordinatesper
permanager
manager
–
– Lean organizations today = 30+ subordinates
Lean organizations today = 30+ subordinates

 Supervisor
SupervisorInvolvement
Involvement
–
– must
mustbe beclosely
closelyinvolved
involvedwith
withsubordinates,
subordinates,the
thespan
spanshould
shouldbe
besmall
small
–
– need little involvement with subordinates, it can be large
need little involvement with subordinates, it can be large

 Span
Spanofofcontrol
controlororspan
spanofofmanagement
managementisisaadimension
dimensionofoforganizational
organizational
design
design measured by the number of subordinates that reportdirectly
measured by the number of subordinates that report directlytotoaa
given
givenmanager.
manager.


 ItItsuggests
suggestshow
howthetherelations
relationsare
aredesigned
designedbetween
betweenaasuperior
superiorand
andaa
subordinate
subordinateininan
anorganization.
organization.
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 Graicunas Theory of Span of
Management

 A management expert named V.A. Graicunas contributed

much to the Span of Management Theory.

 His theory identifies the relationship prevailing between the

superior and the subordinates.

 The relationships are classified into three categories. They are

given below:
1. Direct single relationship
2. Direct group relationship
3. Cross relationship
Direct single relationship

 Direct single relationship is one in which a

supervisor has direct relationship with his
subordinates individually.
General Manager (Finance and Business Control)

Manager (Finance) Manager (Business Control)

Direct group relationship

 In this case a supervisor has direct

relationship with his subordinates jointly.
General Manager (Finance & Accounts)

Consultation Consultation

Manager (Finance) Manager (Accounts)

Cross Relationship

 In cross relationship, a subordinate has

relationship with another subordinate
mutually.
Vice President (Operations)

Relationship

GM-Production GM-Maintenance
FORMULAE

Number of
relationships = n (2n /2+n-1)

n refers to the number for subordinates.

 Principle of Span of Management

It states that there is a limit to the number of

subordinates a manager can effectively
supervise but the exact number will depend on
the impact of underlying factors :

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 Nature of Work.

Ability
Efficiency
of the of the
Organisation Manager .

Factors that
Influence
the Span of
Management
Time Staff
Available
For Assistants
Supervision

Degree of
Decentralisation

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Span of control has been classified into two main
category :

1) Narrow Span

&

2) Wide Span
Narrow Span

 Narrow span is when there is relatively large number of

hierarchical levels where each manager supervising a
small number of employees.

 Narrow span of control is more expensive as compared to

wide span of control as there are more number of
superiors and therefore there are greater communication
problems between various levels of management.
 NARROW SPAN

M
M M

M M M M

X X X X X X X X

Advantages:
Close Supervision
Close Control
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Fast Communication
NARROW SPAN
Advantages of Narrow Span of Management

 A narrow span of control allows a managers to

communicate quickly with the employees under them
and control them more easily.

 Feedback of ideas from the workers will be more

effective.

 It requires a higher level of management skill to

control a greater number of employees, so there is
less management skill required
Disadvantage of Narrow Span of Management

 Superiors tend to get too involved in subordinates’ work.

 Many levels of management.

 High costs due to many levels.

 Excessive distance between lowest levels and top level.

 Effectiveness Of Narrow Span
Management

A narrow span of management may be more effective when:

 Managers and/or subordinates are not highly
competent.
 Managers and subordinates are widely
dispersed.
 Managers want close control over their
subordinates.
 Each subordinate performs a different task.
 Managers have non-supervisory tasks to
perform.
 Managers and subordinates must interact with
each other on a regular basis.
 Work is not highly standardized.
 New problems arise frequently.
Wide span of management

 Wide span of management is when there is relatively few

hierarchical levels where more subordinates report directly to a given

manager.

 Wide span is less cost than narrow span because wide span of control
means a single manager or supervisor oversees a large number of

subordinates. This gives rise to a flat organizational structure.

Advantage of wide span of control

 There are less layers of management to pass a message through, so

the message reaches more employees faster.

 It costs less money to run a wider span of control because a business

does not need to employ as many managers.

 A wide span of control forces managers to develop clear goals and

policies , delegate task effectively .

 Since employees get less supervision , they tend to take on more

responsibility.
Disadvantage of Wide Span of Management

 Fewer Chances for Advancement

 Managers are overloaded with work
 Loss of Control over subordinates
 Less Management Expertise as decisions
are not taken easily
 Effectiveness Of Wide Span
Management

A wide span of management may be

more effective when:
 Managers and subordinates are highly
competent.
 Managers and subordinates work in close
proximity.
 People prefer low supervision.
 Subordinates perform similar tasks.
 A manager’s sole task is supervising
subordinates.
 Little interaction between managers and
subordinates is necessary.
 Work is highly standardized.
 New problems seldom arise.
 CORPORATE EXAMPLES:

 AVON PRODUCTS

 FORD TRANSMISSION PLANT

 TATA STEEL

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 CONCLUSION

 In every organizational level there should ne

limit number of Sub-ordinates that are
effectively supervised by managers, although
the limit varies depending on situations.

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