In business management, a new term has been introduced named span of control. Most commonly it is used in human resource management. It is the process of supervising a specific number of employees under one manager’s supervision. In the term for management, it’s most effectively-known as a supervisor and subordinate relationship.
In the organization, there are different divisions like HR, Finance, IT, Marketing, and many more. And every division has a specific number of employees in it. It is not possible for the head of the organization to control all of the division himself. The span of control is very effective for this.
Type of Span of Control
Span of control is the number of subordinates under one manager. There is no limitation to the numbers of the span of control. It may be a larger number of employees in one span of control and also the small number of employees in a single span of control.
Two types of a span of control
- Wide-Span of Control
- Narrow-Span of Control
A wide span of control is in which a large number of subordinates are supervised by one supervisor. And the narrow span of control is in which a small number of a subordinate is supervised by their head. They both are effective.
But it is observed that a large number of a span of control has several difficulties and to make it effective, the head of the subordinate needs to be manual and highly manageable otherwise there are high chances to overlaps all data.
While a narrow span of control is easy to handle. Also, there is strong coordination observe between subordinate and supervisor in a narrow span of control.
The factor depends on the effectiveness of span of control
Two factors depend on the effectiveness of the span of control in any organization
- The relationship between supervisor and subordinate. If there is an ideal relationship between both of them. It helps in a positive outcome from span of control in business enterprises.
- The capacity of subordinates to understand, coordinate, and follow according to the guidance of the supervisor.
Importance of span of control
The span of control is the need of today’s business. It matters nothing either its small scale business or large enterprise. The owner of the business can’t manage several tasks single-handedly. This limitation of the Head of any organization forces to have a span of control. In which every division have their supervisors who are responsible for all subordinates activities. They have to manage their tasks and also have to coordinate with the subordinate.
There are many other reasons why business organizations need a span of control. Most Important are given below
- Limitation of time: Head of business organization has not enough time in a day to supervise all divisional employees. For this, every business enterprise needs a span of control to have the head of the subordinate in every division.
- Limitation of Capacity: Human energy is also the reason why managers can’t deal with a large number of employees all himself. To handle employees, one needs to be very energetic, passionate, and cooperative, But all of this has some limit in humans.
- The span of attention: In humans, naturally, we pay attention and concentration to specific people and work to a certain level. It’s not possible to deal with full concentration and time for all divisions.
- Communication: It is very effective that you have good communication skills and make others understand your point.
- Psychological Factors: Different employees have different personalities, attributes, and abilities. The Head of the division should understand every employee’s personality so that they can take work from them properly. This needs to have a span of control in an organization because if one person deals with every division. They can’t focus on a single employee.
- Growth Chances: Span of control helps in managing things properly as every division has its own roles and specific reporting to specific person. This way, more plans can be made and more improvement will be there.
Final Verdict
In today’s global market, every business enterprises need to be updated according to the demand of the digital world. A span of control now becomes the need of every large and small scale business enterprise.
It’s impossible for one person to handle all divisional issues. To create different divisions by having a specific number of employees and then allot the supervisor to each division is the need of every organization. It helps in working efficiently, record data manually, make performance charts, and help in revenue generation for the business.
Matthew is a Co-Founder at BusinessFinanceArticles.org. Matthew was a floor manager at a local restaurant in Wales. He lost his job after the pandemic and took initiative to make a team and start the project.
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