Span Of Control

What is span of control?•span of control is a span of supervision which shows the number of can be effectively handled and controlled by a single manager.

•There are two types of span: 1.Narrow and 2.wide.

Narrow span•According to narrow span, the manager supervises a selected number of employees at one time.• it is the difficult to get effective co-ordination. •Also, due to this kind of span of control, number of managers are increases and hence the overall costing of the company increases.

Wide span•According to wide span, the manager supervises and control effectively a large group of persons at one time.• it is the easy to get effective co-ordination ,better communication.•Also, due to this kind of span of control, number of managers required are few, so overall cost is law.

Factors affecting the span of control

1. Managerial abilities•When managers are capable, qualified and experienced, wide span control is always helpful to control more number of employees.

2.Competence of subordinates•Where the subordinates are capable and competent and understanding levels are proper, the subordinates tend to very frequently visit the superiors for solving their problems. In such cases, the manager can handle large number of employees. Hence, wide span is suitable.

3. Nature of work

• If the work is of repetitive nature, wide span of supervision is more helpful. On the other hand, if work requires mental skill or craftsmanship, tight control and supervision is required in which narrow span is more helpful.

4. Delegation of authority •When the work is delegated to lower levels in an efficient and proper way, confusions are less and congeniality of the environment can be maintained. In such cases wide span of control is suitable and the supervisors can manage and control large number of sub-ordinates at one time.

5. Economic Consideration•Economic considerations also determines the span of control. As we know that small span of control requires more economic resources and vice versa. So, when there is problem of economic conditions, wide span of control is adopted. Economic Consideration