Span of Management Final
Span of Management Final
&
Determinants of span of
management
Definition
Span of control, is a very important concept of organizing
function of management. It refers to the number of
subordinates that can be handled effectively by a superior
in an organization.
Span of control or span of management is a dimension of
organizational design measured by the number of
subordinates that report directly to a given manager.
The term “span of management” is also known as “span of
control,” “span of supervision” & “span of authority”. It
represents a numerical limit of subordinates to be
supervised & controlled by a manager.
GRAICUNAS’ THEORY
It is an important principle of sound organization. This
principle is based on the theory of relationships. A French
management consultant. Graicunas’ analyzed superior-
subordinate relationship & developed a mathematical
formula based on the geometric increase in complexities of
managing as the number of subordinates increases.
Graicunas showed mathematically that a number of direct, group &
cross relationships exist between a manager & his subordinates. The
number of these relationships increases with the increase in the
number of the subordinates. He said that an executive having 4
subordinates under him is required to deal with
4 direct single relationships
12 cross relationships
28 group relationships
Matrix span
Large or big organizations have developed a new
pattern of organizational structure to meet their
requirements.
Types
Narrow Span of management means a single manager
or supervisor oversees few subordinates. This gives rise
to a tall organizational structure.
While, a wide span of management means a single
manager or supervisor oversees a large number of
subordinates. This gives rise to a flat organizational
structure.
There is an inverse relation between the span of
management and the number of hierarchical levels in
an organization, i.e., narrow the span of management ,
greater the number of levels in an organization.
Contemporary Landscape Services, Inc.
President/Owner
Mark Ferguson
Landscape
Retail Shop Nursery
Operations
Manager Manager
Manager
6-8
Flat Organizational Structure --Vertical Structure.
Characteristic of decentralized companies with relatively few
layers of management and relatively wide spans of control
Partners
Associates
(Dean) Employee
Determinants of span management
Mission
Purpose
Strategy
Size, technology, and changes in environmental
circumstances also influence structure.
Characteristics
Characteristicsofoflarge
largeorganizations:
organizations:
• •More
Morespecialization
specialization
• •More
Morevertical
verticallevels
levels
• •More
Morerules
rulesand
andregulations
regulations
Technology
How an organization transfers its
inputs into outputs.
Characteristics
Characteristicsofofroutines
routines(standardized
(standardizedororcustomized)
customized)inin
activities:
activities:
• •Routine
Routine technologies
technologies are are associated
associated with
with tall,
tall,
departmentalized
departmentalized structures
structures and
and formalization
formalization inin
organizations.
organizations.
• •Routine technologies lead to centralization when
Routine technologies lead to centralization when
formalization
formalizationisislow.
low.
• •Non routine technologies are associated with delegated
Non routine technologies are associated with delegated
decision authority. .
decisionauthority
Environment
Institutions or forces outside the organization that
potentially affect the organization’s performance.
Key
KeyDimensions-
Dimensions-
• • Capacity:
Capacity:the
thedegree
degreetotowhich
whichan
anenvironment
environmentcan
cansupport
support
growth.
growth.
• • Volatility:
Volatility:the
thedegree
degreeofofinstability
instabilityininthe
theenvironment.
environment.
• • Complexity:
Complexity:the
thedegree
degreeofofheterogeneity
heterogeneityand
andconcentration
concentration
among
amongenvironmental
environmentalelements.
elements.
Associated with
ITC
18
Strategy of Organisation to manage diversity of
Portfolio
19
HERO HONDA’S Span
HERO HONDA-cont.
Span of Control
of
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